410 THE FUTURE OF ARID LANDS 
vani’s dew gage (14), we possess today figures about the average 
number of dewy nights per month, and about the amounts of dew 
formed in different topographical localities and at different heights 
above the soil surface (3, 12, 24). It will perhaps be possible in the 
future to choose special localities, rich in dew, for certain crops 
profiting especially from dew, and to create artificially better 
microclimatic conditions for the formation of dew on plants and 
in soils. 
In addition, the application of limited quantities of additional 
moisture in the form of artificial dew might prove useful in con- 
servation of irrigation water resources, especially when performed 
at night, when plant growth is at a maximum and loss of water by 
evaporation is at a minimum. 
Conclusions and Outlook for the Future 
Desert agriculture is definitely one of the many different ways 
of increasing populations in arid areas. It can be successful only 
under three conditions: 
1. Prior to any practical work, a broad, thorough scientific 
survey of the area has to be carried out. 
2. The surveying and practical work has to be done by a closely 
knit cooperating team of scientists of all branches of the natural 
sciences. This teamwork has to be very elastic as constantly new 
problems arise, necessitating the cooperation of new agencies. 
3. The practical work in its pilot plant stage has to center 
around experimental settlements situated inside that desert area 
where desert agriculture is being tried out. 
It is felt that the establishment of an international center for 
the storage and exchange of information on desert research 1s 
urgently needed. At the same time this center could refer major 
research projects, which cannot be carried out by small nations 
for lack of the needed equipment and scientific manpower, to the 
few specialized, well-equipped, experimental research institu- 
tions. It is much too early to discuss the purely economic side of 
desert agriculture, as we do not yet possess the necessary data. 
But when taking Israel as an example, it can be said that by using 
the methods described here, 3 to 5% of our desert area, which up 
