rounding Yezd.
Unluckily, the rains are now neither frequent nor abundant, and the land
has in consequence been suffering severely from want of water. Snow falls
in winter and to a great extent feeds the whole water supply of Yezd and
its neighbourhood. It is not surprising, therefore, that more than
three-quarters of the province of Yezd is barren land, cultivation being
under the circumstances absolutely out of the question. Some portions of
the province, however, where water is obtainable are quite fertile.

Towards the west the hills show some signs of vegetation, mainly fruit
trees. But nothing larger than a bush grows wild, if we except occasional
stunted fig-trees. Surrounded by mountains as Yezd is, there are two
different climates close at hand: that of the "Kohestan" or hills,
temperate in summer but piercing cold in winter, and the other, much
warmer, of the low-lying land. In the eastern lowlands the summer heat is
excessive, in autumn just bearable, and in the spring the climate is
quite delightful. In all seasons, however, with few exceptions, it is
generally dry and always healthy and pure.

Where some moisture is obtainable the soil is very fertile and is
cultivated by the natives. The chief cultivated products are wheat,
barley, and other cereals, cotton, opium, and tobacco. The vine
flourishes near Yezd, and the wines used by the Parsees are not
unpalatable. Mulberries are cultivated in large quantities. Silk is
probably the most important product of the Yezd district. Wild game is
said to be plentiful on the mountains. With the exception of salt, the
mineral products of the district are insignificant.

Yezd is a great trading centre, partly owing to its geographical
position, partly because its inhabitants are very go-ahead and
enterprising. Yezd men are great travellers and possess good business
heads. They go across the salt desert to Khorassan and Afghanistan, and
they trade, with India principally, via Kerman, Bandar Abbas, and Lingah,
and also to a small extent via Sistan. Previously the trade went entirely
by Shiraz and Bushire, but now that road is very unsafe, owing to
robbers. Yezd traders travel even much further afield, as far as China,
India, Java. During my short stay I met quite a number of people who had
visited Bombay, Calcutta, Russia, Bokhara, and Turkestan.

The settled population of Yezd consists mostly of Shia Mahommedans, the
descendants of the ancient Persian race, with an in