Syria: An, Economic Survey 



by Russian Jews, and two other colonies by Roumanian Jews, 

 namely Ziehron Jacob in Samaria and Rosh Pinah in Galilee. The 

 colonists went through tremendous sufferings because of sickness 

 and poor harvests, and would have succumbed had it not been for the 

 help tendered them from 1885 on by Baron Edmund de Rothschild 

 of Paris. The colonies in Upper Galilee made attempts to intro- 

 duce silk-worm culture and the production of rose oil, later tree- 

 plantations and grain cultivation, whereas the Judaean and Samari- 

 tan colonies engaged in wine growing. Wine cellars costing several 

 millions of francs were constructed in Rishon PZion and Ziehron 

 Jacob. But despite the superior quality of the wine the sale did 

 not keep pace with the production, and the producers were faced 

 by a crisis. For a time Baron Rothschild bought the wine himself 

 and either stored it or else sold it at an enormous loss. This 

 state of things was untenable. Finally, considerable tracts of vine- 

 yards were replaced by other trees (especially almond trees). In 

 1910 the failure of the European wine crop made it possible to 

 dispose of the stored-up wine, and the wine-growers, who had mean- 

 while formed an association of Jewish vintners and taken over the 

 cellars in Rishon FZion and Ziehron Jacob, began to gain a firm 

 footing commercially. They arranged for the sale of their wines 

 by founding special agencies in various countries, and created an 

 important and remunerative market for themselves in Egypt. They 

 produce from 792,000 to 1,056,000 gallons of wine, cognacs, and 

 liqueurs, worth about a million francs. In the meantime, other 

 plantations were founded in the colonies orange, almond, olive, 

 and eucalyptus. The cultivation of oranges has assumed consider- 

 able dimensions, and has been successful, with very few exceptions. 

 The center of orange growing is Petach Tikvah, 11.2 miles north 

 of Jaffa. The orange growers have also organized two associations, 

 Mercaz and Pardes, for the sale of the fruit. In 1913 the total 

 yield of oranges in the Jewish colonies amounted to about 600,000 

 cases, valued at 2,000,000 francs. 



Besides the above-named colonies, which devote themselves 

 mainly to orchards, there are three colonies in Judaea, and about 

 twenty in Samaria, Lower Galilee, and Upper Galilee, which are 

 occupied mainly with grain cultivation and animal husbandry. The 

 colonies in Lower Galilee were founded in the years 1902-1910 by 

 the Jewish Colonization Association with funds provided by Baron 

 Rothschild, who had given over the administration of the colonies 

 he was supporting to the J. C. A. in 1900. Although these colonies 

 are pervaded by an atmosphere of enthusiasm, the results of grain 



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