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 PEESIA 317 the commonest trees. The oriental plane tree, the wild almond, the hawthorn, and tree roses grow in many of the valleys ; and further S. in Farsistan, near Kazerun, are grassy prai- ries dotted with myrtle, oleander, and locust trees, and in the summer bright with flow- ers. The well watered gardens in the vicinity of large cities present the Persian flora in its richest and most varied aspect. Here grow delicious fruits and beautiful flowers; among them, apples, pears, peaches, cherries, apricots, quinces, oranges, lemons, limes, shaddocks, pomegranates, and melons which are unsur- passed elsewhere in the world ; roses in won- derful profusion, lilies, hyacinths, marigolds, geraniums, scarlet, white, and lilac poppies, and other ornamental plants without number. From its relation to the silk culture, the mul- berry, which grows abundantly in the provinces on the Caspian, must be ranked first in im- portance among the fruit products of Persia. Notwithstanding the generally barren ap- pearance of the land, the cultivated soil of Per- sia wherever it is supplied with moisture is exceedingly fertile. Small streams and canals are valued at high rates and produce extraor- dinary rents. A simple form of the plough, the harrow, and a flat board upon which a man stands while it is drawn over the soil, are the ordinary implements of cultivation, and a rude form of threshing machine is in common use. The principal Persian cereals are rice, wheat, barley, and maize, the wheat being of excellent quality. Cotton is produced in sufficient quan- tity to supply the wants of the people ; and the production is capable of being largely in- creased. It thrives in the Caspian provinces, in which a considerable crop of sugar is also grown ; and the mulberry of the same region supports the extensive silk industry there car- ried on. Where the irrigation is plentiful two crops can be raised in a year, the first being sown in summer and the second in the autumn. Clover and lucerne are cultivated in some lo- calities. The fruits already mentioned are grown in great abundance and perfection, es- pecially the melon, of which the finest crops are produced in the neighborhood of Ispahan. The vine flourishes in several provinces, and the grapes and the wine of Shiraz are cele- brated in the poetry of the East. This wine is powerful and somewhat astringent, and is not so agreeable to European taste as the lighter wines produced in Hamadan. The grape is also cultivated for raisins as well as wine ma- king. Dates are largely used as food, and those of Dalaki in Farsistan are particularly cele- brated for richness and flavor. The tobacco of Shiraz is famous throughout Persia, and a large yield of opium is obtained from the ex- tensive poppy fields in the same district. The field cultivation of roses for making rose water is an important and peculiar branch of Persian agriculture. Among the native vegetables are the bean, the cabbage, the gourd, and the tur- nip ; saffron, henna, and madder are produced in many places ; and Persia contributes several useful gums to medicine, including gum traga- canth, gum ammoniac, and asafostida. Con- siderable quantities of honey are made in some districts. According to W. T. Blanford, the whole of Persia is zoologically divisible into three principal regions: 1, the woodlands of the Caspian provinces and western Persia, where the fauna is chiefly European, and em- braces the animals of southern Europe, with a few additions such as the tiger in the coast country, and several peculiar forms of birds ; 2, the great plateau, where there is a mixture of desert forms, such as the gazelle and the wild ass, with palasarctic types like the wild cat, the wolf, and the Syrian bear ; 3, southern Persia, where the desert and Indian types pre- vail. It is in this last region that the lion is found. In addition to those mentioned, the animals of the desert include the wild hog, fox, hare, jackal, hyaena, moufflon, and antelopes and deer in great variety. The wild ass, which is exceedingly shy and fleet, is a favorite object of pursuit by Persian huntsmen ; the moufflon is also hunted, as well as antelopes, which are usually pursued with the swift Persian grey- hound. Birds are by no means so rare as might be expected from the treeless character of much of the country. Pheasants are nu- merous N". of the Elburz range ; crows, mews, ducks, and cranes frequent the Caspian coast ; pelicans and bustards are found on the shores of the Persian gulf; and among the birds of the table land are enumerated the lammergey- er, owls, wild pigeons, snipe, sand grouse, par- tridges, jays, flycatchers, wrens, swallows, the raven, the magpie, the blackbird, and the true nightingale. But little is known of the her- petology or the insect life of Persia; there are leeches and snakes in the Caspian prov- inces, immense swarms of locusts occasionally pass over the plains of the plateau, and the vicinity of Persepolis abounds with dragon flies and butterflies. The rivers contain few fish, although there are some fine trout streams in the mountains N. of Teheran, and valuable fish- eries are carried on upon the shores of the gulf and the Caspian. The common domestic animals of the country are the camel, cow, sheep, goat, ass, horse, and mule. The native horses are hardy and powerful, and the breed has been much improved by intermixture with the Arab. The Turcoman horses are larger and stronger, and are remarkable for their powers of endurance ; some of them will carry their riders for a week together at the rate of 100 miles a day. In the hot and arid desert camels are preferred as beasts of burden, though mules are much used among the mountainous regions. The population of Persia has never been actually enumerated, but is estimated at about 5,000,000, consisting of 1,000,000 towns- people, 1,500,000 nomads, and 2,500,000 vil- lagers. The principal cities are Teheran (pop. 120,000), the present capital of the country; Tabriz (120,000), the capital of Azerbijan and