Beluchistan is a vast, wild and mountainous country extending from Kirman to India and from Afghanistan to the South Arabian Sea, partly under Persian rule and partly under the protection of Great Britain. It has an area of about 146,000 square miles with but 800,000 population. The capital, Kelat, has a population of 15,000. The inhabitants are principally Nomad tribes of primitive habits and of the Mohammedan faith. The rugs of Beluchistan are taken way across Afghanistan to Bokhara to be marketed. On this account and also because of their great likeness to the Turkoman products they are classified as such by several prominent writers. Like the latter they invariably have a wide web at each end, usually with a woven design. The colors and designs are similar to those of the Turkoman class and the dyes are good, but nowadays unwashed ones are extremely scarce.

BELUCHISTAN

Synonyms.—Balooch, Baloochee, Bilooz, Bilouche, etc. Sometimes wrongly called "Blue Bokhara."

By Whom Made.—By the Nomadic tribes of Beluchistan and by Beluches residing in Afghanistan and Eastern Persia.

Knot.—Always Senna. Number vertically six to ten; number horizontally five to twelve; number to square inch thirty to one hundred twenty.

Warp.—Usually wool, frequently goats' hair.

Woof.—Always dark wool.

Nap.—Fine, long, compact, lustrous wool, goats' and camels' hair.

Sides.—Overcast or selvaged, usually with goats' or horses' hair.

Ends.—Wide ornamented selvage with loose or twisted warp ends. Often a row of colored yarns run through the web.

Border.—From three to four border stripes, usually one wide one and two narrow ones.

Prevailing Colors.—Usually dark reds and dark browns with a sprinkling of white. Tan is frequently employed in the field and is generally the undyed camel's hair.

Designs.—Geometrical devices, hexagons, octagons, etc. Occasionally stiff floral patterns.

Sizes.—Mostly small, two to seven by three to eleven feet.

Cost.—From $1.00 to $2.50 per square foot.

Remarks.—One of the last rugs to be affected by outside influences. Although scarcely any chemical dyes are used, the "doctoring" process has been adopted so that nowadays an unwashed Beluchistan is a scarce article. The modern ones are inferior to the antiques, although all wear well.

THE EXAMPLE ILLUSTRATED

Knot: Senna. Eight to the inch vertically and thirteen horizontally, making one hundred eight to the square inch. The centre field of dark blue is covered with the Mina Khani design, which, being a Kurdish design, is seldom found in Beluchistan products. The two narrow border stripes in white are of the Greek key design upon a background of dark brown, while the main border stripe consists of rectilineal vines and flowers arranged similarly to the Herati border design upon a varying background of light and dark Turkoman red. The webbing at each end is covered with fine designs and stripes and in several places are talismanic tufts of wool.