Syria: An Economic Survey 



some spots like Hudeirah, for instance, by the introduction of the 

 eucalyptus tree, which drained the marshes. Those colonies which 

 engage in grain cultivation are not yet on a stable basis and are still 

 groping for a suitable and profitable type of farming. A great 

 problem is constituted by the fact that the Jews, coming from a 

 European milieu, cannot reduce their manner of working and their 

 demands to the low level of the Arab without injuring their health, 

 their intellectual development, and their working capacity. On 

 the other hand, they have not yet found a way of making grain 

 cultivation so profitable that it will admit of being carried on 

 according to higher technical methods. The better tilling of the 

 soil resulting from the employment of European implements has 

 not yet produced an increase of profits to correspond with the in- 

 crease in the expense. What is necesary is a radical change in the 

 whole procedure of farming (introduction of cattle for food and 

 dairy purposes, etc.). Besides, the production of vegetables, poul- 

 try, dairy products, etc., with the co-operation of the farmer's wife 

 has not yet been developed, and as a result the farmer is compelled 

 to buy requirements. In this respect the German colonists are 

 better situated, as their wives have been of great assistance on the 

 farms. 



The establishment of an agricultural experiment station in 

 Atlit, near Haifa, in 1910, is due to the interest taken in Palestine 

 by rich American Jews. 



Since 1912 a Hebrew monthly, Hahciklai, has been appearing 

 in Jaffa, which deals with the practical problems confronting the 

 Jewish farmers. 



3. The Muhajir Settlements. 



Mohammedan Circassians who left Kussia and Bosnia after 

 the Treaty of Berlin settled in several sections of Trans j or dania 

 (for instance, Amman, Djerash, etc.), in Kafr-Kama near Tiberias, 

 and in the ancient city of Kuneitrah east of Lake Huleh, etc. They 

 have introduced advanced agricultural methods and are skilled 

 in animal husbandry. The Circassians are cleanly, diligent, and 

 courageous. 



4. The Influence of Monks and Missionaries. 



Mention should be made of the agricultural achievements of 

 the Christian monks and missionaries. It is they who are respons- 

 ible for the terraces and olive plantations of Bet j alia (near Jerusa- 

 lem), the forests of Kubebeh (Emmaus), the dairy and vegetable 

 farms of Latrun (between Jaffa and Jerusalem), 



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