.over, tWs btly fubftsnuejmakfis fo ftrong ;a; confifteacy ;as by degrees al-
moft to clofe'the mouth of the fpring; fometiimesit is quite doled,' and
forms; hillocks that look, as black as pitch* but the fpring, which is re-
fifted in one place, breaks out in another-.- Some of the fprin-gs which
hate notnheen long, opened
meter*
“ f h e people carry,the napthaby troughs into pits orr-efervoirS, drawing^
it off from one to another, leaving in the firft refcrvpir -the water,
or the heavier part- with which it is mixed’when it iffuesfrdm the fpring.
It is unpleafant to the fmell, and ufed moftfy amongfl; thepoorer .fort of
the Perfians, and other neighbouring people, as we ufc oil-in lamps, or
to boil their .victuals, but it communicates a difagreeabie tafte. ■ ’They
find it burn beft with a final! mixture of aflies : as they find it in gieat
abundance, every family is well fupplied. f They keep it at a finaJI dil-
tance from their Iroufes, in earthen veffels, -underground, to prevent
any accident by fire, of which it is extremely fufcepriblb.* ; |g j
“ T^ef^ris aWo a. whifenaptha on the penin-fulh of Apcherdh,^ a
hmch thinner eonfiftency; but this is-found only in-fmall quantities.
TheRuffians drink it both as a cordial and a medicine * - but it does mbt
intoxicate : if takenintemaHy it is faid to be good for the ftdne,- as:alfo
for diforders bf the bfeaft, airdrin- venereal cafes atidTore heads ; ’ to both
the laft the Perfians are very fubjedt. Externally applied, it is of great
ufe in fcorbutic pains, 'gouts, cramps, &c., -but it mull be put to the
part' affeaid' bhly; if penetrated inftantaneoufly into the blood, and’ is
apt for a fliort time ;to create great pain. It has /alfo the property, of
fpirits of wine to take out grealf fpots in filks of • woollens'; but the remedy
is worfe. than the difeafe, for it leaves an abominable odour.
They fay if is Carried into India as a great rarity,’ and being prepared
as a japan, is the mdfi'beautiful and lafting of any that; has been yet
found. Not'far from hence' a’re alfo fprings.of hot water, which boil
up in the fame manner as; the naptha, and very thick, being impregnated
with a. blue clay ; but it foon clarifies. Bathing in this warm
water.is found to ftrengthen and procure a good appetite, efpecially if
a fmall quantity if’alfo drunk.” 16
,c Hanway, i. 263, See.
:The
The juftLy celebrated .K^smpferf had vifited thefe remarkable fprings'
in the end of the;feyenteent^h•.■eentlifyi.■,7 and Gmelin, in the eighteenth
eenfury, 1^ 73. has a,dcjeductile,{to the ,^c+cotunt^ fof Hanway; except
that the faikifr a coariVmari, mipced with, fand; and effervescing \vith
aeids. ® p iere are.marty» other wells' in an adjoining peninfula; and
the. revenue arifing from this uncommon product fo the khan of Baku
was computed at fatty thoufan^Tu^eS!^'
The few Perfian ifles in th'e'f foqthern''gulf, .among which the moft
remarkable are Qrmuz, once famous, ,npwt abandoned ;■ Kifhma ; and
towards the other extremity Karek, from which the- Dutch were expelled
in 1765, do not merit a particular defeription in a work of this
nature ; and far lefs thofe in the Gafpian fea, the chief of which are on
thu.coaff- qf tfoepUzbeks.. s 1
• E x e t . ** Dee. des-Ruffes, ii, 213:
3 »
N a tu ra l
C u r io s i- ;
. T1?S.
Ifles.
VOL . I I ,