THE PROBLEM OF TURKEY 219 



this fine plain," he exclaimed. "See how green it is. Look at that 

 brook. If only some Greeks were here, or even some Muha- 

 jir Turks, they would make a perfect garden of this. But these 

 vile Turks! What do they know! They are animals without a 

 speck of sense in their noddles." 



The Greek's remarks throw an interesting sidelight on racial 

 psychology. He had no theory as to the incompetence of the 

 Turks as a race. Muhajir Turks are those who have come from 

 Roumania, Bulgaria, or other European regions because of the 

 change from Moslem to Christian rule since 1876. Racially they 

 are among the purest of the Turks. Yet they are generally 

 accounted among the most active and progressive farmers in the 

 empire. The reason appears to be largely that they have lived for 

 some generations in an environment more stimulating than that 

 of most parts of Asiatic Turkey. 



Another interesting feature of the Greek's remarks is that his 

 mental attitude illustrates that of almost the whole world. He 

 judged by outward appearances, and utterly failed to hit the 

 mark. How far he was from the truth appeared when the Kurdish 

 chief with whom we spent the night showed me his garden. "It's 

 hard work," said the Kurd, "to make a garden here. You see 

 what a good little brook we have. We ought to have good gardens. 

 A few years ago I tried to make one over there where you see those 

 dead saplings. It was all right the first year, but the second sea- 

 son the ground became hard, and most things would not 

 grow. Now I am trying here where the soil is more sandy. This 

 is the third year. Some plants do pretty well, but I don't know 

 why so many trees die." 



I saw another new garden where likewise the trees had mostly 

 died after a year's growth while many of the vegetables seemed 

 stunted. The reason was plain. We were in the bed of an ancient 

 salt lake. The soil was strongly impregnated with salt, and the 

 brooks were slightly saline. Irrigation concentrated the salt, as 

 it always does, and after a few years the ground was fit only for 



