er stitches are made in the very best examples
produced by the finest Persian weavers. A specimen recently shown me was
an exact reproduction of the rug owned by Prince Alexis
Lobanow-Rostowsky, in which the stitch was the sixteen by sixteen. It
was made in one of the factories in Kashmir.

The famous rug of Ardebil in the South Kensington Museum has three
hundred and eighty hand-tied knots to the square inch, or thirty-three
million in the whole fabric.

DESIGNS

The designs of Eastern rugs are often the spontaneous outcome of the
fancy of the weaver. Sometimes they are handed down from one generation
to another; in some cases young girls are taught the design by an adult,
who marks it in the sand; at other times a drawing of the rug is made on
paper, the instructor showing her pupils the arrangement of every thread
and the color to be used. When all this has been done, the pupil must
make the rug without looking at the drawing.

Persian rugs excel those of other countries in artistic design as well
as in harmonious coloring. The Persians seem to have a natural intuition
in the use and blending of different shades, and in the designs that
contain these colors they achieve the happiest results. It is really
wonderful what exquisite fabrics these people, born and reared in
ignorance and poverty, produce.

The designs in Persian rugs are generally floral; and in some districts,
especially Fars, the women weavers invent the designs, varying them
every two or three years. The Mohammedan religion does not allow any
direct representation of animal forms; consequently rugs woven under its
influence take floral, geometric, and vegetable forms. The Shiah sect
of Moslems, however, numbering about fifteen millions,--of which eight
millions are Persians,--do not regard representations of animals as
unlawful. By the industry of this sect, and that of all who disregard
the law of the Koran, animal forms are seen on some Persian rugs.

Among the good antique Persian rugs there are about thirty designs, all
having different borders. Each design is the peculiar work of a family
or tribe, and is produced continuously, from generation to generation
without noticeable change, except in compliance with the demand of a
buyer, or by a weaver who carries out some special fancy. Many buyers
select the color, design, and size, leaving their orders with an
importer or a manufacturer.

[Illustration: RUGS BEING TRANSPORTED]

In the mod