CONCLUSION, 27 



CONCLUSION. 



The type of agriculture practiced in the Oued Souf is not tlrv- 

 laiid farming, for it depends upon the ground water, which in ihe 

 gardens is everywhere near the surface of the soiL It affords us, 

 however, an excellent object lesson of Avhat can be done under the 

 most adverse natural conditions in producing a valuable crop, for 

 throughout riorthern Africa the Oued Souf is renowned for the large 

 yields of its date orchards and the high quality of their fruit. 



It may be that nowhere in the United States are the conditions with 

 respect to ground water such as to allow of a close imitation of 

 agricultural methods used in the Souf countrv. One lesson is, how- 

 ever, to be drawn from them. The sand hills concentrate and reflect 

 so much heat that the hollows among them ar-e veritable forcing 

 houses, where dates ripen considerably earlier than elsewhere. Have 

 we not here a hint of what may be done in the Salton Basin and 

 perhaps in other hot, arid regions in the Southwest where large sand 

 dunes exist, and where artesian or other sources of water supply 

 for irrigation are available? It seems certain that in pockets of 

 this character excavated among the dunes the Deglet Xoor and other 

 valuable varieties of dates could be forced to early maturity. 



Dates ripened in this way a few weeks ahead of the bulk of the 

 crop would command a fancy price, especially as the quality of the 

 fruit produced under these conditions would in all probability be 

 exceptionally flne. Nor are the possibilities limited to the date 

 palm. Other fruits, such as figs, pomegranates, and grapes, could 

 perhaps thus be put upon the market in advance of those from any 

 other locality in the United States. The experiment is certainly 

 worth trying. The American fruit grower, awake as he is to every 

 new idea, may find something worthy of imitation in the example of 

 these sturdy inhabitants of a remote corner of the Sahara. 



