and dollars; Hamadan one hundred thousand; Bijar one
hundred and ten thousand; Malair one hundred thousand dollars; Kurdistan
fifty thousand; Fars seventy-five thousand; Kirman and Khorassan one
hundred thousand; and in the less known districts collectively, fifty
thousand dollars. The total of these figures classes the rug export in
the very first order of exports. It is plain that this amount does not
represent the full value of the manufacture, inasmuch as a great
quantity of the goods does not leave the country. This quantity is
perhaps small in comparison with that exported, but it is large enough
to make the value nearly a million dollars.

It may be of interest to mention here that the export duty on rugs on
the average is two and a half cents per square foot, and carriage to the
seaports ten cents per square foot, while the import duty to the United
States is forty per cent _ad valorem_ and the specific duty ten cents
per square foot.

[Illustration: KHORASSAN RUG

SIZE, 10 x 26

_This is a perfect example of a Meshhed rug. The capital city of
Khorassan has furnished many characteristic specimens of fine
handicraft, but none more representative or beautiful. Here, on a
splendid rich blue field, is the elongated palm leaf, with its markings
of magenta, red, and blue. These palm-leaf designs extend over the
entire rug, which is of enormous size. The border is in harmony with the
field, and in coloring has the same deep, rich hues. The texture is firm
and the rug is very heavy and imposing, with an air of solidity and
strength. The illustration shows a section of this rug, giving a clear
idea of its detail._

OWNED BY MRS. SYDNEY RICHMOND TABOR, LAKE FOREST, ILLINOIS.]

In Persia several firms have done a great deal in the way of encouraging
the industry of rug-weaving in that country. To supply the demand for
Persian rugs in Europe and America, these firms have erected buildings
in Sultanabad, where they keep the weavers under control and steadily
employed. These firms, having been long established, are conversant with
the Persians and their character; and to prevent any deception they pay
the weavers by the piece instead of by the day.

The rugs produced by these firms are of the medium quality. The wool is
bought in the rough and manipulated for use. Every day a quantity of it
is given out to the laborers, who must reproduce the design placed
before them, and each laborer is paid from two to four dollars