gers and toes come
next. Birth-marks are very common--especially very large black moles on
the face and body.
Persian ears are very seldom beautiful. They are generally more or less
malformed and somewhat coarse in modelling, although they seem to answer
pretty well the purpose for which they are created. But although the
hearing is very good in a general sense, I found that the Persian, of
either sex, had great difficulty in differentiating very fine modulations
of sounds, and this is probably due to the under-development or
degeneration of the auricular organ, just the same as in the ears of
purely Anglo-Saxon races.
To an observant eye, to my mind, there is no part of people's anatomy
that shows character and refinement more plainly than the ear. Much more
delicate in texture than the hands or feet, the ear is, on the other
hand, less subject to misleading modifications by artificial causes which
are bound to affect the other extremities.
The ear of a Persian is, in the greater percentage of cases, the ear of a
degenerate. It is coarse and lumpy, and somewhat shapeless, with animal
qualities strongly marked in it. Occasionally one does come across a good
ear in Persia, but very rarely.
Similar remarks might apply to teeth. When young, men and women have good
teeth, of fairly good shape and length, and frequently so very firmly set
in their sockets as to allow their possessors to lift heavy weights with
them, pulling ropes tight, etc., when the strength of the hands is not
sufficient. One frequently notices, however, irregularity, or additional
teeth--caused again by intermixture of race--the upper teeth not fitting
properly the lower ones, and causing undue friction, early injury to the
enamel, and consequent decay. This is also greatly intensified by the
unhealthy state of Persian blood, especially in people inhabiting the
cities, where the worst of venereal complaints has crept in a more or
less virulent form into the greater part of the population. Add to this,
a disorganized digestion, coloration by constant smoking, and the injury
to the enamel brought on by the great consumption of sugary stuff; and if
one marvels at all it is that Persian teeth are as good and serviceable
as they are to a fair age.
Native Persian dentistry is not in a very advanced stage. With the
exception of extraction by primitive and painful methods, nothing
efficient is done to arrest the progress of decay.
The Persian nose i
|