the low lying parts are not cold in winter, but the elevated regions (far the larger portion of it) are swept by piercing winds in winter,

500. MOUNTAINS

AND PLATEAUS. The Elburz mountains run east and west across the north of Persia: the highest point, Demavend, is 18,464 feet altitude.

The north-west of Persia, comprising part of ancient Armenia, is a mountainous and generally elevated country; Ararat is at its north-west corner.

The whole of eastern Persia and part of central Persia forms the main portion of the table-land of Aria, whence the Aryan nations are supposed to have spread eastwards and westwards. It is a plateau 3,000-4,000 feet above the sea, a salt desert, with scattered oases where there is water, otherwise uninhabited. The narrow tract between the Elburz and the Caspian lies low and is moist and hot, quite unlike the rest of Persia, growing rice and the sugar

cane.

501. RIVERS, None of any magnitude. The streams of Persia are often dried up, and their water seldom reaches the sea.

502. COMMUNICATIONS. There are no roads in Persia. The communication over the greater part of it is by caravans of camels which travel from one oasis to the next. The principal trade route from Herat is continued to Tabreez in Armenia. By this route from the most ancient times the products of India have reached the Black Sea and Europe.

503. RACES OF MEN, The population of Persia is supposed equally divided between the Persians proper and the tribes. The Persians proper are descendants of the ancient Aryan Persians, but with much Mongolian and some Tartar admixture. The tribes are nomadic, but it is supposed nearly half of them no longer live in tents but have settled habitations. They are Turcomans of various Mongolian races, and some Arabs, especially near the Persian Gulf.

504. ANIMALS. Persia possesses excellent camels, horses, asses, and mules: and among wild animals, the lion, leopard, hyena, wild ass, and many antelopes.

505. PLANTS. The east and centre of Persia is nearly treeless. The region near the Persian Gulf produces excellent dates. The Elburz mountains are rich in wild plants, and at their base are found the peach, plum, pear, apricot, cherry, and many other fruits apparently wild; whence this region has been often described as that whence the world has received many fruits; but this is not certain.

506. DIVISIONS. Persia is divided for administrative purposes into eight Governments; but may be divided into four principal physical divisions, viz:

(1) The Great Desert Plateau which occupies the east and centre of the country. Small portions of this adjacent to the Elburz are wooded,

(2) The district near the Persian Gulf, of which Fars (a corruption of Paras, i.e. Persia) is the central province. This is much moister, and less desert. Shiraz, the capital of Fars, has been celebrated for its wine, rose-water, and tobacco, but is now a small town.

(3) The damp low hot malarious tracts between the Caspian and the Elburz, where the vegetation attains almost Indian luxuriance.

(4) Armenia and the mountainous country on the west of Persia, a healthy and well-wooded region; but much of it elevated land with an extreme climate, intensely hot in summer, and two months snow in winter.

507. TOWNS. (1) Tabreez, in Armenia, estimated to contain more than 100,000 inhabitants.

(2) Mushed, on the route between Herat and Astrabad, supposed to contain 100,000 inhabitants.

(3) Teheran, population 80,000; the present capital, south of the Elburz.

(4) Ispahan, population 100,000; a former capital.

Sect. XXXI. ARABIA.

508. EXTENT. Arabia is as large as all Europe exclusive of Russia and Scandinavia, but contains less people than Belgium.

509. BOUNDARIES. Arabia is bounded on the West by the Isthmus of Suez, the Gulf of Suez, and the Red Sea ; on the South by the Indian Ocean; on the East by the Indian Ocean, the Persian Gulf, and the Lower Euphrates; on the North by Asiatic Turkey, the boundary being a line not fixed in the Desert.

510. STRAITS. Babel-Mandeb, leading from the Indian Ocean into the Red Sea: Ormuz, leading from the Indian Ocean into the Persian Gulf, named from Ormuz, a small island in the Straits.

511. CLIMATE. Arabia is wholly within the Western Desert of Asia (which is in reality a portion of the Northern Desert of Africa). It is intensely dry and burning hot. The higher ground is very hot in summer, though liable to frost in winter.

512. MOUNTAINS AND PLAINS. Arabia is generally rocky and mountainous: at a short distance from the coast on all sides the country rapidly rises to the vast central plateau which occupies the whole interior of Arabia. The highest part of this plateau is near the southern sea-coast, where it is 6,000 feet high; from this ridge it slopes northwards, the centre of Arabia, called Nejd, being about 3,000 feet above sea level. The northern part of Arabia is lower and flatter, a more sandy desert.

In the peninsula of Sinai, at the head of the Red Sea, is Mount Sinai, altitude 7,000 feet.

513. RIVERS. None of any size. Most Arabian watercourses are dry, except occasionally after storms.

514. ANIMALS AND PLANTS. The camel, horse, and ass are considered to attain their utmost perfection in Arabia. Dates also attain perfection, and form a material portion of the food of the people. Coffee is largely culti

vated near the south coast. There is nothing approaching a forest in all Arabia.

515. RACES OF MEN. The Arabians belong to the Shemitic branch of the Caucasian race. Their language, Arabic, is allied to Hebrew. Their religion is Muhammadan.

A large portion of the Arabs are still nomadic, commonly known as Bedouins.

516. DIVISIONS. Arabia has no political existence: the western coast is more or less under the control of the Turks. Elsewhere, each chief or sultan rules as far as he can. The principal is the Sultan of Muscat, on the southeast coast; another is the Sultan of Mocha, on the southern coast.

Treating the country in natural divisions we have

(1) The Coast: a narrow strip on the southern coast called Arabia Felix produces dates and coffee; the strip on the south-east coast called Muscat also produces dates; the coast of the Red Sea is more barren, but has some population.

(2) The high Table-land, 3,000-6,000 feet in the centre of the southern part of Arabia, an enormous tract, is almost totally Desert and uninhabited.

(3) Nejd, the Centre of the country, elevated 2,0003.000 feet above the sea, contains many oases and fertile valleys, with some water. This is essentially Arabia, and contains some millions of inhabitants.

(4) The Northern Desert, sandy and very hot; nearly uninhabited, but much less impracticable than the southern high plateau, water being more frequently to be got.

(5) Aden, a small peninsula at the southernmost point (with Perim, an island in the Strait of Babel-Mandeb) is an English possession, occupied by English soldiers, and is a coaling station on the overland route to India,

517. TOWNS. Muscat, population 60,000, a port, is the largest town in Arabia.

Mecca, population 30,000, the birth-place of Mahomet. Medina, the burial-place of Mahomet; a very small town.

Sect. XXXII. AFRICA.

518. EXTENT. Africa is more than thrice the size of Europe. Its population is guessed to be much less.

519. BOUNDARIES. Africa is bounded on the North by the Mediterranean; on the West by the Atlantic; on the South by the Great Southern Ocean; on the East by the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea, the Gulf of Suez and the Isthmus of Suez.

If we take the Suez Canal as the physical boundary of Africa, we shall make it an island with natural boundaries altogether; but the Suez Canal is not exactly the eastern boundary of the Egyptian Government.

520. ATTACHED ISLANDS. (1) Madagascar.

(2) Mauritius, Bourbon, the Seychelles, and some smaller islets.

(3) The ocean islands of St. Helena and Ascension.

(4) The islands off Cape de Verde, shortly called the Verdes.

(5) The three groups of Macaronesia, viz :

(a) The Canaries, (6) Madeira, with adjoining islets, and (c), the Azores, or Western Isles.

521. CLIMATE. Africa is the most tropical of the continents; five-sixths of its area comes vertically under the sun; and the remainder is all included within the warmtemperate zone.

Africa is also dry. The whole northern half is either Desert or desert in character, that is to say, intensely dry. The southern part without the tropic is also dry, suffering from droughts, and sometimes desert in character.

But the central and south-central portion of Africa from 10° N.L. to 15° S.L. is very different, subject to tropical rains. The greater portion of this area is as yet unvisited by any European, but it is certain that the whole of it is abundantly moist; indeed, the portion immediately north of the equator has been inferred to consist of dense dripping jungle. However this may be, it is certain that the centre