winters shorter and much less cold. Snow indeed covers the ground
for about three months, from early in December till March; but the
thermometer rarely shows more than ten or twelve degrees of frost, and
death from cold is uncommon. The spring sets in about the beginning of
March, and is at first somewhat cool, owing to the prevalence of the
_baude caucasan_ or north wind,a which blows from districts where the
snow still lies. But after a little time the weather becomes delicious;
the orchards are a mass of blossom; the rose gardens come into bloom;
the cultivated lands are covered with springing crops; the desert itself
wears a light livery of green. Every sense is gratified; the nightingale
bursts out with a full gush of song; the air plays softly upon the
cheek, and comes loaded with fragrance. Too soon, however, this charming
time passes away, and the summer heats begin, in some places as early as
June 18 The thermometer at midday rises to 90 or 100 degrees. Hot gusts
blow from the desert, sometimes with great violence. The atmosphere is
described as choking; and in parts of the plateau it is usual for the
inhabitants to quit their towns almost in a body, and retire for several
months into the mountains. This extreme heat is, however, exceptional;
in most parts of the plateau the summer warmth is tempered by cool
breezes from the surrounding mountains, on which there is always a good
deal of snow. At Hamadan, which, though on the plain, is close to the
mountains, the thermometer seems scarcely ever to rise above 90°, and
that degree of heat is attained only for a few hours in the day. The
mornings and evenings are cool and refreshing; and altogether the
climate quite justifies the choice of the Persian monarchs, who selected
Ecbatana for their place of residence during the hottest portion of the
year. Even at Isfahan, which is on the edge of the desert, the heat is
neither extreme nor prolonged. The hot gusts which blow from the east
and from the south raise the temperature at times nearly to a hundred
degrees; but these oppressive winds alternate with cooler breezes from