THE RISE OF THE NEW ARAB NATION 



381 



bic," the acacias, and a long list of bushes 

 and shrubs are scattered up and down 

 the peninsula. Then there is the "samh" 

 or oatmeal plant of the Arabs ; from its 

 small grain they make a porridge called 

 samh, the national breakfast food of 

 Arabia. 



THE KORAN MADE ARABIA "DRY" 



But, with the exception of dates, Ara- 

 bia produces few crops of any impor- 

 tance. Good coffee, in limited quantities, 

 comes from Yemen. Millet, barley, and 

 wheat are all grown, but owing to drouth 

 the crop is small and restricted to limited 

 areas. Wherever water and soil permit, 

 such products as rice, melons, gourds, 

 cucumbers, cabbage, garlic, and onions 

 are raised. 



Grapes are grown throughout the pen- 

 insula ; but the Koran made Arabia "dry" 

 long ago, and no wine is manufactured. 

 Unorthodox Bedouins and many of the 

 blithe and gay town Arabs, however, find 

 an amazing "kick" in arrak, a drink made 

 from date juice. 



The best dates come from the interior 

 province of Nejd, the Arabs say, and 

 some of the fruit there attains a length 

 of two inches. Arabs declare that every 

 wadi running into the great Nejd plateau' 

 is a waving sea of green date palms. 

 Dates are eaten fresh or stewed with 

 butter and are the chief article of diet. 



The Indian fig, the banana, the papaya 

 (imported from India), the coconut, and 

 the betel nut are also grown in Nejd. 



Agriculture is crude, like that of our 

 old American Indians. A crooked stick 

 scratches the ground, and seed is broad- 

 casted by hand. Such arts as fertilizing, 

 rotating crops, pruning, and cultivating 

 receive scant consideration. Hand sickles 

 are used for reaping; oxen tread out the 

 grain, and it is winnowed by being thrown 

 into the breeze. In brief, Arabia's agri- 

 culture is almost nil — barely sufficient to 

 furnish a meager supply of food to the 

 sparse population. 



Solomon's letters dispatched to sheba 

 by aerial mail 



When King Solomon wrote notes to 

 the Queen of Sheba, they were carried to 

 her by the "hoopoe" bird, a sort of 

 pigeon, says an Arab tale. Many other 



Photograph from Frederick Simpich 



HIS HIGHNESS EEYSIL BIN TURKI, EORMER 



SULTAN OP OMAN AND EATHER OE 



THE PRESENT SULTAN, SEYYID 



TAIMUR BIN EEYSIL 



Once Oman was a powerful State with pos- 

 sessions in Africa. It reached the zenith of 

 its power in the middle of the last century, but 

 with the death of its most famous ruler, Said 

 ibn Sultan, its decline began. Its present in- 

 tegrity is guaranteed by Great Britain and 

 France. The population is estimated as 500,000, 

 mostly Arab, but with a strong infusion of 

 negro blood. 



birds are to be found in Arabia, but the 

 falcon seems most popular with the peo- 

 ple, who use it for hunting. I saw one at 

 Bagdad that had more than a hundred 

 gazelles to its credit, according to the 

 boast of its owner, who had an amazingly 

 big pile of horns to substantiate his story. 



Then there are rock and wood pigeons. 

 and in the cultivated areas many larks, 

 sparrows, cranes, and finches. Around 

 Koweit wild guineas abound. In Yemen 

 peacocks and parrots are plentiful, with 

 quail in the mountain districts. 



A peculiarly drab-looking desert grouse 

 called "kata" lives on the edges of desert 

 wastes. I observed a flock one day. 

 After a short flight they alighted on the 

 sand and sprawled out to hide, their color 

 blending with the sand sc^ perfectly as to 

 render them unnoticeable to a man stand- 

 ing a few yards away. 



