'Reports of administration for 1918 of divisions and districts of the occupied territories in Mesopotamia. Volume I' [‎101v] (207/470)

At Karbala the canal bifurcates, one branch, called the Rashidiyah, running
N.W. for 3| miles, whence it turns South-West and flows into the Abu Dibis Lake
some 15 miles West of Karbala.
The smaller branch, called the Hunaidiyah Canal, circles round the West of
Karbala and runs in a Southerly direction to the Haur as Sulaimaniyah.
Besides being the source of the drinking water for the town of Karbala the
Husainiyah forms a valuable means of water transport from the Euphrates to the
town. The canal is in charge of the Irrigation Department, wdio control the water
supply. Various regulators are required, which will be arranged for in due course.
(2) When the Turks were besieging Karbala in 1916, the bunds which protected
Karbala from floods were cut to drive them out, and it is estimated that some
15 square miles of grain-producing land were flooded. This bund has been repaired,
and ingress channels to various marshes, the Haur al Sib, the Haur Ibraz and the
Haur al Layih, have been closed, with the result that not only has the land
deliberately flooded been reclaimed, but a large area besides. It is hoped that
this reclamation will be permanent. No major works of importance have been
constructed during the year.
Labour. —Owing to the distance of troops from Karbala no such demands for
labour have to be met as is the case in most other large towns or populated districts.
About 50 men are daily employed by the Irrigation Department and these men
are found without difficulty from amongst the fallahs Arabic for ‘peasant’. It was used by British officials to refer to agricultural workers or to members of a social class employed primarily in agricultural labour. of the various gardens.
4. Agriculture. —(1) The general methods of the Karbala farmers, other than
fruit and vegetable cultivators, leave much to be desired. Various crop experi
ments were carried out in the neighbourhood during the spring and early summer
of 1918, the results of which were very inferior to those carried out in the
neighbouring district of Hindiyah. As far as can be ascertained, the reasons for
the disappointing results were :—
(i) The soil is worn out and never allowed a rest, and no system of manuring
is employed.
(ii) Indifferent ploughing, which allowed the ground to become choked with
grass and weeds.
(iii) Natural poorness of the soil, which contains on the whole a large proportion
of salt and weeds.
(iv) Bad methods of cultivation due to scarcity of labour and lack of proper
supervision. 2 3 4 5
(2) The results of the experiments were as follows : 3 donums of first, second,
and third-class land (1 donum is 2,500 square metres) were sown with an identical
quality of seed barley, the yield being 262, 88 , and 67 kilos per donum respectively
{vide No. 19/2898 dated 22nd May 1918 from Political Officer, Karbala, to First
Revenue Officer, Baghdad). The difference between the first, second, and third-
class land is most marked and points the need for improved agricultural methods,
particularly cleaning before sowing, and effective use of animal manure or the
introduction of phosphates or other chemical manure.
(3) The implements used in agriculture in this district are the fidan or plough,
the mishah or long-handled spade, the minjal, a curved saw-toothed sythe for
cutting grass, and the mirwah for winnowing. The standard of living of the fallah Arabic for ‘peasant’. It was used by British officials to refer to agricultural workers or to members of a social class employed primarily in agricultural labour.
is very simple and he exists mainly on barley, millet, dates and sour milk. The
Sarkal does not affect a much higher standard {vide Note from Major Pulley to
First Revenue Officer, Baghdad, dated 16th April 1918).
(4) Karbala being a Shi‘ah holy city, has attracted a large colony of Persians,
who brought the art of gardening with them. The result is that Karbala
gardeners are famed throughout ‘Iraq for the introduction of intensive cultivation.
Stable manure used to be plentiful thanks to the caravans of pilgrims with their
numerous animals. It is now scarce but the sites of ruined villages yield a certain
fertilising substance not unlike dark sand, which is found to be a fairly satisfactory
substitute. In the gardens in addition to dates are found pomegranates, oranges,
limes, apricots, plums, grapes of five kinds, one of which fruits twice during the
season, quince, figs and mulberries. There are a few “ maqtum ” dates, these
being the best and rarest of all the kinds of dates in Mesopotamia. (Revenue
note on Karbala, dated 23rd March 1918).
(5) There is some confusion between land measurements in the district, and
care must be taken to be certain about which any informant is speaking.