Media, and will need only a very few words of notice here.
The ordinary horse of the country is the Turcoman, a large, strong, but
somewhat clumsy animal, possessed of remarkable powers of endurance;
but in the Deshtistan the Arabian breed prevails, and travellers tell us
that in this region horses are produced which fall but little short of
the most admired coursers of Nejd. Cows and oxen are somewhat rare, beef
being little eaten, and such cattle being only kept for the supply
of the dairy, and for purposes of agriculture. Sheep and goats are
abundant, and constitute the chief wealth of the inhabitants; the goat
is, on the whole, preferred, and both goats and sheep are generally of
a black or brown color. The sheep of Kerman are small and short-legged;
they produce a wool of great softness and delicacy.

It is probable that in ancient times the domestic animals of the country
were nearly the same as at the present day. The statement of Xenophon,
that anciently a horse was a rarity in Persia Proper, is contradicted by
the great bulk of the early writers, who tell us that the Persians were
from the first expert riders, and that their country was peculiarly well
fitted for the breeding of horses. Their camels, sheep, goats, asses,
and oxen, are also expressly mentioned by the Greeks, who even indicate
a knowledge of the fact that goats were preferred to sheep by the
herdsmen of the country.

The mineral treasures of the country appear to have been considerable,
though to what extent they were known and made use of in ancient times
is open to some question. Mines of gold, silver, copper, iron, red lead,
and orpiment are said to have been actually worked under the Persian
kings; and some of the other minerals were so patent and obvious, that
we can scarcely suppose them to have been neglected. Salt abounded in
the region in several shapes. It appeared in some places as rock salt,
showing itself in masses of vast size and various colors. In other
places it covered the surface of the ground for miles together with a
thick incrustation, and could be gathered at all seasons with little
labor. It was deposited by the waters of several lakes within the
territory, and could be collected round their edges at certain times
of the year. Finally, it was held in solution, both in the lakes and in
many of the streams; from whose waters it might have been obtained by
evaporation. Bitumen and naphtha were yielded by sources near Dalaki,