10 THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 



valley: their presence also indicates plainly that the locality is practi- 

 cally frostless. According to native testimony, it is not so hot as at 

 Masqat, and this I believe ; but during the summer months, when the 

 dates are ripening, the sea breeze stops and gives place to a current of 

 air from the mountains, which must be very warm and dry. The 

 temperature is then doubtless higher than on the coast, but less felt 

 because of the lower humidity ; and it is this alone, I suspect, that really 

 makes the successful cultivation of the palm possible. 



The soil is a light, sandy loam of unlimited depth, containing many 

 loose stones. There are practically no traces of alkali, either in it or 

 the water, which is brought down the valley for some miles in a cement 

 conduit, in order to prevent its absorption in the stony bed of the 

 stream. There were at least 200 inches of water running down the 

 bed during my visit in what must be one of the dryest months of the 

 year — October. ' I saw but one conduit entering the oasis, and this was 

 carrying 200 inches ; the natives said there were several more like it, in 

 which case the total water supply available to Samail must be about 

 1,000 inches minimum. Certainly there is no lack of it; and although 

 it is distributed on a communal basis, each man getting an amount pro- 

 portionate to his land, I was told one could obtain an additional supply, 

 even in midsummer, by paying a slight fee to the community. 



Brought down the stony bed of the valley for many miles in a cov- 

 ered cement conduit close to the surface of the ground, the w^ater gets 

 thoroughly heated. I found it 91 degrees F. at noon, where it entered 

 the upper limit of cultivation, while in a shaded lateral several miles 

 down the valley it was still 80 degrees; the temperature in this lateral 

 did not fall below 76 degrees, even in early morning — and the nights 

 were cool. The natives do not attribute any particular virtue to warm 

 water for irrigation, but I think, nevertheless, that this constant supply 

 of water warmed to such a temperature must have an important bearing 

 on the cultivation of the palm in a district which has the natural dis- 

 advantages of humidity and sea breezes. My belief is strengthened by 

 the observation of several small oases irrigated by hot springs, during 

 my ride to the valley; they were all remarkably healthy and vigorous, 

 and from them the first dates are sent to the Masqat market, at the 

 beginning of the season. 



Nor is there any stint in the supply of this warm water to the palms, 

 for the best plantations get a bountiful irrigation once a week, fifty-two 

 times a year. The growers had never heard of our theory that water 

 applied at the time of flowering makes the fruit set" scantily; or that 

 irrigation should be suspended when the dates soften, to prevent them 

 from becoming sticky or souring. 



In fertilizing the soil, the cultivator is as generous as wnth water, for 

 those who can afford it put two bags of cow manure around each palm, 

 twice a year, and no one considers himself a successful planter if he 

 does not enrich the soil at least once a year, Avhereas most Arabs consider 

 their duty is done if they apply a donkey-load of straw and refuse to 

 the palm once in two years. The plantations also get a fair amount of 

 cultivation, because subsidiary crops are largely grown, garden truck 

 and various forage grasses being used. Alfalfa is usually grown in 

 separate fields, the natives not knowing its nitrogenous value. 



Propagation is, of course, solely by offshoots, and this is the only 



