"نجد الجنوبية: رحلة إلى الخرج والأفلاج والسليل ووادي الدواسر في سنة ١٩١٨." [ظ‎‎٣‎١] (١٠٠/٦٧)

— 54 —
and north-east and thus scattered over the vast tract they now
occupy, the complete severance of old ties by the A1 Hasan
being doubtless due to blood feuds surviving to this day by
constant renewal.
At a rough estimate based on the figures given above the
total settled population of the wadi is about 9,000 souls of whom
perhaps 2,000 are negroes, but it must be borne in mind that the
nomad counterparts of the various settled elements own ex
tensive proprietary interests in the date-groves and swell the
population at harvest time. What relation the numbers of
these nomads, whose grazing grounds lie mainly in the Nafudh
Dahi to the north, bear to those of the settled groups it is difficult
to saj, but I think it would be reasonable to assume that two
persons in every three are of nomadic habits. A calculation on
this basis would make the total population dependent on the wadi
some 21,000 Dawasir and 2,000 negroes or 23,000 souls in all.
Of the agricultural aspect of the wadi it is unnecessary to
say much ; the staple item of cultivation is of course dates,
some of the groves being of extraordinary density ; wheat is
largeiy grown, though this year there has naturally been a falling
oft m the area sown owdng to the destruction of so many wells
by the flood ; there is the usual variety of fruit trees and' finally
vegetables are much in evidence. While on the subject of
toodstuffs J may remark with reference to the meat market of
Dam {vide " Handbook of Arabia") that the people of the wadi
and ot Southern Nejd generally seldom enjof the luxury of a
meat meal their dietary being strictly limited to wheat boiled
whole and known as Jirish (I think identical with the Qaimi of
Northern Nejd and the Burghul of Syria), milk and dates.
payment of revenue to the Riyadh treasury, so long
m abeyance during the disturbed reign of Abdulla and the subse
quent occupation by Ibn Rashid, who never effectively occupied
u aiyyi! and the wadi, has now for several years been strictly
enforced Revenue is collected in kind at the rate of five per
cent of the gross produce of dates and corn ; the result of last
year s collection m the wadi and Sulaiyyil being as follows
Wadi. Sulaiyyil. Total.
Dates 23,000 Sas* 9,000 Sas 32,000 Sas
Corn 14,000 „ 6,000 „ 20,000 „