Syria: An Economic Survey 



The gross profits are smallest on the Jewish farms, where they 

 amount to 96.65-172.31 francs per hectar; on the native farms they 

 come to 176.66-297.77 francs, and on the German farms to 602.50 

 francs. 



It must not be forgotten that this applies to cereal raising 

 farms and not to tree plantations. 



2. Plantation Yields. 



Plantations are far more remunerative than cereal raising. 

 On the Jewish plantations near Jaffa the net profits on a dunam 

 of oranges are 115 francs, on a dunam of almonds, apricots, or 

 olives, 18.22-25 francs. Thus the interest on the invested capital 

 is 10-11 per cent. 



In calculating the cost of cultivation the fact was taken into 

 account that all the agricultural work is done by laborers, and that 

 the proprietor busies himself with the commercial end of the en- 

 terprise exclusively. 



The large returns of the plantations in Palestine have aroused 

 the interest of many European Jews, who have founded a stock 

 company, the Societe Ottomane de Commerce d' Agriculture et 

 d'Industrie (Agudat N'tayim), with a capital of 75,000 Turkish 

 pounds (60 per cent paid in), with the object of founding and 

 administering plantations to be owned by Jews living in other lands. 



The Jewish agriculturists have been very successful with 

 almond, eucalyptus, and olive plantations along the sand-dunes of 

 the coast from Haifa to Gaza. The sand is excellently suited to 

 the cultivation of the castor oil bush, as has been proved by experi- 

 ments in the Jewish colonies. The castor oil bush has the ad- 

 vantage of not requiring much care, and of entering upon its 

 period of productivity in the second year. The area east and west 

 of Beersheba, where there are no trees at present, could be utilized 

 in this manner. There are still other desert trees which could be 

 cultivated where the sand is too deep for the castor oil bush, and 

 used for fuel or timber. In any case it is certain that many square 

 miles along the dune and desert territory are cultivable. In olden 

 times the agricultural development of these tracts reached a high 

 degree. 



As a result of the higher returns of the tree plantations 

 agriculture was completely abandoned in certain districts of the 

 country, for instance in the Palestinian colonies which devoted 

 themselves entirely to vine, orange, and almond raising. This led 

 to over-production, and the products depreciated in value. Large 



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