Syria: An Economic Survey 



vineyards had to be torn up to make room for other plants. An- 

 other danger of a single crop is that when it fails or there is a crisis 

 in the market, the planter has nothing to fall back on. The wise 

 farmer practises grain cultivation and animal husbandry to a 

 sufficient extent to provide the requirements of life for his family. 



3. The Price of Land. 



The price of land in the Lebanon is as high as 3,000 fr. per 

 dunam in some cases. In the Palestinian colonies soil suitable for 

 orange plantations (without gravity irrigation) brings as much as 

 300 fr. per dunam, that suitable for almond and olive plantations 

 25-100 fr. per dunam. The best sort of soil for the cultivation of 

 cereals brings 30-50 fr. in Palestine, or 10-30 fr. in Northern Syria. 



III. Agricultural Credits; the Activities of the Banque Agricole. 



Mortgage loans by private banks or societies is a new thing 

 in Turkey. Until recently mortgage loans on rural property were 

 made by private individuals or by the Banque Agricole, which was 

 founded in 1888. Its capital consists of the assets of the loan banks 

 which it took over, the proceeds of a special tax of % P er cen ^ 

 levied for its benefit in connection with the osher, and its accumu- 

 lated profits. The bank may lend only to farmers and only for 

 agricultural purposes. It charges 6 per cent interest. A law passed 

 in March, 1916, gave the bank a far larger field of activity. Up to 

 that time it was limited as to the amount that it might lend and 

 the period for which the loans were to run. It could not lend 

 more than 15 Turkish pounds nor for more than 10 years. These 

 restrictions have now been removed, and the bank has been author- 

 ized to grant loans secured by grain collateral or to make loans 

 under joint guarantee for the purpose of buying land and sub- 

 dividing it, and of acquiring live stock, seed, and farm implements, 

 to be sold on the instalment plan. Moreover, the law provides 

 that the supplemental tax levied with the osher for the benefit of 

 the bank is to continue until the capital reaches 15,000,000 Turkish 

 pounds (340,000,000 francs). The bank is also allowed to issue 

 certificates of indebtedness. 



IV. Taxation, Land-Registry, Property Ownership, and 



. . Inheritance. 



A. Taxation. 



The farmer is subject to the following taxes: (a) the titht 

 (osher), originally 10 per cent, increased in 1892 to 12.63 per cent. 



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