ECONOMIC PLANTS WORTHY OF INTRODUCTION. 17 



upper Galilee and also at 3,300 feet and more on the Jurassic beds 

 and the lower Cenomanian sandstones of the slopes of Mount Her- 

 mon. It seems to the writer to be a very promising stock. It was 

 in this region that Kotschy found some wild pears, which were so 

 good in flavor that he named them Pyrus nobilis. 



FRUITS. 



In addition to the wild types which are excellent for stock and 

 may yield some valuable results by hybridization and selection, we 

 may note some of our cultivated fruit varieties which would be 

 worth trying in the United States. 



APRICOTS. 



The almond is generally used as stock for the apricot, except in 

 irrigated orchards such as those in the region of Damascus, where 

 the varieties desired are grafted on " Muschmusch kelabi " (dog 

 apricot, or bitter-seeded apricot). Prunus spinosa is rarely used as 

 stock, and then only in northern Syria. 



Syria and Palestine have a great number of varieties of the 

 apricot. I have secured from Damascus alone eight varieties for 

 my own use. There is a difference of fully two months between 

 the ripening of the earliest and of the latest varieties in this one 

 place under the same conditions of cultivation. These varieties 

 differ in habit of growth, productivity, appearance, and taste of 

 fruit. Only one variety, "Muschmusch kelabi," has bitter kernels; 

 the kernels of all of the others are sweet and are eaten like almonds. 

 The annual export of " kelabi ' : kernels from Damascus alone 

 averages 60,000 pounds. Some varieties have especially good ship- 

 ping qualities. They are packed, without being wrapped, in boxes 

 that have been used for the importation of Russian petroleum. They 

 are carried upon mules, sometimes for two or three days, over pre- 

 cipitous, rocky paths, and yet, in spite of all this and of their being 

 exposed to great variations of temperature, they reach the markets 

 in excellent condition. 



Other apricots, like the " Tadmuri " (meaning Palmyrian), though 

 splendid fruits, are not very productive and would not stand the 

 conditions just described. 



The " kelabi " is used only for the manufacture of apricot paste. 

 Spread in a thin layer and dried in the sun, it looks like a piece 

 of leather. It is treated with a little oil, so as to prevent its be- 

 coming brittle. It can then be rolled up, and, being very easy to 

 carry, it forms an important part of the rations of the Mohammedan 

 soldier. On account of its value to him in his religious campaigns it 

 is called " Kamr-ed-din " (the crescent). This paste is an important 

 34655°— Bull. 180—10 2 



