eat the leaves of box, though to them a rank poifori. Camels are exported
from Perfia to Turkey, having, .according to. Chardin, only one
hunch, while thofe :q £ India and Arabia have tvvo. The fwifteft-mail,
be the dromedary of the ancients, as the name imports. The Perfian
cattle refemble the European,-.except towards Hindoffan, where they
'are marked by the-hunch, on the fhoulders.. |Swine are fcarce, Ifave in
the N. W. provinces. Of the large tailed fheep that appendage foinctimes
weighs more than thirty pounds, enlarging at the bottom in the., form
of a heart. The flocks are moft numerous in the northern provinces o f
Erivan, or the Pcrfian part of Armenia, and Balk. The few forefts
■contain- abundance of deer and antelopes; while- the mountains jxrefent
wild goats, and probably the ibex, or rock goat. Hares arg).eopim#i
in the numerous waftes. The ferocious animals are chiefly: concealed:
in the forefts, as the bear and boar, the lion hafthe weftem parts, with
the leopard, and, according to fome accounts, the Email, or common
tiger. Seals occur on the rocks of the Cafpian. ! Zimmerman mentionsr
the ounce as known in Mazendran, and the .wild afs in the central
deferts. The hyena and chackal belong to the fouthera ,proyLnqe$.
The feas abound with fifti of various defcriptions ; the Cafpian difplays
fturgeon, and fome kindred fpecies, .with a fat and delicious kind: of
carp. The moft common river fi£h feems {he barbell; strouts are,only
found in Erivan. Chardin obferves that pigeons are particularly numerous;
and the partridges are the largeft and molt excellfent he. ever
beheld. The boolbul, or oriental nightingale, enlivens theEprilmgwith.
his varied fong.
The Perfians have been long accuftomed to tame beaft-s of prey,, fo as
even to hunt with lions, tigers, leopards, panthers, and ounces.'3 The
hunter feems to run a rifque of becoming the prey. '
The mineralogy of thisextenfive country feems neither various nor
important, though the numerous mountains probably abound with unexplored
treafures. Chardin aflures us that there are no mines of gold
nor filver; but one of the latter metal was attempted in a mountain
called Shah-Koh, four leagues from Ifpahan,. and abandoned for want
of fuel. The lead, mines of Kerman and Yezd produce the- ufual mixture
*5 Chardin, iv. 94.
Of
of filver ; from whichleheiimflanc^ the Silver mountains of D’Anville. Moo6*1.*?#!
In theho’rthêfe prcwificTelTfifirl 'arehïapy" tfiih^'öfaröri,. metal '9Y‘
is'hasrfli tatód^h|ïttl$|jë Mitie$ ofë1' öthc&fbé'nrfëS^fin/'kre alfo
wrought in 'the{'fëme' wiÉfcful^Kïkl; that "thé
filingStwhen thnown onthe fire flarfh iikegunpöwilef. 1 ?Gbf>ger ishhilfly
fouild in the'moüntainslbf'Mizefi3Tah,frénd'Eté4ri0aft)tó,' np™ is.-brittle;
and commonly mibglèifïl^lÉ^tnfeherff^with a'.fWentiëth'Jpart of the
JapaneFe, or Swedifh. Thofe deïbéis in the metals probably- arife from'
wasnt i&f IkiH. •• • - r---
’ The only precious.1 ftone yet clifcovered feems to be the turkoife,
which has indeed aim oft eealed to be regarded as fuch, being only hoiié
erfcïvoryftin^d! wiihhöppér. 'Thête ard* J^VO '-rhmfeV-fif tfe'Tu&ftaribe'
one at Nifhapoür in Corafan, and
t-hétS. of 'the -Cafpian, in the mountain'called EeihzkohJ!*^eaflsvaBoundr,
as is'-weH-kUotvn, ‘in the 'Perfian !giii|’ '<-efp'eÜially 'neafthëTifls of Bahrin
on tHe ’Arabian fifte. ' '’Söine' w ill^ e j^ 'f if ty Vrafrrs ; but 'thofe ‘ afè
efteeroetl large which weigh fróm' ten fó twfilve'-grains!^* This'valued
pródubt Is by the Turks ahT Tatars' fa’lTed Unifying 'a
ghobe' of .fight / frbm which/'or' the 'P-êffiah' nWe Medan'S, ''“ fthe
offspring of light,” Was5 derived Marguerite, fhe ’ a^pÉlÉIfinyin -fóufherh '
Europe. | Thé-Pérfian ! merchants1 prefer the Emeralds fifJË^y pV which
they call Zmerud Award; from the 'town of Afiran, to th^feb^Ptri?5:
but Chardin, a jeVveilër, fufpéfits-Vhat- thèfe eme/alds were' óffly-lfaportèd
intO'Egypt, as''welf as the carbuncle, which hefuppofes'to- havè\%eén
.a high coloured ruby; «while t h e , l a t i n i z t e d jacinth? i&a’hrbwn ruby
from Ceylon. Blithe errSwidely wfienleSitfiagines thai? theruby'fialled-
talais came from Balacchan, ashame which'he aFcrifies tb,Pegu4;‘ tvh^e'iii
fa€t if > is theoprofluct of- the” mountains «of Bülüfeia/ot- Balk,, a£ Mirco
Polo has long ago'informed-us. A date intelligent traveller in Perfia.
fays that among the articles .Told5 in the bazars of Ifpahah ate-diamonds'
öf .Gblconda.:;ttubdes,, topazes, and -fapphires of - Pegu / emeralds of
Said, which is ,thef upper part of Egypt, or theThebais: and'^Ballay
rubies .from Bedakfhan, a Country between the rivets 'Gitibn and
Murgab, which allo produces'lapis’laizü-Ii, amianthus, and roek cryftaL’*
Owtciw1.1*èèsï*
; ; ' 0 Thus