PER 
over the mouth of the well. From this cylinder defcends 
a cord of a fufficient length to reach the bottom, having 
a bucket fattened to one end, and being tied at the other 
to the collar or yoke of an ox. To eafe the labour of the 
animal as much as poflible, he is made to go along a di¬ 
rect path down a Hope; and, to prevent his deviating from 
it, the lateral ring of his collar runs upon a rope, one end 
of which is fattened to one of the ports mentioned above, 
and the other to a flake fixed at the farther end of the 
path. Thus when the ox draws, the Hope naturally hur¬ 
ries him along, and the veflel full of water is raifed with 
much lefs exertion of ftrength than would otherwife be 
required. The buckets are no other than large fkins, the 
mouth of which is held open by a wooden hoop with two 
crofs-bars. They are ufed of two fhapes: fome being 
formed almoft like a funnel, terminating in a curved 
tube ciofed by a cock; the others refembling a large tub: 
but the ufe of the former requires a fecond contrivance, 
confifting of two upright polls and a cylinder on an axis, 
placed over a refervoir fituated near the well. A cord 
fattened to the end of the tube winds round this fmaller 
cylinder, partes over the larger, and is tied to the collar 
of the ox : the purpofe of this cord is to draw the lkin 
filled with water out of the well, to be emptied by the 
tube into the refervoir. M. Jourdain has furnifhed an 
engraving of this procefs. 
In fpots more favoured by nature, fituated at the foot 
of fnow-covered mountains, the induftry of the Perfian is 
fuccefsfully exerted. In the defiles of the mountains, 
wherever the fituation permits, the fnow-water and rain¬ 
water are detained by walls; and, when their quantity is 
fufficient to form ftreams, channels are dug by which 
they may be drawn off. 
The ploughing is performed by means of a fhare drawn 
by two oxen, harnefled not by the horns but to a yoke 
that partes over the cheft. This fhare is very fhort, and 
its coulter but flightly cuts the ground. As the furrows 
are made, the clods are broken with large wooden beaters, 
and the furface is fmoothed with the fpade and a harrow 
that has very fmall teeth. Thus prepared, the ground, 
divided into fquares, looks like garden-beds, with bor¬ 
ders a foot or more in height, according to the quantity 
of water required for irrigating it. 
The fickle ufed in Perfia is unlike ours, being fcarcely 
bent in the blade. Threfhing is performed by a machine 
comported of a large rtquare wooden frame, which contains 
two cylinders, placed parallel to each other and having a 
rotatory motion. They are ftuck full of rtpikes with 
fharp rtquare points, but not all of a length. Therte 
rollers have the appearance of the barrel of an organ ; and 
their proje&ions, when brought in contact with the corn, 
break the flalk, and difengage the ear. They are put in 
motion by a couple of cows or oxen yoked to the frame, 
and guided by a man fitting on the plank that covers the 
frame which contains the cylinders. He drives this agri¬ 
cultural equipage in a circle round a heap of corn, keep¬ 
ing at a certain diftance from its verge, clorte to which a 
fecond peartant Hands, holding a long-handled pronged 
fork, fhaped like the fpread flicks of a fan ; and with 
which he throws the unbound fheaves forward to meet 
the rotatory motion of the machine. He has a fhovel 
alrto ready to remove at a diftance the corn that has already 
parted the wheel. Other men are on the fpot with the 
like implement, with which they throw the corn aloft in 
the air, when the wind blows away the chaff, and the 
grain falls to the ground. This procefs is repeated till 
the corn is completely winnowed; it is then gathered up 
and depofited for ufe in large earthen jars. 
Sir R. Porter mentions one diftrift, where he remarked 
as a Angularity a very clumrty fort of cart employed for 
carrying corn. It moves on two folid wheels, while the 
body and pole take the fhape of a long triangle; and is 
drawn by oxen or buffaloes. In no other part of Perfia 
did he find fo ufeful anaffiftant to hufbandry as even this 
rude vehicle. 
Vol. XIX. No. 1338. 
S I A. 723 
The vale of Khoi, about fifteen miles in length and 
ten in breadth, is dertcribed as equal to any fpot of fimilar 
extent, either in Perfia or any other country, for richnerts 
of cultivation. It produces great quantities of corn, cot¬ 
ton, and rice. The foil is fo (liff, that it fometimes re¬ 
quires ten pair of buffaloes to drag the plough-fhare 
through it. When the plough is at work, two or three 
men, according to the length of the team, are feated 
upon the yokes, exciting their cattle by a loud fong, 
which, in the ftillnefs of the morning, has a very pleafing 
effedt. Their plough is an inftrument of more tnecha- 
nirtm than that of the fouth of Perfia, and furrows the 
earth much more effedlually. The corn grows thicker 
and better than in any other parts, owing, doubtlefs, to 
the fuperiority of this implement, and alfo to the abun¬ 
dance of water with which this plain is bleffed. 
Pigeon-houfes are erefled in Perfia at a diftance from 
human habitations for the foie purpofe of colledting pi¬ 
geons’ dung for manure. There are many fuch in the 
environs of Ifpahan. They are large round towers, ra¬ 
ther broader at the bottom than at the top, and crowned 
with conical fpiracles through which the pigeons defcend. 
Their interior refeinbles a honeycomb, pierced with a 
thoufand holes, each of which forms a fnug retreat for a 
nett. More care appears to have been bellowed upon 
their outfide than upon the generality of the dwelling- 
hourtes, for they are painted and ornamented. The ex¬ 
traordinary flights of pigeons, and the compadlnefs of 
their mafs, give them the appearance of clouds which ac¬ 
tually obfcure the fun in their paflage. The Perfians do 
not eat pigeons, keeping them l'olely for their dung, 
which is the deareft manure in this country ; and, as they 
employ it entirely in the rearing of melons, it is probably 
on this account that the melons of Ifpahan are fo much 
finer than thorte of other countries. The revenue of a 
pigeon-houfe is about one hundred tomans per annum; 
and the great value of this dung, which rears a fruit in- 
difpenfable to the exiftence of the natives during the 
great heats of fummer, may probably throw fome light 
upon that paflage of Scripture which relates, that, during 
the famine in Samaria, the fourth part of a cab of doves' 
dung was Jold for five pieces offilver. 2 Kings, vi. 25. 
Sir Robert Porter defcribes a method by which the vil¬ 
lagers who keep bees take the honey without deftroying 
the induftrious infefls. The hives are conftrudle^d like 
long thin barrels thruft through the mud walls of the 
houfe; one end opens to the air for the entrance of the 
bees, and the other, which projedts more than a foot into 
the inhabited rooms, is doled with a cake of clay. When 
the owner wilhes to take the honey, he has only to make 
a continued noirte for fome little time at the doled end, 
which caufes all the bees to take flight at the other. Du¬ 
ring their abfencehe removes the clay, and dears the hive 
of honey, leaving, however, fufficient for their winter- 
fupply. The inner end is then re-clorted; and the little 
labourers foon return to their home, and re-commence 
their operations. Jourdain, tom. v. p. 284.. 
The little commerce that Perfia now enjoys is princi¬ 
pally carried on by the Armenians, whole habits, migra¬ 
tions, and induftry, bear fome refemblance to thofe of 
the Jews. They are fcattered over the kingdom, and are 
held in greater refpedl by the Perfians than feems confid¬ 
ent with the intolerant precepts of the Koran. They 
feldom intermarry with any other fedl, and preferve in¬ 
violate the religion and cuftoms of their anceftors. 
Perfia, indeed, was never an eflentially-commercial 
country at any period of its hiftory, unlefs when under 
the dominion of the Arabs. The caravans from the 
weftern provinces of the Saracen empire then parted 
through it on their way toTranrtoxana and fome parts of 
India. The laws of Zoroafter, which encouraged agri¬ 
culture, naturally checked commerce; and, as moll of the 
rivers were unnavigable, there was not much internal 
traffic. The foil produces few things in fufficient quan¬ 
tity to be exported : fome wheat, barley, rice, dates, and 
8 Y almonds* 
