( 6 ) 



quently prefers cutting down his Olives, or 

 selling them at a price unequal to the value 

 of their annual produce. 



The wild Olive is common on the islands 

 of the Propontis and on the declivities slop- 

 ing to the sea upon the Asiatic side of the 

 Hellespont. 



Perhaps one of the finest countries of the 

 world is the Persian provinces of Ghilan 

 and Mazenderan, which lie north of the Cas- 

 pian Mountains, between the thirty-seventh 

 and the thirty-eighth degrees of latitude. The 

 soil is fertile and watered by innumerable 

 streams that gush from the bosom of those 

 mountains : the surface is even, and, from 

 the depression of the level, and from the 

 proximity of the Caspian Sea, the climate is 

 mild and equable. The Olive is found there 

 with the Sugar-cane , the Orange-Tree , and 

 other productions of warm climates , which 

 do not flourish in the more southern parts of 

 this dry and sterile kingdom. 



In Syria the Olive grows spontaneously ; 

 but it is rare, and its cultivation is neglected. 

 The natural advantages of a country formed 

 to be the seat of the richest and most power- 



