and of a few other places, Persia Proper seems to have been rightly
characterized in ancient times as "a scant land and a rugged." Its area
was less than a fifth of the area of modern Persia; and of this space
nearly one half was uninhabitable, consisting either of barren stony
mountain or of scorching sandy plain, ill supplied with water and often
impregnated with salt. Its products, consequently, can have been at no
time either very abundant or very varied. Anciently, the low coast tract
seems to have been cultivated to a small extent in corn, and to have
produced good dates and a few other fruits. The mountain region was, as
we have seen, celebrated for its excellent pastures, for its abundant
fruits, and especially for its grapes. Within the mountains, on the
high plateau, assafoetida (silphium) was found, and probably some other
medicinal herbs. Corn, no doubt, could be grown largely in the plains
and valleys of the mountain tract, as well as on the plateau, so far as
the _kanats_ carried the water. There must have been, on the whole, a
deficiency of timber, though the palms of the low tract, and the oaks,
planes, chenars or sycamores, poplars, and willows of the mountain
regions sufficed for the wants of the natives. Not much fuel was
required, and stone was the general material used for building. Among
the fruits for which Persia was famous are especially noted the peach,
the walnut, and the citron. The walnut bore among the Romans the
appellation of "royal."

Persia, like Media, was a good nursery for horses. Fine grazing grounds
existed in many parts of the mountain region, and for horses of the Arab
breed even the Deshtistan was not unsuited. Camels were reared in some
places, and sheep and goats were numerous. Horned cattle were probably
not so abundant, as the character of the country is not favorable
for them. Game existed in large quantities, the lakes abounding with
water-fowl, such as ducks, teal, heron, snipe, etc.; and the wooded