SECONDARY CULTURES. ETC. 19 



The method of irrigation used in the Pangh Ghur region, where the 

 famous Mozaty date is grown, must be most peculiar, for. according to 

 Lieutenant Grant, the system of canals is largely subterranean, and 

 innumerable wells tap these underground water courses, which are 

 tunneled through the soil at great expense. The levels are so carefully 

 studied that land which is apparently, though not really, at a higher 

 elevation than the supply well is furnished with water. 



SECONDARY CULTURES BETWEEN THE PALMS. 



One may look in vain for a cover crop in use in the date plantations. 

 The use of leguminous plants to enrich the soil seems to be unknown, 

 and although alfalfa (called "djet") is grown in diminutive patches to 

 furnish food for the horses, the fellah, or Arab cultivator, i^ generally 

 ignorant of its value for enriching the soil. Wheat and barley are 

 often sown among the palms, but furnish an inferior product. (PI. II. 

 fig. 2, and PI. IV. rig. 1.) The planting of grapevines has been most 

 successful in Bassorah, and the palm stems form quite as admirable sup- 

 ports between which to train the vines as do the trunks of the mul- 

 berry trees in the groves of Italy and the Tyrol. The light shade 

 furnished by the trunks and crowns of the palms appears to be none 

 too much to protect the vines from the excessive glare and heat of the 

 sun, and most excellent table sorts of grapes are produced. Other 

 fruit trees, such as rigs, jujubes, and pomegranates, are also frequently 

 seen about the houses, and thrive very well. Altogether, however, 

 there is a barrenness about these palm forests which reminds one of 

 the Australian bush. 



TREATMENT OF THE SOIL AND PLANTING OF YOUNG PALMS. 



Though pure ^ilt. like that of the Nile Valley, the soil on the Shat- 

 el-Arab i> manured to make it more productive and. whether rightly 

 or wrongly, only cow manure is considered suitable, that from the 

 horse stables being regarded as too heating. Such things a- artificial 

 fertilizers are quite too modern for Arabia, and the value of wood 

 ashe> and bone dust i- scarcely appreciated. 



Just before a plantation is set out with suckers the soil is dug over 

 by hand to a depth of 18 inches, and this digging is repeated every 

 four years. Weeding i< done when necessary and the surface of the 

 ground occasionally stirred, but aside from this primary treatment the 

 soil is given very little attention. 



In the matter of propagation the Arabs of Mesopotamia are more 

 advanced than the Egyptians, for they have learned the practical 

 advantage of employing small suckers. These are seldom over 6 feet 

 long and generally with few roots. They are planted with the growing 



