32 PERSIA. 



Metals and minerals.. ..Persia contains mines of iron, copper, 

 lead, and above all turquoise-stones, which are found in Khorasan. 

 Sulphur, saltpetre, and antimony, are found in the mountains. Quar- 

 ries of red, white, and black marble have also been discovered near 

 Tauris. 



Climate.. ..Those parts of Persia which border upon Caucasus and 

 Daghistan, and the mountains near the Caspian sea, are cold, as lying 

 in the neighbourhood of these mountains, which are commonly covered 

 with snow. The air in the midland provinces of Persia is serene, pure, 

 and exhilarating ; but in the southern provinces it is hot, and some- 

 times communicates noxious blasts to the midland parts, which are so 

 often mortal that the inhabitants fortify their heads with very thick 

 turbans. 



Soil, vegetable productions. ...The soil is far from being luxu- 

 riant towards Tartary and the Caspian sea, but with cultivation it 

 might produce abundance of corn and fruits. South of Mount Taurus* 

 the country abounds in corn, fruits, wine, and the other luxuries of 

 life. It produces oil in plenty, senna, rhubarb, and the finest drugs. 

 The fruits are delicious, especially the dates, oranges, pistachio nuts, 

 melons, cucumbers, and garden-stuff. Great quantities of excellent 

 silk are likewise produced in this country, and the gulf of Bassorah 

 formerly furnished great part of Europe and Asia with very fine 

 pearls. Some parts, near Ispahan especially, produce almost all the 

 flowers that are valued in Europe ; and from some of them, particu- 

 larly roses, they extract waters of a salubrious and odorific kind, 

 ■which form a gainful commodity in trade. In short, the fruits, vege- 

 tables, and flowers of Persia are of a most exalted flavour; and had 

 the natives the art of horticulture to as much perfection as some 

 nations in Europe, by transplanting, engrafting, and other meliora- 

 tions, they would add greatly to the natural riches of the country. 

 The Persian assafcetida flows from a plant called hiltot, and turns into 

 a gum. Some of it is white, and some black ; but the former is so 

 much valued, that the natives make very rich sauces of it, and some- 

 times eat it as a rarity. . 



No place in the world produces the necessaries of life in greater 

 abundance and perfection than Shirauz ; nor is there a more delight- 

 ful spot in nature to be conceived, than the vale in which it is situate, 

 either for the salubrity of the air, or for the profusion of every thing 

 necessary to render life comfortable and agreeable. The fields yield 

 plenty of rice, wheat and barley, which they generally begin to reap 

 in the month of May, and by the middle of July the harvest is com- 

 pleted. Most of the European fruits are produced here, and many of 

 them are superior in size and flavour to what can be raised in Europe, 

 particularly the apricot and grape. Of the grape of Shirauz there arc 

 several sorts, all of thein very good, but two or three more particularly 

 so than the rest : one is the large white grape, which is extremely lus- 

 cious and agreeable to the taste ; the small white grape, is sweet as 

 sugar ;' and the black grape, of which the celebrated wine of Shirauz is 

 made, which is really delicious, and well deserving of praise. It is 

 pressed by the Armenians and Jews, in the months of October and 

 November, and a great quantity is exported annually to Abu Shehr, 

 and other parts in the Persian gulf, for supplying the Indian markets. 

 The pomegranate is good to a proverb ; the Persians call it the iruit of 

 Paradise. 



Animals... .The breed of horses in the province of Fars is at present 

 very indifferent:, owing to the ruinous state of the country ; but in the 



