Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-02-23
PERSIAN RICE.
How 1t Is Produced and How Il Il
Treated.

lfeatG0s
Tho State department has received an inter-
esting report from Mr.. A. H. SCHNEIDER, U. s.
consul at Teheran, Persia, descriptive Of the
rice and sugar industries Of that country. Of
the former product he says:
"Rice IL cultivated in all parts Of Persia,
wherever water is abundant 1t thrives well
near the rivers and perennial streams, in the
hot lowlands at the head of the Persian gulf,
all over the plateau of Persia, at attitudes vary
ing from 1000 to 5000 feet above the level of
the sea, and best in the lowlands forming the
southern lttoral of the Caspian. 1t may be
said that all districts in Persia which possess a
river or perennial stream produce rice. A
great part Of Central Persia. and almost the
whole southern littoral extending from the
head OF the Persian gulf to the frontier of In
dependent Beluchistan, are devoid Of rivers
ana do not produce rice. The greater part of
the cultivation OF Gillian and Mazanderan is Of
rice, and thpse provinces are on that account
very insslubrious in summer No one has been
able to give me any information as to the
yearly produce of rice in Gillian and Mazande-
ran, but there is no doubt of its being very con-
siderable.
THE TREATMENT OF RICE.
"Rice is Invested of its husk by small hand
mills of stone, and is then further cleaned by q
by water-power in Mazanderan and Gillian, in
Senjan, and some other districts, but in towns
generally in more primitive manner. The
machine consists of heavy beam of wood
which swings vertically ON O fulcrum like a
see-saw, and is armed at one end with a hollow
steel cylinder foot long and fixed at right
angles to the longitudinal section of the beam,
at the other end with counterpoise. The
machine works as follows: Four or five men
jump on to the end of the beam with the CYL
nder; their weight makes the beam descend
and the cylinder at the end is forced into the
rice. The rice is kept in a tank about four OF
hve feet in diameter and four feet IN depth
and constructed in the ground, its aperture
flush with the surface. and is mixed with
coarsely-powdered rock salt to increase fric-
ton. The men then jump off the beam on to
platform at the side and the counterpoise at
the other end of the beam raises the end with
the cylinder. The fall of the counterpoise is
arrested by block OF wood, and as soon as the
men hear the thud of the counterpoise on the
block they again Jump ON the beam, 20 down
with it, and jump off it.
THE PAY.
"The work requires neither intelligence nor
skill, but is very fatiguins. and it is a matter
Of establishment that it is so badly paid. The
FIVE men on the beam receive for twelve hours
work per diem, during khich they go up and
down 1870 times per n pr, 21a krans Chat is,
one-half kran, or at the present rate of ex-
change little less than cents each) and their
midday meal. The superior qualities of rice
are generally cleaned twice. For the first
cleaning the charge is 124 to 1873 cents per
khawar (649 pounds), for the second cleaning
62 to 80 cents. Many families clean their own
rice at home by putting it, together with rock
salt. into stone mortar and pounding it with
wooden pestle. This practice is principally
followed in the south of Persia and in the prov
lnce of Arabistan, at the head of the Persian
gulf. The work is always done by women, and
the families of small communities generally
combine. In the villages in the south one may
often see, and more often hear, ten or twelve
women preparing the rice for the next days
consumption. Each woman Yields long and
heavy wooden pestle; one woman. generally
the most muscular, who acts as leader of the
gang, begins to sing and step around the big
stone mortar; all the others then sing and fol-
low the leader, all keeping accurate time with
the feet and with the pestles, which they crash
into the rice about every third note. 1t takes
the gang about half an hour to clean 321z
pounds OF rice.
THE YEARLY PRODUCE.
at seems quite impossible to obtain any cor
rect figures regarding the yearly produce of
rice in Persia. There are no statistics what
ever regarding agriculture, and the popula-
ton can only be estimated. The natives can
only make guesses, and their guesses vary SO
much they are of no value. From nv personal
the economic condition of the inhabitants and
information from the best sources have tried
to obtain some figures more or less approach
ing the truth, and this / have done in the fol-
lowing manner: Rice is an important staple of
food OF the inhabitants. Calculated per head
of the population, most RICE is consumed by
the Mazanderan Cthe Mazanderanisl. but it
must not be supposed, as some travellers wish
it to be done, that the Mazanderanis eat rice
only 1t is true that they eat little or no
hraa md 10 ,lx-. &nI xl,ax
Mazanderani can not digest bread, and would
die If be were to eat bread only for a couple of
days. (Conolly's Overland Journey SAYS: so.
little do the people use wheat and barley that
1t Is saying among other Persians: IAN un-
ruly MaZanderan boy threatens his mother
that if his wishes be not complied with he
will go into Trak and eat bread.") But they
eat with the rice sufficient quantities of other
food containing more nutritive matter than rice
does-for instance, butter, cheese, meat, beans,
peas. vegetables, &c.
THE FOOD OF THE MAzANDERANI
consists of rice, various stews made of condi-
ments, meats, fresh and salt fish, game, butter,
onions, garlic, walnuts, and pomegranate juice.
and of lettuce, milk. cheese. treacle and
various fruits. Rice. with a curry or stew made
of pheasant or woodcock, walnuts, pome gram
ate juice, butter and garlic is the famous dish
OF Gillian and Mazanderan, called Fisnisass
Computation gives the yearly consumption of
rice III Tersia at 40 ,oVo TONS. ABOUT 3UO tons
OF rice are imported annually from India by
way Of the Persian gulf ports, and deducting
this quantity from the above total We get the
yearly produce consumed in Persia. 457. SO0 In
comparison with the quantity from the above
total consumed that which is exported Is incon-
siderable, amounting to hardly 20, 900 tons per
annum. Adding 10000 tons as the quantity ex-
ported to the total consumed we get for the
total yearly produce AT 300 or say in round
numbers 100000 tons, and this figure 1 think
near the truth"