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'Handbook of Mesopotamia. Vol. I. 1918' [173] (182/568)
The record is made up of 1 volume (282 folios). It was created in 1918. It was written in English, Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Armenian, Kurdish and Syriac. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
AGEICULTUKE AND LAND TENURE
173
Tuz Khurmatli. Wheal and barley are here the staple
crops.
(ii) The plains at the southern foot of the Tur Abdin. Here
the most highly cultivated land seems to be that watered
by the Jaghjagh river in the neighbourhood of Nisibin.
Wheat, barley, and rice are the principal crops produced.
(iii) The plains beneath the southern spurs of the Qarajeh Dagh
highlands including the districts of Urfeh, Harran, and
Seruj.
Moderately productive areas in Upper Mesopotamia are :
(i) Parts of the middle Euphrates valley, especially the Deir ez-
Zor—Meyyadln stretch, the Anah district, and the Hadlseh
—Eluz district.
(ii) The Beled Sinjar—Tel A'far region at the foot of the Jebel
Sinjar and its outliers.
(iii) The Diarbekr basin, with a south-western extension between
the Euphrates and the north-west and west side of the
Qarajeh Dagh highlands, including the Severek district.
Soil
The alluvial soil of the plains of Irak is mainly an argillaceous,
calcareous loam, homogeneous in character, and of great potential
fertility. It is friable and porous, and to a great extent free from
sterilizing salts, although these occur in uncultivated areas that
are liable to flood and lack adequate drainage. The presence of
a large amount of lime in the soil, in some cases as much as
14 per cent, and averaging 12 per cent., makes it easy to work
but less retentive of moisture than it would otherwise have been.
Samples of soil from the Tigris and Euphrates districts have been
analysed, and the result shows the presence of a considerable quantity
of fine sand ; this should be an advantage where salt is present and
washing is necessar3 r . The principal salt which occurs is sodium
chloride (common salt). Carbonate of soda is not present, and the
cleansing of the land should not be difficult where the supply of
water is adequate and drainage can be arranged. In the salt lands
the average percentage of soluble salts is 5*28, which is enough to
prevent the growth of vegetation. In the samples of soil ana
lysed an adequate supply of the essentials of plant food has been
found. The percentage of nitrogen, averaging 0-12 per cent., is
equal to that of the soils of Egypt ; for soil not under cultivation or
vegetation the percentage is high. The nitrogen probably occurs in
About this item
- Content
This volume is A Handbook of Mesopotamia, Volume I, General (Naval Staff, Intelligence Department: November 1918). This is an updated and expanded edition of A Handbook of Mesopotamia, Volume I, General (Admiralty War Staff, Intelligence Department: August 1916) (IOR/L/MIL17/15/41/1). This is an introductory volume containing matter of a general nature giving an account of conditions in Mesopotamia, for the most part as they were before the First World War.
The volume includes a note on official use, a title page and 'Note'. There is a page of 'Contents' that includes the following chapters and sections:
- Chapter 1: Boundaries and Physical Features;
- Chapter 2: Climate;
- Chapter 3: Minerals;
- Chapter 4: Fauna and Flora;
- Chapter 5: Hygiene;
- Chapter 6: History;
- Chapter 7: Inhabitants;
- Chapter 8: Religions;
- Chapter 9: Administration;
- Chapter 10: Irrigation of Irak [Iraq];
- Chapter 11: Agriculture and Land Tenure;
- Chapter 12: Commerce and Industry;
- Chapter 13: Currency, Weights, and Measures;
- Chapter 14: Communications and Transport;
- Vocabularies;
- Index.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (282 folios)
- Arrangement
The volume is arranged in numbered chapters. There is a contents page and an alphabetically arranged index.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: The foliation sequence commences at the first folio and terminates at the last folio; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. of the folio.
Pagination: The volume also contains an original printed pagination sequence.
- Written in
- English, Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Armenian, Kurdish and Syriac in Latin and Arabic script View the complete information for this record
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/MIL/17/15/41/2
- Title
- 'Handbook of Mesopotamia. Vol. I. 1918'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, i-r:i-v, 1:556, ii-r:ii-v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence