34 BULLETIN 134, IT. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



PALESTINE AND EGYPT. 



In the eastern Mediterranean countries the most important citrus- 

 producing sections are in Palestine and Syria. The largest and most 

 important district is in the neighborhood of Jaffa, the home of the 

 well-known Jaffa orange; 1,600,000 boxes (same size as ours) were 

 shipped from Jaffa alone last year. Most of these were sent to the 

 Liverpool market, with smaller amounts, and of poorer grade, to 

 Turkey, Egypt, and other near-by countries. In all the earlier 

 plantings around Jaffa the trees are very close together— 9 to 12 

 feet. In the later plantings, however, and particularly in the Jewish 

 colonies, where all the best groves are located, they are from 14 to 

 18 feet apart. Irrigation is by the basin system, and the source is 

 from wells, from which the water is pumped, in the Jewish colonies, 

 by gasoline engines. On account of the sandy soil largely, water is 

 applied every 8 or 10 days. The methods of packing and shipping 

 are much the same as in Italy and Spain. Mr. A. Bril, a prominent 

 grower and manager of the Jewish colonies around Jaffa, who visited 

 the United States last year, has adopted California methods, and the 

 fruit so handled and packed brought 25 cents a box more than other 

 fruit. 



Aside from Jaffa there is another small section around Acre, 

 farther to the north and also along the Palestine coast. Still farther 

 north in Syria there are citrus sections at Saida and Tripoli, there 

 being a considerable lemon acreage in the latter place. 



In Egypt citrus culture is limited to scattering groves, most of 

 which are poorly cared for, and from which the production is limited 

 to local consumption. 



METEOROLOGICAL DATA FOR VALENCIA, SPAIN, AND PALERMO, ITALY. 



Since meteorological conditions may have a very great influence 

 on many insects, as has been specifically pointed out in the case of 

 the black scale, the following data are given for the most important 

 orange and lemon centers, respectively, of the Mediterranean 

 countries. 



It will be noted from the following tables that, excepting 1910, 

 higher temperatures prevailed at Palermo than at Valencia. High 

 temperatures at Palermo, moreover, are accompanied by extreme 

 dryness, and usually much wind. This combination of heat and very 

 great evaporation is sufficient to account for the scarcity of the black 

 scale in Sicily, as compared with Valencia, Spain. The writer is also 

 inclined to attribute the scarcity of the purple scale in Sicily to this 

 same cause. In the United States the purple scale thrives best in 

 Florida and the coast counties of southern California. While rather 

 high temperatures prevail in Florida, there is also much humidit^ 7 . 

 The distribution of the purple scale at present in the United States is, 



