CLIMATE. The winter cold is intense on the high tableland. The summers are very warm, but there is little humidity. and the dry, clear heat is temperate compared with that of North ern India. On the other hand. the air is damp and relaxing in the forest-covered lowlands of the Caspian, and the southern maritime tracts are very dry and hot at most seasons. Spring and autumn are the most enjoyable parts of the year. The average annual rainfall perhaps does not exceed 10 inches in any part of the country excepting along the Caspian, where the lowland Caspian provinces have a rainfall about five times greater than that of the highlands. The soils, composed of a mixture of sandstone, lime stone, and volcanic &Jai,: washed down from the mountain slopes, are very productive.
EtonA. As Persia i, a land of transition he twee!' Eastern Asia and the Western World, it, flora partakes of the character of the surround ing lands. The zones of vegetation succeed one another quite abruptly. Polar species, for ex ample, are found on the higher summits of the north, while wheat is cultivated at heights of 9000 feet, and rice and the fruits of Southern Europe thrive on the neighboring lowland,. Except on the Caspian seaboard, the Persian flora is pour in varieties. Over most of the plateau the konar tree, oyprus, dwarf oak, wal nut, and mulberry are almost the only timber en countered. But the rielt humid valleys of the Caspian belt and the lower slopes of the Elburz produce timbers of great ineluding the oak, ash, beech, elm, alder, birch, sycamore, cherry, and thorn. In the same region the fruits
of Europe and of Asia meet and are grown in great variety. Among the niedieinal products are gum tragacanth, g11111 arabic, asaketida, and seV eral others; indigo, henna. madder rout, sal1•run. gall nuts. and other dyestuffs are also valuable products. The rose is preeminent among flowers and attar of roses is among the famous produc t huts, The animals of Persia differ little from those of the neighboring lands. In the forests of the Caspian plain are the hare, fox, wolf, hyena, jackal, leopard, tiger, lynx, and wild hoar. On the mountains are seen the ibex, moun tain sheep, wild goat, antelope, and bear. The maneless lion sometimes attacks human beings, but preys chiefly on the wild boar. Although the Persian fauna is poor in number of Species, the reptiles, espec•intlly lizards, are represented by many varieties. Owing to the general aridity of the land, snails and other land mollusks are nowhere found. The domestic animals include line horses and mules, single-hump camels. sheep of the fat-tailed species yielding a tine quality of wool, dogs, and several species of falcon, that are trained for the chase.