Page 321 - 5 Persian Trade rep BUSHIRE I_Neat

REPORT

ON Tim
trade of the consular district of bushire
roit to*
PERSIAN FISCAL YEAR MARCH 21st, 1911, to MARCH 20th, 1912.

The area in Southern Persia, for which the port Among the chief characteristics of thoi-e dis­
t.W,M -1 Do- Of Boshire servos as a tricts it may be noted that the ground from
of distributing centre, falls IJu-hire to the mountains and along the littoral is
Bailuie. roughly into two divisions: uniformly flat—a great part of the soil being
la) The towns along the main caravan route up alluvial. Numerous watercourses from the moun­
to and including Ispahan (such as Shiraz, the tains find their way to the sea, full and often un-
nriucrpal centre, Kazerun, Abadeb) ; and the fordablc during the winter rains, but becoming
province of Fare generally : (5) The coast littoral, dry by the end of summer. The districts of
south of the first mountain range on the way to Iludbilloh and Shuboncara, situated on the banks
Shiraz, for a distance of more than 150 miles in of a broad stream, which floods the surrounding
length and embracing near the borders of Arabis- country in early spring, are more fertile than the
tan*the large town of Behbehan and its district. .others. The aspect of the country is very uni­
To merchants, generally, the markets of the form : level couutry, considerable portions of which
first named group are of more substantial impor­ are either loo sandy or too salt for cultivation, the
tance : but in recent years, when the prevailing remainder green with cultivation in winter and
insecurity and various other causes have adverse! v spring, and the whole parched brown the rest :-f the
affected busin-'ss in Shiraz and the markets of year: at intervals of every few miles villages
upland Pars, the consuming and productive power containing from 10 to 500 dwellings, bur most
cf the coa=t littoral has become of far greater averaging about 100, some built of dried mud
importance, and those importing agencies which bricks, hut a very large pro; ortion mat huts. The
have devoted themselves to this section of the head of the village usually resides in a fort of
country have done increasingly good business. mud construction. These villages have no shops :
The reason for this is to be sought in the very their marketing is all done from the seaports and
fiir security, good order, and increasing buying a few townships like Borazjan : pedlars, however,
powers, which have for some years characterized sell retail. The water supply is generally drawn
most of the coast districts south of the mountains. from wells. The majority of villages have consi­
These districts, which commercially are directly derable date plantations around them, the produce
of which is consumed by the villagers locally
dependent on Bui-hirc, are : —
except in the case of important date-growing’
To the East and South of Bushiro: — centres like Aliram and Khawiz in Tangistan, and
the district of Zirah, whence the date crop ia
Village*.
CbabVutah ao<l Tul-i-Siah about . 0 exported to a large extent. The livelihood of thfc
Borazjoa m . . *1 villagers of these districts depends as a rule on thei*
Taoglitaa m . . 41 crops of wheat and barley, most able-bodied men.
in each village cultivating two or more rcow* of
Daabti . n
To the North of Bushire *— land: on the date crop: on vegetable produce,
cultivated by well irrigation, and supplying not
Village*. only their own wants but taken into market at
IfigaE about . 8 Bushire and the smaller ports for local consump­
RudbXcb . IS tion and export in the Gulf: on crops of tobacco,
Sbahanca'.a . 3* cotton, millet, eta
Zirah. . IS Details as to the extent of grain production 4nd
Hajat Daoud . 28
Lirmwi . 2S quantities available for exp-ort are given further
on nndor the heading u Exports" ; u Wheat and
_ The population of tbo above may be estimated Barley."
little less than 100,000 persons, and possibly Those districts situated near the mountain* of
®ore. The district* centring round Bebbehan, in the valleys of the ranges beyond the littoral are
Kazerun and Firuzabad respectively,—all towns also productive of large quantities of Gum Insoln-
commercially dependent on Bushire, probably count bl#», of wild Berries and Oil-seeds and wild
4 total population of 50,000. Almond kernels, and draw supplies of clarified
The geographical boundaries between th^se butter ('roghan') from the pastoral village® at
«i*tricte are mostly indicated in natural features— the higher altitude*. a
*J,metime8 a watercourse, sometimes a river like the The needs of these tribesmen, drawn from tfie
ftudhilleh, or a low range of hills: in other case* bazar at Bushirc, are limited ahnost entirely to
have been artificially fixed by their ruler* in food and clothing supplies. Their house* of huts
generationa.
are not furnished, as the term is understood in