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'Handbook of Mesopotamia. Vol. I. 1918' [182] (191/568)
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.
AGRICULTURE AND LAND TENURE
Two indigenous varieties of cotton are reported to be found in the
Baghdad market—Iraki and Mukharesh, of which the latter (cultivated
round Khanikin and Mandali) is said to be the better. Both kinds
are short-fibred. On the Tigris, near Baghdad, and at Anah an
Indian cotton (Hindi), better than the Iraki, is raised. The cotton
grown in the Hilla district is favourably reported on. |
Mesopotamian cotton is used locally for manufacturing coarse cloth,
stuffing mattresses, &c.
It is possible that Irak may in the future become an important
cotton-producing country. Climate and soil are considered to be
favourable to the cultivation of the plant. Experiments with im
ported varieties of seed are at present being made.
Tobacco is grown in many parts of upper Mesopotamia and in
some districts of northern and western Irak (Diyaleh region,
Kerbela, Nejef, and Hilla); also in northern Arabistan. Sowings
begin in March, and the tobacco is gathered about the end of August.
The manufacture and sale of tobacco in Turkey was a monopoly of
the Jlegie cointeressee desTabacs VEmpire a joint-
stock company, which was practically a branch of the Public Debt
Department.
Sesame is found in Irak and Arabistan and in upper Mesopotamia.
It is a summer crop. In Irak it is generally grown on land that has
been inundated by river-water and left dry by the falling flood. On
the Shaft el-Arab it is found along the creeks taking off from the
river. It is mostly pressed for oil, which is used for cooking and
lighting, but sometimes it is roasted for food or used in the manu
facture of sweetmeats.
Flax is cultivated for linseed in the vilayet of Diarbekr, and also
on Persian territory in the Dizful plain and in Kirmanshah.
Lucerne is grown for fodder in some districts of Irak and
Arabistan.
Poppies are cultivated for opium in the Dizful and Shushtar
districts of northern Arabistan and in the province of Kirmanshah.
The crop is apparently collected about May or June.
Indigo is grown in the Dizful plain and in the Kirmanshah province.
Pepper is grown in the Shushtar district.
Domestic Animals
Camels. —These are used for riding and for pack -transport in the
Mesopotamian plains (see further p. 278).
The riding-camel (dhelul) is almost always a female; the burden
camel is usually a male. The life of camels may extend to 40 or 50
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