s. The belt is a
large piece of linen folded many times around the waist. Some wear
heavy and costly shawls.

It is a general custom to shave the head except a small place on each
side of the head just over the ear and a spot on the crown of the head.
The hair-covered spots are called Zoolf and are dyed with Hana. The
most religious men and the aged shave the entire surface of the head.
The young men shave the beard, except the mustache, till the age of
thirty years after which time the beard is clipped at the length of
about one inch till the age of forty. After the age of forty the beard
is never cut. The mustache is never shaved, by young or old. It is a
mean thing to do, and is against their religion. No man has been seen
in Persia with a smooth upper lip except Europeans. A man who will
shave his mustache is not a Mohammedan but an infidel; not a man, but a
girl. The long mustache is regarded as the glory of man.

THE LOWER CLASS.

The lower class of people are farmers and day labors and among them is
much misery. They work long hours and get from fifteen to twenty-five
cents a day. Their clothing is of cheap material, poorly made, and
shorter than the garments of the higher classes. In order to save time
and soap their clothes are sometimes not washed for a month. Some
farmer's wives use the sickle all day long in the field during
harvest-time. Many women do the lighter work of killing weeds.
Sometimes a woman will take her babe to the field with her and leave it
in the care of an older child while she labors. In the fall of the year
the laborers are busy in the vineyards, a great abundance of grapes
being produced in this country. A familiar scene of an evening is to
see men and women trudging homeward bearing heavy burdens of fruit,
raisins, etc. stored in baskets. Some of the children are employed
through the day looking after and feeding the cattle, buffaloes and
sheep, while it is the duty of others to carry food and drink to the
workers in the fields. In the winter the men are employed feeding
cattle or in weaving coarse cloths for the clothing of the lower class.
Others who are not thus engaged spend the winter in carrying dried
fruits, wheat, fuel and various kinds of goods to the cities on donkey
caravans.

The women of this class spend the winter in spinning cotton and wool,
making carpets, sacks, etc. and in sewing garments for their children
and husbands. Young girls are busy in preparing useful