'GAZETTEER OF PERSIA. VOLUME II' [‎170v] (345/706)

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KHftR
winter months there are usually clouds about, or else haze and mist.
Snow will not lie except on the hills, and even there it rapidly disappears,
except on the highest peaks.
The soil, as might be expected in places so close to the salt desert, is
salty, and the waters of many of the streams are brackish. The streams
contain as a rule small fish, and many of them small shells resembling
dwarf mussels, and exactly similar to those found on the seashore.
The date tree and the tamarisk are the principal trees and there are
also pomegranate and bitter oranges and limes. The date trees grow in
immense numbers, and give a pleasing and verdant appearance to the
towns even in the depths of winter. ;
A curious feature of the country is the warmth of the springs.
The Governor of the district in 1890 was Mirza Had! Hunar, the nephew
of Mirza Ibrahim, ‘ Yaghmd \ He is a man of about 40 years of age, has
read a great deal, and was most kind to us during our stay at Khur, where
he resides. He is friendly and ■well disposed towards the English.
The revenue of the district is 1,500 tumdns, of which about three-fifths
is raised on date-trees alone, and the remainder on camels, crops, etc.
The population numbers 10,000 ; they are chiefly occupied in camel
driving, tending flocks of sheep and goats, mining, and charcoal burning.
Supplies .—Cows 100, sheep 12,000 and goats 8,000. Fowls, eggs, flour,
dried dates, and bhtisd in large quantities. Firewood is everywhere abun
dant from low-lying swamps and from the ravines in the hills.
Transport usually 2,000 camels, but last year’s drought (1889) killed
1 , 000 , about 20 horses, 2 mules and 1,000 donkeys.
There is said to be considerable mineral wealth in the hills. In those -
near Bayaha to the north-west of i he Gudar-i-Surkh lead ore abounds,
from which 30 per cent, of the pure metal is extracted by a most primi
tive arrangement. ‘ Zag-i-Safld ’ (alum) is found in large quantities close
to the same town, and, when mixed with pulp from the rind of the pome
granate, forms a deep and indelible black, which is used for dyeing clothes.
The redness of many of the hills would appear to indicate the presence
of iron, and there are ancient copper works at Ab-i-Garm.— (Vaughan,
1890.)
KHUR (1)— Lat. 33° 47'; Elev. 2,655'.
The chief town of the Khur district, and on the direct road from Yazd
to Damghan. It contains about 600 houses, and is surrounded by date-
tree plantations 2J miles in length and from | to f mile in breadth. The
revenue of the town is 250 tumdns, of which 200 are raised on trees and the <
remainder on various other things. It is watered by five good handt
streams containing fish and by five hauz. There is swampy ground to the
north, north-east, and north-west of the town, which commences in a
watercourse near Chah Malik, and continues on past FarukhI until it
joins the great lavir on the east of the town. The banks of this creek or
inlet are in many places covered with a dense growth of tamarisk, which
forms excellent firewood. The town is situated low down on an open
slope descending from the Kuh Chastab, and is completely commanded
by a low chain of hillocks to the south at a distance of 1,200 yards. There