"We do not drill in summer," was the reply, "it is too hot!"
"Do you drill in winter?"
"No, it is too cold."
"Are the troops then only drilled in the autumn and spring?"
"Sometimes. They are principally drilled a few days before the Shah's birthday, so that they may look well on the parade before his Majesty."
"I suppose they are also only dressed and shod on the Shah's birthday?"
"Yes."
"What type and calibre rifle is used in the Persian army?"
"Make it plural, as plural as you can. They have every type under the sun. But," added the high military officer, "we use of course 'bullet rifles' (fusils à balle) not 'small shot guns'!"
This "highly technical explanation" about finished me up.