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which the animals make, when caparisoned for riding, with the rider in sheep-skins upon their backs, seemed very comical to me. The natives pay much attention to the comforts of their buffaloes, as they do indeed of all their domestic animals. They are liable to a disorder in the skin, to prevent which it is necessary to keep them clean, and they are therefore often bathed, particularly in warm weather. They are driven. into the water, where they stand, while the men throw the water over them with hollow wooden shovels, till they are thoroughly wetted. Then the men take rough stones in their hands and give them a good scrubbing all over. The buffaloes seem highly to enjoy this part of the business, during which they stand perfectly still, but snort and sniff with the utmost satisfaction. Indeed they delight to be in the water in hot weather, and the only obstinacy of which I know them to be guilty is when the men wish them to get out again. Sometimes, when it is necessary that they should cross a ford, they will stop in the middle, and nothing the men can do will make them move for hours together.

F. If buffaloes are so strong, I wonder they are not brought to this country and made to work.

U. O. They are common in many parts of Europe, and I see no reason why they might not thrive in this country. But I do not wonder that they are not introduced, any more than I do that the elephant is not. Our numerous improvements render animal strength of less value than in most other countries, unless when combined with vigour and swiftness, as in the horse. The buffalo might, however, be useful in agriculture and in dragging heavy waggons. But you will recollect that the people of the East have no carthorses, which I consider one of the most magnificent and useful animals of the world. The carthorse is as a buffalo to us; and the buffalo is as a cart-horse to the people of the East.

Next comes the sheep. What have I say to about the sheep?-These animals are very numerous in Persia, as they furnish almost the only animal food which the people use. The mutton is very good, though the sheep are killed just as they happen to be wanted; for the Persians have no idea of feeding animals for slaughter. The sheep are of what is called the fat-tailed species; that is, the tail is loaded on each side with an enormous mass of fat in the shape of a heart, which sometimes weighs so much as thirty

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pounds, and often appears as a great incumbrance to the animal. The fat is soft and marrowy, and forms a dish which is much admired in Persia, and I myself used to like it when boiled with rice.. It is much used in cooking as a substitute for lard and butter, and it is also employed for burning in lamps.

The skins of sheep are much used by the Perşians in their dresses. Most of the people wear caps made of the skin of lambs or sheep, with the wool outside; and thus they also line their winter dresses. The finer skins, however, and those most generally used for caps, are obtained from a peculiar kind of sheep in the eastern parts of Persia. It is below the usual size, and has a tail less broad than the common Persian sheep. The fleece consists of fine spirally curled wool, generally of a gray colour, or white and black mixed; but it is often perfectly black, which is the colour which the people best like for caps. The best skins are those from the youngest animals, and they are very beautiful indeed, the fleece lying in short, smooth and glossy curls, and looking like damask. In order to get the finest sorts, the lamb is killed as soon as it is born.

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