gn, are, and what they amount to;
there is also a manufacture of glazed tiles, quite artistic, but not to
be compared in beauty of design, colour and gloss with the ancient ones.
Teheran is dependent on the neighbouring provinces and Europe for nearly
everything.

This is not, however, the case with Isfahan, the ancient capital, in the
province of which cotton, wheat, Indian corn, tobacco and opium are grown
in fair quantities, the last-named for export. Mules and horses are
reared, and there are several flourishing industries, such as
carpet-making, metal work, leather tanneries, gold and silver work, and
silk and wool fabrics.

To the east we have Khorassan and Sistan, a great wheat-growing country
with some good pastures, and also producing opium, sugar-cane, dates and
cotton. In summer the northerly winds sweeping over the desert are
unbearable, and the winter is intensely cold. In the northern part of
Khorassan snow falls during the coldest months, but in Sistan the winter
is temperate. Life is extremely cheap for natives in Sistan, which is a
favourite resort for camel men and their beasts, both from Afghanistan
and Beluchistan. Northern Khorassan is the great centre of turquoise
mining; copper and coal are also found there, but its local trade, now
that the export of grain is forbidden, is mostly in opium, worked
leather, wool and excellent horses, which can be purchased for very
little money. Camels, both loading and riding (or fast-going camels) are
also reared here in the southern portion of the province, the northern
part being too cold for them in winter.

The handsomest and richest districts of Persia, but not the healthiest,
are undoubtedly the northern ones on the Caspian Sea, or bordering on
Russian territory, such as Mazanderan, Astrabad, and Azerbaijan. In the
first two, rice is grown in large quantities, castor-oil, wheat, cotton
and barley; and in Mazanderan extensive pasturages are found on the hills
for sheep; but not so in Astrabad, which, owing to its peculiar
formation, is exposed to broiling heat on the sandy wastes, and to
terrific cold on the mountains, but has a fairly temperate climate in the
southern portion of the province. These--if the production of silk is
excepted--are mostly agricultural districts. At one time Mazanderan had
beautiful forests which are now fast being destroyed. Considerable
bartering is carried on between the towns and the nomad tribes, in rugs,
carpets, horses an