Canadian Forestry Journal. April, ip20. 



177 



portion of our timber and pulpwood 

 revenues in the promotion of new 

 growth if we would keep our readily 

 accessible forests continuously pro- 

 ductive, if we would maintain the 

 continued prosperity of our third 

 largest industry — and that is only an- 



other way of saying if we would 

 maintain the continued prosperity of 

 our country. 



(An address delivered before the 

 Royal Canadian Ins'.itute, Toronto, 

 March, 1920.) 



The Date Palms of Mesopotamia 



by C. ^. Gill, Forest Assistant, Dauphin, Man. 

 {late with the British Forces in the Far East) 



Outside the citadel gate at Baghdad. 



When twenty-seven days out from 

 Devonport the first glimpse of the 

 green strip of date plantations along 

 the Shatt-el-Arab is a refreshing 

 sight. We had lounged for twelve 

 burning days on the ironclad deck of 

 our tramp steamer since we left the 

 coolness of the Mediterranean, and 

 adventured into the Red Sea and the 

 Persian Gulf. From our vantage 

 point on deck we saw over the tops 

 of the date palms and realized that 

 only a mile back, or in scmuc cases, 

 only a few hundred yards stretched a 

 vast, flat, whitey-gray desert, shim- 

 mering to the vague horizon. 



Date growing is one of the few in 

 (histrios \\hich 'l'urki>^h misrule has 



allowed the Arab to make a success 

 of. 80.000 tons of dates were export- 

 ed yearly before the war. The plan- 

 tations extend in a narrow belt a'ong 

 the river from the Gulf to Kurna 

 (the Garden of Eden of the British 

 Tommy). Frotn Kurna to Amara 

 marsh lands inter\ene, but at Amara 

 some line ])lantations occur. Beyond 

 .\mara only a few small groves mark 

 the site of the riverside towns until 

 Baghdad is reached, and there per- 

 haps a dozen miles of date plantations 

 interspersed with orange groves, skirt 

 the banks of the Tigris. On the lui- 

 jthrates small jdantations occur at 

 Uamadie, Hit and Anah, but beyotid 

 the last place (the only be.iuiiful 



