'Lord Curzon's Notes on Persia: About 1889-1890' [‎705v] (1431/1486)

12
the principal trade centres and the sea. Vehicular
traffic does not exist, nor is the country in many
places at all well suited for its introduction. This
is particularly the case in the belt of mountains
already referred to as everywhere surrounding the
upper plateau, and lying between it and the lower
plains, such as the valley of the Karun. A maximum
camel load may be taken as 450 lbs., a mule load as
300 lbs., and an ass load as 120 lbs. Each package
must consequently not exceed half those weights.
With such primitive means of carriage it is evident
that although good animals are abundant, the land
transport of merchandise must be very expensive, so
much so in fact, as to be altogether prohibitive in
the case of cheap bulky materials, except for very
short distances. But even in the case of more
valuable articles the cost of carriage at present stands
in an inordinately high proportion to the cost of pro
duction. Every mile therefore of land carriage that
can be saved is an appreciable gain to the commerce
of the country.
To estimate the gain in this respect which the
Karun route is capable of affording, it is necessary to
compare it with the existing routes between those
provinces which its navigation may affect and the
sea. Many districts may clearly be eliminated from
this comparison, as they lie altogether beyond the
sphere of the Karun. Kerman and South-eastern
Persia generally must continue to carry on their
foreign trade through the port of Bunder Abbas.
Ears, including its capital, Shiraz, will similarly con
tinue to trade exclusively with Bushire. Ghilan,.
Mazanderan, Asterabad, and part of Khorasan, must