'GAZETTEER OF PERSIA. VOL. III.' [‎158r] (320/982)

found in the articles on Bushire, Boraxjun, Dalald Kamarij and Kazarun.
Of the district between Bushire and Jehrum, Stotherd (1893) writes:—
“ It is very hot here from May to September and during the winter the cold
cannot be excessive, as the date palm flourishes nearly everywhere in this
region. The nights are cool; in fact there is a most remarkable difference
in temperature between day and n : ght, the highest day temperature, I ob
served, was 112° in the shade (this w T as near the coast), the nights temperature
being 69°. The prevailing wind during May and June was north-west, warm
and irregular in force. When it blows with any strength it raises dense
clouds of dust. It always dropped about sunset, the peculiarity of it being
that the farther inland we removed, the later in the day it seemed to get
up. There are swarms of the common fly during the hot weather, which are
rather troublesome, and in some places transport animals suffer from
gadflies which are very large and venomous. Mosquitoes are not so numerous.
Topography .—The principal modern places are :—on the north, Deh-BId,
Abadeh; on the east, Darab, Fasa, Niriz ; on the south, Jehrum, Firuzabad ;
on the west, Bushire, Borazjun, Kazarun and Behbehan ; and in the centre
Shiraz. From the articles on these places, a better idea will be obtained of
the details of the various parts of Fars than it is possible to convey in one
single and comprehensive description of so large and widely varying an
area. The sea ports comprise Bandar Dilam, Bandar Rig, Bushiie, Daiyir
and Tahiri.
Administration. —Fars, as mentioned before, is an appanage of the royal
crown, and is generally ruled by a member of the royal family under the
title of Governor-General of Fars. His jurisdiction does not, however, extend
over Behbehan which has a Governor of its own, nor over some of the coast
districts geographically included in Fars, which are administratively subject
to the Governor of the Gulf Ports. The prince-royal appointed to the pro
vince is often little more than a nominal ruler, and does not always find it an
easy matter to pay into the royal treasury the sum insisted on, or even vo
luntarily offered in return for the appointment. The Governor-General
resides at Shiraz (or Isfahan) and rules his province by farming out parts of
it to various local rulers, who, in their turn, farm out their districts in y t
smaller portions. Towards the south, especially, the jurisdiction of the Gov
ernment of Fars is interspersed with that of the Government of the Gulf Ports
and of Behbehan (which both have separate Governments) in a bewildering
and apparently inconsequent manner. In many places also the authority
of the Governor is encroached upon in a piece-meal fashion by leases of the
land-revenue in favour of high Persian dignitaries, which carry with them the
right to exercise certain executive powers ; and everywhere the jurisdiction
of the Governor is honeycombed with minor and semi-independent jurisdic
tions of local hereditary Khans and Shaikhs. In some parts it appears
impossible to determine whether the representative of the central govern
ment, or of the lessee of the revenue, or of the petty local chieftain actually
predominates.
Of the climate between Jehrum and Niriz Stotherd says
" The climate appears healthy, but hotter during the summer months than
might be expected at an elevation of 5,000 feet. This is due doubtless
to the absence of trees and vegetation and the paucity of water. The ther-
112 I.B.