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'Handbook of Mesopotamia. Vol. I. 1918' [62] (71/568)
The record is made up of 1 volume (282 folios). It was created in 1918. It was written in English, Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Armenian, Kurdish and Syriac. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
CHAPTER IV
FAUNA AND FLOEA
Fauna
In Mesopotamia there are few kinds of wild animals that are of
economic use.
Both in the northern and southern plains gazelles, wild pig (in the
marshes and the tamarisk jungle along the rivers), and jackals are
common. Hyenas, foxes, long-haired desert hares, jerboas, porcu
pines, and rats are said to abound in upper Mesopotamia. In Irak
and Arabistan hyenas, foxes, hares, porcupines, and jerboas are men
tioned as occurring. Wolves are now rare in the plains (especially,
it seems, in the south), and the wild ass of upper Mesopotamia has
now almost disappeared. There are said to be still a few lions in
Arabistan, and perhaps on the Khabur in the western Jezlreh. Of
birds ravens, crows, owls, vultures, kites, hawks and falcons, wild
pigeons, sand-grouse, partridges, bustard, duck, snipe, quail, and
geese are found, and especially the permanent marshes of southern
Irak and Arabistan teem with many sorts of aquatic birds—various
kinds of duck, bittern, heron, coot, &c.
In the rivers there are several kinds of fish, but these are mostly
unfit to be eaten, at any rate by Europeans. The best known are
the hiss, which is often 6-7 ft. long and over 100 lb. in weight; the
shabut, which weighs from 2 to 6 lb.; and the bunni, which is
a smaller but better-tasting fish than the Sharks frequent
the Shatt el-Arab and the lower Tigris, sometimes reaching Baghdad
and even Samarra in the hot season: they are also found in the
Karun. Water-tortoises are common. Otters occur in Irak and on
the lower Karun, and are sometimes hunted by the natives for their
skins.
In the mountains the bear (black or brown), the hyena, the lynx,
the fox, the wild pig, and the wild goat are fairly common. Leopards
and panthers are said to be found here and there in the Persian
mountains. Squirrels of various kinds exist, and the marten is
trapped for its fur. There are eagles in the higher altitudes. Both
the Kurds and the Lurs take honey from wild bees.
About this item
- Content
This volume is A Handbook of Mesopotamia, Volume I, General (Naval Staff, Intelligence Department: November 1918). This is an updated and expanded edition of A Handbook of Mesopotamia, Volume I, General (Admiralty War Staff, Intelligence Department: August 1916) (IOR/L/MIL17/15/41/1). This is an introductory volume containing matter of a general nature giving an account of conditions in Mesopotamia, for the most part as they were before the First World War.
The volume includes a note on official use, a title page and 'Note'. There is a page of 'Contents' that includes the following chapters and sections:
- Chapter 1: Boundaries and Physical Features;
- Chapter 2: Climate;
- Chapter 3: Minerals;
- Chapter 4: Fauna and Flora;
- Chapter 5: Hygiene;
- Chapter 6: History;
- Chapter 7: Inhabitants;
- Chapter 8: Religions;
- Chapter 9: Administration;
- Chapter 10: Irrigation of Irak [Iraq];
- Chapter 11: Agriculture and Land Tenure;
- Chapter 12: Commerce and Industry;
- Chapter 13: Currency, Weights, and Measures;
- Chapter 14: Communications and Transport;
- Vocabularies;
- Index.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (282 folios)
- Arrangement
The volume is arranged in numbered chapters. There is a contents page and an alphabetically arranged index.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: The foliation sequence commences at the first folio and terminates at the last folio; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. of the folio.
Pagination: The volume also contains an original printed pagination sequence.
- Written in
- English, Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Armenian, Kurdish and Syriac in Latin and Arabic script View the complete information for this record
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/MIL/17/15/41/2
- Title
- 'Handbook of Mesopotamia. Vol. I. 1918'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, i-r:i-v, 1:556, ii-r:ii-v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence