'File 35/5 Development of Grazing Grounds (Supplies from Persia)' [‎44v] (88/118)

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to & balanced pole on a fulcrum* It Is operated by mn-powsr with
little effort when properly balanced* but its capacity is smll* The
latter .is a leather skin raised and lowered by a rope over a pulley
wheel down an inclined rasg> and pulled by smr or bullodc*
(o) - artesian wells*
These wells have been developed only within the last fifteen
years' -during which a considerable number lias come into being* It is
said that in s©&© instances the sih&ng of these wells has reduced the
supply of water produced by adjoining natural springs.
11* The actual flow from a recently sunk artesian well was measured
roughly. It' filled a; maaenry tank 18 feet by 12 feet- by 4 feet in
9 minutes. Tills represents a flow of 1,6 cuseos or 10 gallons per second.-
It would give* an Irrigation of an average depth of b inches to i acre in
a little leas than 2 hours. It should not be assumed that on this basis
an artesian well could irrigate 12 acres day by day if operated non-stop.
Apart from the adverse effect which a continuous flew of a large numbor-
of such wells might have in depleting the underground water supplies*
a 3-inch irrigation which is adequate for .a normal soil would be unlikely
to suffice for salty soil^ of the Bahrain type. Heevier irrigations are
necessary in order to wash as much of the salts as possible below the
root sene of the crops and Into a drainage system which will carry them
off to .the sea.
*
land Tenure
12. The date plantations are usually owned by the sheikhs who
aometimes work them by direct labour and' at other times.lease them to
tenants. The lease is. generally for two years. Cash rente are said to
be paid for crops and for fruit bearing trees, other than dates. The
Gate paisas rent siay be'in kind or partly in kind* am partly in cash.
The view was ejepreased that a tenant receives from v* t© •<|* of the produce
at a rough guess. On Sitra 1 aland the actual rents paid for two date
plantations were given as
1* . Hs. 800 in cash plus 1.000 date sticks. (A date stick
is the midrib of a date palm leaf* Owing to the scarcity
or absence on the island of other wooci* it is of oonsiderable
importance and value for building and other purposes). H'o
©ther charges were payable. According to <iata given on the
spot this plantation produced last year 192 m&z (36 lbs.
each) of dates. They Were sold at Ra. ? to 8 per maund.
The total value of the fruit was thus about Hs* 1*500. At
that rate the landlord got mors than half the value of the
fruitband the date sticks in addition.
2» Hsi 1*200 cash* 2,000- date sticks and 3>6 lbs* dried prawns*
- The proportion of the. production which these payments
ro'prpsented could hot bo ascertained, as ho information was
forthcoming as to the value of the produce- of this plantation
It is ©r interest to note that the rent included an.item not
a product of the plantation.
BioaPEars of i&& i ogLTURfii, mm / pmimt
A previous report
13-* Ten years ago Khan Bahadur Fateh ud Din, who was then serving
as a Deputy Director of Agriculture under me- in the Punjab, visited Bahrain
at the request of Its Government to advise on the possibilities of
agricultural development in the island. He duly presented a report, of
/which, so..