e stamped and hand-drawn _kalamkars_ in stringent colours upon white
cotton also find their way in large quantities to Europe, but are more
quaint than beautiful. Large and ill-proportioned figures are frequently
attempted in these designs. When of truly Persian manufacture the colours
are said to be quite permanent under the action of both light and water.

The firm of Hotz and Son deals in well-nigh everything, and has made good
headway of late years. It has large establishments at Isfahan, Shiraz and
Bushire, and two agencies, one at Ahwaz on the Karun River, and one in
Teheran (Groeneweg, Dunlop, and Co.); while it has correspondents in
Bagdad, Busrah, Hongkong and Rotterdam, the head offices being in London.
Its carpet manufacturing business in Sultanabad is now carried on by the
Persian Manufacturing Co. The exports are similar to those of Ziegler and
Co.

There are also smaller firms, particularly in Teheran, such as the Toko,
Virion, and others who do a retail business in piece goods and articles
of any kind, and are entirely in the hands of foreigners, Belgians,
Austrians, and French. Without reference to statistics, which are
absolutely worthless in a country like Persia, the yearly foreign trade
of Persia, divided between the Gulf ports and the north and north-western
and south-western frontiers, may be put down roughly at some nine or ten
millions sterling.

The Russian trade in the north may be considered as about equal to the
British in the south. Then there are the goods brought by the
Trebizonde-Tabriz trade route from Turkey and the Mediterranean, and by
the Bagdad-Kermanshah, another very important route.

The extravagant system of farming prevailing until quite lately in
Persia, as well as the uncertainties of Customs and revenue returns,
makes it difficult to give trustworthy figures; but in future, probably
this year, we may expect some more reliable data from the new Belgian
customs office, a really sensible and well-managed administration
organised by Monsieur Naus, who is, indeed, to be congratulated on the
success with which his efforts at bringing about so radical a reform in
the system of collecting duties have in so short a time been crowned. We
often hear in England that the Customs of Persia are absolutely in the
hands of Russia, and are worked by Russian officials. Even serious papers
like _The Times_ publish misleading statements of this kind, but nothing
could be more erroneous. M. Na