COURDISH TRIBES. 47j 
themselves to be numbered in the list of Courds attached to the 
Porte, but the name is all; not the Grand Seignor himself 
could compel one of their independent sons into the field : if 
they chuse to be persuaded, it is well, but authority has no 
power. Savage as they are, their country, in parts, is far other¬ 
wise, being extremely fertile along the immediate shores of 
the Van, and on the banks of several streams flowing into the 
Tigris. Some of them even pursue a kind of commerce, in the 
culture and sale of tobacco, which they have particularly fine ; 
also sun-dried raisins, and other fruits, and a very delicious 
honey # , and manna. The latter is collected at break of day 
from the leaves of the oak ; it forms there during the night, and 
is found in white sugary morsels on the trees. The season 
of its produce is usually in May and June, and never exceeds 
forty or fifty days. The oaks of the Van, as well as those of the 
Daroo, yield abundance of gall-nuts, which the inhabitants turn 
to considerable profit. The wild Amadi, and Bitlisi, and the 
entirely lawless Rewandoozi, may be regarded as the most 
* During my halt at Sultania, when accompanying Abbas Mirza to Teheran, I 
observed an exemplary custom of the inhabitants in the manner of taking the honey, 
and at the same time saving the bees. It happened that my quarters were in a 
house where a number of hives were kept, and the monotonous hum of the bees 
was so constant and loud from their multitude, I could not sleep. On making 
inquiry in the morning, I found that the hives were constructed like long thin 
barrels thrust through the mud walls of the house; one end opens to the air for the 
ingress of the bees, and the other projecting more than a foot into the inhabited 
rooms. That extremity was closed with a cake of clay. The proprietor then ex¬ 
plained to me, that when he wanted to take the honey, he had only to make a con¬ 
tinued noise for some little time on this shut up end, to set all the bees to flight out 
at the other. He then removed the cake, and dui’ing their absence, cleared the 
hive of the honey; though, indeed, always leaving them sufficient for their winter 
store. The seal was then re-fixed, and the little labourers soon after returned to 
their homes to commence anew. Thus was simply shown a system of humanity; 
which, in fact, redoubled the profits of the possessor. 
