Chap. III. of Monfieur Tavernier. 145 



great earthen Veffels bak'd in an Oven , either glaz'd , or ellc fmear'd over with the 

 fat of a Sheeps rump, ftop'd up with wood'n Covers, cover'd over again with a great 

 piece of red Calicut, that lyes over all the lids of the Pots. 



The King and his Lords have other forts of Cellars for magnificence, where they 

 treat iuch as they invite. Thefe are four lquare Rooms not above three or four fteps 

 deep, with a Well in the middle, the floor being fpread with Turkte Carpets. 

 Now at the four corners of the Well ftand four great Bottles containing twenty 

 Pints a piece, the one of White, the other of Claret. Between the great Bottles 

 Hands a row of lefler Bottles fill'd , a Bottle of White, and a Bottle of Red. In 

 the Cellar- Wall are leveral niches one above another, and in every nich a Bottle, 

 {till vary'd Gules and Argent % a veryplealant fight to good Companions in a Room, 

 which is as light as day. 



As for Herbs and Roots they have very good in Perfia, but above all, mofl 

 excellent Roman Lettuee. But there is no fort of Pulie , nor can they find a way to 

 make Peafe grow among them. The Carmelites carry'd Aiparagus , Artichoaks 5 and 

 Succory, which were never feen there before, but now begin to thrive very 

 well. 



As for Turquoifes and Pearls I {hall fpeak thereof in my difcourfe of Jewels, to- 

 ward the end of my Indian Travels* 



C H A P. III. 



Of the <Beafts of Service • of the Fifj and Fowl of Perfia. 



THe Beads for fervice in Perfia, areHorfes, Mules, Affes, and Camels. 

 The Horfesof Perfia are but of an ordinary ftature , lets than ours, 

 very narrow before , but very iwift and light. They carry their heads 

 very ill in running, by rcafon of the cuftom to which the Per pans uie 

 them. For they have got a trick of managing their Horfes , yet never getting upon 

 their backs-, they teach them to Amble by tying their feet with twoCordsof art 

 equal length , to the middle whereof are faften'd two other Cords that are faften'd 

 to the Saddle , which two Cords keep their feet ^6 , that they cannot ftir but at fuch 

 a diftance *, and fo they deal with their Mules upon which the old men generally 

 covet to ride. The Horfes of Perfia are Very docible , and eafily brought up. They 

 give them nothing elfc from one Evening to another but a Sack full of chopt Straw, 

 with a mcafure of Barley which they mingle together with the Straw, to the end 

 they may cat both together. When the Barley is newly ear'd , they give it them 

 for fourteen or twenty days together to purge their bodies , as we for the fame end 

 put our Horics to Grafs in the Spring. The Perfian Horfes hold out very well 'till 

 eighteen or twenty years of age •, but they never cut their Stone-Horfes in that Coun- 

 try. In the Winter, they never take off their Shooes , but only Froft-nail them. 

 Their Furniture is very light and handfomly made. And this is further obferv'd , 

 that whereas we keep Goats in our Stables and Inns, the Perfians keep Hogs. 



There are two fort of AfTes in Perfia. Thofe that are bred in the Country only 

 ierve to carry burthens -, but there arc a fort of Arabian AfTes that are fwift and very 

 handfom , excelling in price the common fort of Horfes. The Merchants of Ijpahan 

 keep thefe AfTes in their Country Houi'es, taking it for a great piece of Grandeur 

 to Ride every Morning to their Shops. 



Some parts of Perfia are pcrplex'd alio with wild Beafts , as Lyons, Bears, and 

 Leopards,but there are but very few ; nor have we heard that ever they did any great 

 miichief. Porcupines they have alio •, and I my felf law brought before the 

 King two men , the one of which was Shot through the Thigh , and through 

 the Leg with a Porcupine's Quill. The fecond was kilKd, the Porcupine having 

 darted his Quill a little above his right Pap through his Breft. As for their Fifh , 

 there arc an abundance of Carps, Trouts, and Pikes in the River Aras; but iri 

 all the other Rivers' of Perfia there is but one fort of Fifh , which is a kind of 



T Barbill, 



