Khorasan.[1] These southern deserts differ from the kavir of central Persia mainly in three respects: they are far less saline, are more sandy and drier, and present in some places tracts of 80 to 100 miles almost absolutely destitute of vegetation. Yet they are crossed by well-known tracks running from Kerman eastwards and north-eastwards to Seistan and Khorasan and frequently traversed by caravans. It appears that these sandy wastes are continually encroaching on the fertile districts, and this is the case even in Narmashir, which is being invaded by the sands of the desolate plains extending thence north-westwards to Bam. There are also some kefeh or salt swamps answering to the kavir in the north, but occurring only in isolated depressions and nowhere of any great extent. The desert of Kerman lies about 1000 ft., or less, above the sea, apparently on nearly the same level as the Lut, from which it cannot be geographically separated. The climate, which varies much with the relief of the land, has the reputation of being unhealthy, because the cool air from the hills is usually attended by chills and agues. Still many of the upland valleys enjoy a genial and healthy climate. The chief products are cotton, gums, dates of unrivalled flavour from the southern parts, and wool, noted for its extreme softness, and the soft underhair of goats (kurk), which latter are used in the manufacture of the Kerman shawls, which in delicacy of texture yield only to those of Kashmir, while often surpassing them in design, colour and finish. Besides woollen goods (shawls, carpets, &c.) Kerman exports mainly cotton, grain and dates, receiving in return from India cotton goods, tea, indigo, china, glass, sugar, &c. Wheat and barley are scarce. Bander Abbasi is the natural outport; but, since shipping has shown a preference for Bushire farther west, the trade of Kerman has greatly fallen off.
For administrative purposes the province is divided into nineteen districts, one being the capital of the same name with its immediate neighbourhood (humeh); the others are Akta and Urzu; Anar; Bam and Narmashir; Bardsir; Jiruft; Khabis; Khinaman; Kubenan (Kuhbanan); Kuhpayeh; Pariz; Rafsinjan; Rahbur; Raver; Rayin; Rudbar and Bashakird; Sardu; Sirjan; Zerend. The inhabitants number about 700,000, nearly one-third being nomads. (A. H.-S.)
KERMAN, capital of the above province, situated in 30° 17′ N., 56° 59′ E., at an elevation of 6100 ft. Its population is
estimated at 60,000, including about 2000 Zoroastrians, 100
Jews, and a few Shikarpuri Indians. Kerman has post and
telegraph offices (Indo-European Telegraph Department),
British and Russian consulates, and an agency of the Imperial
bank of Persia. The neighbouring districts produce little grain
and have to get their supplies for four or five months of the year
from districts far away. A traveller has stated that it was
easier to get a mann (6½ ℔) of saffron at Kerman than a mann
of barley for his horse, and in 1879 Sir A. Houtum-Schindler was
ordered by the authorities to curtail his excursions in the province
“because his horses and mules ate up all the stock.” Kerman
manufactures great quantities of carpets and felts, and its carpets
are almost unsurpassed for richness of texture and durability.
The old name of the city was Guvashir. Adjoining the city on
hills rising 400 to 500 ft. above the plain in the east are the ruins
of two ancient forts with walls built of sun-dried bricks on stone
foundations. Some of the walls are in perfect condition. Among
the mosques in the city two deserve special notice, one the Masjid
i Jama, a foundation of the Muzaffarid ruler Mubariz ed din
Mahommed dating from A.H. 1349, the other the Masjid i Malik
built by Malik Kaverd Seljuk (1041–1072).
KERMANSHAH, or Kermanshahan, an important province
of Persia, situated W. of Hamadan, N. of Luristan, and S. of
Kurdistan, and extending in the west to the Turkish frontier.
Its population is about 400,000, and it pays a yearly revenue of
over £20,000. Many of its inhabitants are nomadic Kurds and
Lurs who pay little taxes. The plains are well watered and very
fertile, while the hills are covered with rich pastures which support
large flocks of sheep and goats. The sheep provide a great
part of the meat supply of Teheran. The province also produces
much wheat and barley, and could supply great quantities for
export if the means of transport were better.
Kermanshah (Kermisin of Arab geographers), the capital of the province, is situated at an elevation of 5100 ft., in 34° 19′ N., and 46° 59′ E., about 220 m. from Bagdad, and 250 m. from Teheran. Although surrounded by fortifications with five gates and three miles in circuit, it is now practically an open town, for the walls are in ruins and the moat is choked with rubbish. It has a population of about 40,000. The town is situated on the high road between Teheran and Bagdad, and carries on a transit trade estimated in value at £750,000 per annum.
KERMES (Arab. qirmiz; see Crimson), a crimson dye-stuff,
now superseded by cochineal, obtained from Kermes ilicis
(= Coccus ilicis, Lat. = C. vermilio, G. Planchon). The genus
Kermes belongs to the Coccidae or Scale-insects, and its species
are common on oaks wherever they grow. The species from
which kermes is obtained is common in Spain, Italy and the
South of France and the Mediterranean basin generally, where
it feeds on Quercus coccifera, a small shrub. As in the case of
other scale-insects, the males are relatively small and are capable
of flight, while the females are wingless. The females of the
genus Kermes are remarkable for their gall-like form, and it was
not until 1714 that their animal nature was discovered.
In the month of May, when full grown, the females are globose, 6 to 7 millim. in diameter, of a reddish-brown colour, and covered with an ash-coloured powder. They are found attached to the twigs or buds by a circular lower surface 2 millim. in diameter, and surrounded by a narrow zone of white cottony down. At this time there are concealed under a cavity, formed by the approach of the abdominal wall of the insect to the dorsal one, thousands of eggs of a red colour, and smaller than poppy seed, which are protruded and ranged regularly beneath the insect. At the end of May or the beginning of June the young escape by a small orifice, near the point of attachment of the parent. They are then of a fine red colour, elliptic and convex in shape, but rounded at the two extremities, and bear two threads half as long as their body at their posterior extremity. At this period they are extremely active, and swarm with extraordinary rapidity all over the food plant, and in two or three days attach themselves to fissures in the bark or buds, but rarely to the leaves. In warm and dry summers the insects breed again in the months of August and September, according to Eméric, and then they are more frequently found attached to the leaves. Usually they remain immovable and apparently unaltered until the end of the succeeding March, when their bodies become gradually distended and lose all trace of abdominal rings. They then appear full of a reddish juice resembling discoloured blood. In this state, or when the eggs are ready to be extruded, the insects are collected. In some cases the insects from which the young are ready to escape are dried in the sun on linen cloths—care being taken to prevent the escape of the young from the cloths until they are dead. The young insects are then sifted from the shells, made into a paste with vinegar, and dried on skins exposed to the sun, and the paste packed in skins is then ready for exportation to the East under the name of “pâte d’écarlate.”
In the pharmacopoeia of the ancients kermes triturated with vinegar was used as an outward application, especially in wounds of the nerves. From the 9th to the 16th century this insect formed an ingredient in the “confectio alkermes,” a well known medicine, at one time official in the London pharmacopoeia as an astringent in doses of 20 to 60 grains or more. Syrup of kermes was also prepared. Both these preparations have fallen into disuse.
Mineral kermes is trisulphide of antimony, containing a variable portion of trioxide of antimony both free and combined with alkali. It was known as poudre des Chartreux because in 1714 it is said to have saved the life of a Carthusian monk who had been given up by the Paris faculty; but the monk Simon who administered it on that occasion called it Alkermes mineral. Its reputation became so great that in 1720 the French government bought the recipe for its preparation. It still appears in the pharmacopoeias of many European countries and in that of the United States. The product varies somewhat according to the mode of preparation adopted. According to the French directions the official substance is obtained by adding 60 grammes of powdered antimony trisulphide to a boiling solution of 1280 grammes of crystallized sodium carbonate in 12,800 grammes of distilled water and boiling for one hour. The liquid is then filtered hot, and on being allowed to cool slowly deposits the
- ↑ The word lut means bare, void of vegetation, arid, waterless, and has nothing in common with the Lot of Holy Writ, as many have supposed.
