28 PERSIAN GULF DATES. 



unable to see) which leaves an excrement in the cavit}^ near the stone, 

 but the soft varieties in this region were remarkabty free from insects 

 of any kind. 



One might imagine that there would be during the date season a 

 host of birds and small animals which would feast on the ripening- 

 dates, but curiously enough the growers were not able to name a sin- 

 gle troublesome pest of this character. Even the date bird is not 

 believed to live on the dates; at any rate does no serious damage. 



The principal enemy of the date in Mesopotamia is the "shamal," a 

 wind blowing across the desert laden with hot sand. If this occurs 

 before the dates have sufficiently matured it dries them up and covers 

 them with dust, checking their development and soiling them so that 

 they are refused by the European and American importers. Last sea- 

 son's crop (1900) at Bassorah was seriously injured in this wa}\ and the 

 writer was told that the export was reduced from nearly 2,000,000 to 

 about 1,000,000 cases. 



COST AND PROFITS OF DATE CULTURE. 



Twenty years ago in Mesopotamia handsome profits were made by 

 Europeans in the date packing and shipping business, but of recent 

 years the native-born Jews have learned how to pack, and have seri- 

 ously reduced the gains to be made in date exporting. The repre- 

 sentative of one of the largest concerns at Bassorah informed the 

 w r riter that last year some of the packers actually carried on business 

 at a loss in order to keep their brands on the market, and that very 

 small profits were made by any of the firms. This was owing to the 

 poor crop and a glutted home market, with many cases left over from 

 the preceding year. 



With the date grower, matters are somewhat different. His expenses 

 for the maintenance of the garden are small and the cost of market- 

 ing the product slight, so that he realizes, according to a conservative 

 estimate given by the manager of one of the large firms in Bassorah, 

 on an average about 5 to 6 per cent profit. In an especially good 

 3^ear his profits might reach 10 per cent, but would hardly surpass this 

 figure. It is next to impossible to find out how well date culture pays 

 in this region, for the Arabs do not keep careful books of their 

 expenses. From a reliable source, however, it was ascertained that 

 one large proprietor netted last year — which was, however, an excep- 

 tional^ bad season — less than 2 per cent on the estimated value of the 

 estate. So it is evident that the profits of date growing on the Shat- 

 el-Arab are no more sure than those of any other agricultural business. 



The mudir, or business manager, of the Sultan's large estates at 

 Amara remarked that the Turkish Government levies a tax of 2 piasters 

 (about 8 cents) per year on every palm in Bagdad, li piasters in Amara, 



