the other hand, where the land has no drainage to the sea, so that the streams and rivers that flow into it empty into small lakes or are finally absorbed, the soil becomes impregnated with alkali deposited from the waters, and the grass is scanty. There are also sandy wastes of great extent where scarcely any animal life can exist. Moreover in many parts of the country the rain falls only during a few months of the year, and more abundantly in the higher altitudes, so that the nomads are constantly searching for fresh pasturage, and moving from the lowlands, where the grass dies after the rainy season, to the higher altitudes, from which they return again at the approach of winter. So numerous are the flocks that in the struggle for pasture the weaker tribes are driven to the poorer land.

The pastoral life, the necessity of moving from place to place, the strife resulting from the difference in quality of pasture, have affected the temperament and character of the people. The boundless stretches of land, the clear atmosphere, the burning desert sands, the delicate mirage, and the starry heavens, have made men hospitable, thoughtful, devotional; constant wanderings have made them independent; the struggle for pasturage has made them lawless and cruel. These qualities are reflected to some extent in their woven fabrics, which lack the high artistic finish of those woven in cities. A large proportion of them are prayer rugs and contain symbols of the sun and fire worship. The designs are barbaric, and many are doubtless the same as those used hundreds of years ago. The colours of the old pieces, woven on upland plains or in mountain fastnesses, blend less harmoniously than those woven by more cultured weavers; but they frequently possess rich, pure tones, which are no longer seen in the modern rugs. As even a partial expression of the thoughts and feelings of a people, there are no rugs from the Orient more worthy of study than the rare old pieces woven by nomadic tribes.

Not only physical environment but the conquests of foreign enemies, as well as political struggles at home, have had an important influence on all art. It will be of interest, therefore, to briefly review the histories of Central and Southwestern Asia, where rugs have been made for over three thousand years, in order to understand the different racial influences which have affected their artistic development.