MESOPOTAMIA 51 



amount of water in and on the soil, more than on 

 the atmospheric humidity : the topography and the soil 

 entirely control the character of the natural vegetation. 



Where, for geological and topographical reasons, the 

 level of the ground- water is deep, the vegetation, entirely 

 dependent upon the climate, is extremely scanty, low, 

 and stunted, even of a desert type, consisting of a very 

 thin dotting of bare, thorny, gnarled bushes, intermixed 

 with tufts of dry, stiff grass : indeed, the aspect is then to 

 be compared either with that of the barren Atlas plateaus 

 or with that of the rubble of Baluchistan. This dreary 

 landscape is only brightened in winter and spring, when 

 showers determine the germination of the millions of 

 seeds lying dormant in the sand, thus suddenly called to 

 extremely active and short life. The Garmsir is indeed 

 the land of ' ephemeral' plants, which impart to the land- 

 scape an indescribable beauty. Large tracts, however, 

 keep their fertility for a longer time, owing to the reten- 

 tiveness of the soil and to the presence of water near 

 the surface. In this case, vast meadows are created 

 which also benefit by the snow-fed floods of spring, and 

 pass into steppes on the higher ground as do those of 

 upper Mesopotamia. 



Of the tracts depending entirely on ground-water, 

 the date-palm is the characteristic tree : it marks the 

 irrigated ground and the banks of rivers and canals. 

 Its growth is encouraged by the natives on account of 

 its valuable products; every part of it becomes useful. 

 Under its shade are found admirably cultivated gardens 

 and fields where fruit-trees, from coffee and vine to 

 peach, almond, and fig, are grown; wheat and maize, 

 millet, tobacco, rice, cotton, and hemp also yield profuse 

 crops. 



The ranges of hills which rise isolated in upper Meso- 

 E 2 



