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. ' The Jewish Agency for Palestine

Institute

of

Agriculture

and

Natural History

AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION

B u l l e t i n 10.

THE FELLAH'S FARM

by

I. Elazari-Volcani

Director Agr icultural Exper iment Station .

Tel-Aviv, September

1930.

r

\ \



i

. " The Jewish Agency for Palestine

Institute of Agriculture and Natural H istory

AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION

B u l l e t i n 10.

THE FELLAH'S FARM

by

I. Elazari-Volcani

Director Agricultural Experiment Station.

Tel-Aviv, September 1930.



mi

torn the Hebrew

•oel-Hazair Printing Press;

«Zincography M.Plkovsky.

P R E F A C E .

This monograph, of which the descriptive chapters were

published in Hebrew in the year 1928, is intended both as a sequel

to the study which preced ed it on "The Transitio n from Primitive

to Modern Agricu lture," and as an introduction to a series of

studies of vario us types of farms in the grain belt of Pale stine.

Some of these studies have already been published in H ebrew,

while others are now ready for the press.

The chief types of farms in que stion ar e: the grain farm,

the dairy farm, the farm in transitio n, and the mono cultural

modern farm. Descriptions of these types are given not for the

sake of description per se, but as bases for analytical comparison

between them. Certain tendencies and factors are em phasized,

some points being described in detail; while others, which are

not required for the purpose in mind, are passed over more

summarily.

The tendency in P alestin ian agricu lture is to chang e from old

forms to new. The function of the transformation process is the

uprooting of what is bad in the old m etho ds and the abso rbin g

what is good from the new ones. But the reality is not always

so exact. Uprooting wh at is bad in the old is apt to involve

the uprooting of the goo d at the sam e time. N ot everyth ing

new that supersedes the old is beneficial, and often it happens

that discrimina tion îs not exercise d. We find at times within

III



the old methods, which are base d on ancient traditions, worth-

while elements meriting use in the accepted new systems. The

ideal practice is to seek out the good elem ents in both tradition

and modern practice, and to amalgamate them.

When agriculture is found in a transitional phase , two

factors are at work, namely, mec hanics and biology. The first

—

mechanics replaces primitive implements by complicated machi-

nery. The second involves the improvement of breeds and seeds,

increased productivity of the soil by the use of manure and fertilizer

and increase of returns by changes in the cropping system. The

first method requ ires a consid erable investm ent of capita l, b ut

the second can b e. introduced gradually, at a small cost, and

withou tsudd en and radical c hanges. The problem here is: in how

far can a primitive farm be improved during its early transition

stages by the use of biological methods alone, which do not

require sums to be invested beyond the means of the primi-

tive cultivator, a nd which do not sudde nly force him out of

his accustomed habits and methods of work.

These problems are not peculiar to Palestine alone, but

apply to ail Oriental countries. In many respects Palestine may

be regard ed as a field of investigation and resea rch. Within

its bord ers, the oldest of the old and the newest of the new

cross each other 's pa ths : traditions going back thousa nds of

years operate side by side with the latest technical achieve-

ments. Therefore, Palestine can play the same part in agricul-

tural econ om ics as an experim ent field does in agricultura l

technique, the results being intended not only for its own

benefit, but for application to agriculture on a large scale.

. This mono graph deals with economic and technical pro -

blems only. Prob lems of agrarian policy and credit will be

dealt with in a special study.

I

In gathering data on which to base a scientific inquiry

into the fellah's farming, peculiar hindrances are met with. The

fellah is suspi cious of everyone who tries to pum p information

out of him. H is crops will increase or- diminish acc ordin g to

the supposed identity of his questioner. If the latter is suspec-

ted of being a Governm ent tax collector, th e yield will shrink to

less than n othing . But if he is imagine d to be a pros pec tive

purchaser of land or a bank agent, the crops will exceed any-

thing to be expected from the most fertile re gion s. The facts

chan ge in the twinkling of an eye. In a certain instan ce, one

que stion ing a fellah in this regard replied to him, "If the

crop s are so small, we canno t allow you the credits we had

intended." Whereu pon a second fellah promptly appe ared upon

the scene, and pushing the first aside as a "du nce ," assev era-

ted that the yield was three or fourfold as large.

The figures given in the present study are derived from

*he following direct sources:

1. The Palestine Land Development Company had large

• tracts of land in the Valley of Jezreel which were work ed by

tenant farmers until transferred to the new colonists. The th resh-

ing floor and the fields were supervised by watchmen in the

•employ of the Company, and an exact record of the crops was

kept from year to year. The re cord s of ten yea rs (1914—1923)

for an area .of 10,000 dun am s which were cultivate d by 50 or

QO tenant farmers, have here been summarized. Mr. Yochevedson-

Pevsner, chief superviser of this district, h anded these reco rds

•to the author each year, together with n otes of his obse rva-

tions of the habits and customs of the tenant farmers.

2. The farms of Ben-Shemen and H uldah, w hich were

adm inistered by the author from 1909 to 1919, were like sma ll

IV



islands of modernity amon g the fellah farms. Th e fellah s'

threshing floors were close beside our bounda ries, and it wa s

possible to determine the yield of their threshing floors exactly.

Records of observations were made each year. Experiments-

were also made with the me thod s of fellah cultivation . Du ring

the War, because the farm anim als had been requisitioned, Ben

Shemen was obliged to lease p art of its land in the Jiills to fel-

lahs. These fields continued to be supervised by the farm, and

exact recor ds were kept of their crop s. A similar sou rce of

information was the settlement of Beer-Tuviah, where a group

of labou rers w orked "under the direction of the w riter.

3.

Good relations with the Arab neighbours at the places-

mentioned facilitated the gathe ring of data. The fellahs un de r-

stood th at the q uestion ers had no motive but to study conditions-

and to devise meth ods of increas ing the yield. Fo r the first

time they saw the marvel of how the "sowing of salt increases

the crops." For many years the writer 's as sistants gathered data-

in various parts of the country.

4. At the Experiment Station atGe vath, the Division of Rural

Econo mics co-op erated with the Division of Agron omy on an.

area of 250 dunams, which was divided into economic units. One

of these, com prising 60 du nam s, was turned over for cultiv ation

to a fellah from a nearby v illage, and special re cord s w ere kep t

of the results over a period of five years.

In describing the working methods of the fellah, the writer

has relied on his own direct ob serv ation s. The references to-

ancient Jewish folklore are drawn from the Talmud

•

and other

primary so urce s, while those bearing on fellah folklore are all

based on

Prof.

Gustav Dalmann's latest book, entitled "Arb eit

und Sitten in Palastina."

VI

The author wishes to express his thanks to Mr. Yo che-

vedson -Pevsne r, and to Mr. Klivaner, assistan t in the Division

of Agronomy, for their constant aid in the assem bling of ma -

terial ; to Mr. Kostrinsky

r

assistant in the Division of Agronomy

at Gevath, for keeping the rec ord s; to- Mr. Ezrahi-Krishevsky,

meteorologist of the Egyptian Government, for working up the

meteorological data; and to Messrs. Sussman, assistant in the

Division of Rural Economics, and Rosolio, secretary of the

Institute, for their aid in arranging the statistical material.

Agricultural Experiment Station

Division of Rural Economics.

Tel-Aviv, Palestine

July 1930.

I . Elazari-Volcani.

VII



1

1

CONTENTS

Page-

Chapter On e: Waiting for the rain 1

The ra iny season

, .

> 2

Ancient cus toms surviving at the p r e s e n t day . . 10-

C h a p t e r

Two :

S e a s o n s

of

a g r i c u l t u r a l w o r k ,

16

Season

of

sowing

18

;

The harves t seasou 23

C h a p t e r T h r e e

:

C r o p p i n g s y s t e m

29

Shelef and k e r a b 29'

The kerabs according to the i r impor tance . . . . 31

C h a p t e r F o u r :

Th e

h a r m o n i o u s s t r u c t u r e

. . . . . . 39'

E x t e r n a l a p p e a r a n c e and s t r u c t u r e 40

Inves tment capi ta l

43

Income and e x p e n d i t u r e 49

C h a p t e r F i v e : The way of life of the fe l lah 51

1.

The

fe l lah 's working

day . 51

2. Size of f a r m s 54

3

The

household

of the

fellah

57

4.

Th'e

comm unal organisa t ion

59

C h a p t e r Six : The F e l l a h ' s f a r m u n d e r e x p e r i m e n t . . . 05

Plan

of

e x p e r i m e n t s

70

Types of f a r m s u n d e r e x p e r i m e n t 74

E e s u l t s

of

e x p e r i m e n t s

in

fields

of the

feilah

. . 83

Resul ts of e x p e r i m e n t s in modern farming . . . 90-

C h a p t e r S e v e n : / M o d e r n i s i n g th e f e l l a h ' s f a r m . . . . 97

Fi rs t t rans i tory s tages

in

modernisation,

of a

pr imi t ive farm

97

I m p r o v i n g

the

fe l lah ' s fa rm wi th

his

p r e s e n t

i n s t r u m e n t s of product ion 107

Modernis ing the fellah's farm in accord wi th

geographica l d is t r ibut ion

of

f a n n i n g s y s t e m s

. 116-

The sums requ i red for the i m p r o v e m e n t of

the fe l lah ' s fa rm

123-

IX



TABLES.

Page

1. Seasonal rainfall . Monthly means in millimetres . . . . 11

2. Mean tempe rature 12

3.

Calendar of operation on a fellah's farm (80 -10 0 dun.) . 19

4.

Calendar of operations on an Arab farm in different seasons 20

5. A. Chemical analyses 20

B.

Mechanical analyses 20

6. System of farming and specified crop returns of Arab tenants 33

7. System of farming and. specified crop ret urns of selected

Arab tenants 34

8. System of farming and classified crop returns of Arab tenants 41

9. System of farming and specified crop return s of selected

Arab tenants 42

10. Eetu rns of Arab tenant farmer in Yalley of Jezree l . . 45

11. Returns of selected Arab tenant farms 46

12. A. Income and expenditure of a 12 feddan farm in Galilee 55

B. Income and expenditure per feddan 55

13.

System of fanning and crop returns on various types of

Arab farms . 5G

14 .

Income and expenditure in various types of Arab farms . 56

15. Rainfall at Gevatli Experim ent Station 71

16. Calendar of operation in Arab farming experiments, Agr.

Exp. Station Gevath 85

17. "Working days. A. "Wheat exper imen tal field at Gevatli

(Arab farming) . -.

B.

Durra experimental field at Gevath

(Arab fanning) . S6-87

18. Income and expenditure of Arab farm under experim ent

in Gevath 88

19. Retu rns per dunam on experimen tal plots, Arab farming 88

20 .

Comparative expenditure of different types of farms . . 109

21 . Standard of living on farms in transitory stage in different

settlements 110

22 .

Areas, seeds and yields in Tel-Adass 117

23.

Cash income and expenditure and net farm income at

Tel-Adass 118-119

24 . Density of population in Palestine 123

ILLUSTRATIONS.

facing

• page

At the spr ing . . . f ront i sp iece

Arab vi l lage in the h i l ly count ry XI I

Arab vi l lage in the p la in XI I

"Water wh eel ("Sakia") . 1

Wate r ing goats . • 1

Pales t ine ra infa l l map 8

Map of Pale stine soils 9

Mending the p lough 16

Fi rs t p loughing 16

Prepa r ing the seed bed and sowing 17

H a r v e s t o f w h e a t 2 4

Loading • 24

F e e d i n g s t u b b l e s 2 5

F i r s t t h r e s h i n g w i t h a n i m a ls 2 8

Threshing wi th the threshing board 28

Fina l threshing wi th animals 29

Yiew of the threshin g f loor 29

Bam ia field 32

Durr a f ie ld 32

S e s am e f ie ld . 3 3

"Water melo n field 33

Making sun-dr ied br icks 40

Bin for chopped s t raw 40

Making mud oven for na t ive bread 41

"W innow ing t h e g r a in cro p . . . . . . . . 4 8

"Winnowing and sacking 49

Fel lah adobe hut 56

B e do ui n h u t of m a tt in g a a d b r a nc h e s . . . . 5 6

F e l la h e e n d w e lling h o u se . . . . . . . . . 57

Bedouin tent , the wife making but te r 57

Arab ploug h . . . . '. 64

A n c i e n t H e b r e w p l o u g h 6 5

Modif ied H ebre w plough 65

H oeing sesame . . 72

Sesam e threshing f loor 72

XI



Heap.-of • durra . . . ; . . 7 5

Sioving grain 1'i

T h e f e l l a h c o m i n g

t o

w o r k

8' 2

S o w i n g s e s a m e w i t h a f u n n e l 8 2

W h e a t f i e ld w i t h o u t f e r t i l i z e r . . . ' . . . . 8 5

W h e a t f i e l d f e r t i l i z e d 8 3

F e l l a h , w h e a t f i e l d ,

a t

G e v a t h

. . . ; . ; . . . . 8 8

W h e a t f i e ld f o l l o w i n g g r e e n m a n u r e . . . . . 8 8 -

S o w i n g i n s t r i p s . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 9

C u l t i v a t e d f a l lo w . .. .. . . . . . . . . . . -

:

8 9 - .

M o d e r n i s i n g , a g r i c u l t u r e - . . . . - . , . . - . . . . 9 6 -

H a r v e s t i n g w i t h b i n d e r

. . . . : . , . - : . ' . . .

- 9 7

•

T h r e s h i n g w i t h m a c h i n e . . . . . . - . . . . 97

G a u l a n b r e e d c o w . . . . 1 0 4

C r o s s b r e d c o w , A r a b a n d D u t c h . . . . . .. . 1 0 4

Grossbred cow, Arab an d Dutch . , . . , . . .•

Crossbred co w , Beyrouth au d Fr iesian .. „•

Crossbred

cow,

Beyrouth

an d

Fr iesian

. . .

Crossbred co w , Beyrouth an d F r i e s i an . . . ..

Pasturing sheep on the hiUs of Ben Shemen

Carob. grove on the hills of Ben Shemen .

Suggested geographical distribution

of the-

-

•

I';

farming systems

iu

P a l es t i n e .

. . . . . . .

Comparative values of principal crop

(1 ^ retu rns in Palestine . . . . . . . .

Old carob tree on rocky ground . -. . , -

104

.

105-

1 Q 5 -

1 0 5 -

112 -

-113-.-

-.

12 0

-121

12 4

Garob. planted

on

rocky ground

• . . 124

Rock}:

ground before planting • . . 12 5 •

Xoung orchard on terraced rocky ground

;

.:.-. ,. 12j>

XII

V-

I ' . -



Water wheel ("Sakia")

Watering goats

THE FELLAH'S FARM

For the land whither thou goe'st in to possess,

•

it'i s not as the land: of- E gypt from whence;y,e' came

:

out; w here thou sdwedst thy- see d' and: wateredst

it'with thy foot, as. a; garden of herbs..-; - >• .'; ,•

:

V But:the land whither: ye go topo sse ss it is'

a,land,. of,hills and valley, a nd. drinketh water of

the rain of. heaven.

'A' land which the Lord thy God careth for*,

the'eyes of the Lord thy God are always upon-it

from th e beg inning of the< yea r

;.everi

unto-the-end

" o L t h e y e a r . . : ".•;;;;;•••••••-•. \; .. .

r

" ' : . : . ; ; ; : . • >

[Deut , XI, 10-1 2] - . . . . .

C h a p t e r 0 n e . '

WAITING FOR THE RAIN.

The ancient H ebrews used to divide the year into two de-

finite period s — the seaso n of the rain and the seaso n of the

sun, This division corresponds to the character of the country,

which has no

:

transition periods of any length, like spring

and autumn in other countries. F rom the.middle';of: Gh.eshvan

(October)

:

to-.the m iddle of

1

Nisan (April),-, rain:

.fall's:

at intervals-

for .about- forty-or 1ifty

;

days, and

1

to ;an"> amou nt-., of;.from five

v hundred- to- six-hundred" millim etres. For- seven m onths-the-.cou ntry

s

is <

:

dry-without-a' dro p; of»rain,'.and"the:Isun-- reigns Isuplreme.'.In

1

-

the 'Jordan - -Valley' the- rainy- d ays'.are; fewer,:the: rainfall

less,:

an d

th e

:

day s"of/h ot sunshine^-more; numerous.' . In the.Negeb the rain-

fall only am oun ts.to. from two;to three;hundred millimetres ' , and-

even this- is not regular e very year. • Years of d rought in that

distri ct are- noth ing unusual.". ' : :



Summer winds.

— The summer heat is tempered by winds

that blow regularly from the sea from morning to even ing. The

soil as it becomes heated in the course of the day causes the

layer of air upon it to rise, and the cool,air from the sea rushes

in to fill its place. In the night the proc ess is reve rsed. The

earth cools more rapidly than the surface of the sea, and air

curren ts are borne from it in the direction of the sea. Th us

nature mak es provisio n for alleviating the toil of the day and

1or assurin g the repo se of the night. In the mou ntain region

and in the plain which is open to the sea these air currents

sail along in the shape of light breezes in their two contrary

directions. The prophet also refers to the "dry wind on the

high plac es" (Jer., IV, 11). In the valley and in the clefts in

the m ountains, and especially in the valleys of the Jordan, these

wind s rage as if they were trying to break out of a prison ,

swirling round and round and raising clouds of dust. The

burning east wind which blows from the Arabian desert for a

few days in the year is not opp ressiv e in the winter, bu t is

exceedingly oppressive in the spring and summer, raising the

temperature to 35-46°C.

The rainy season.

— The rainy season is the time of w ater

storage for animals and plants. The inhabitants of the moun -

tain region dig cisterns in the rock for reservo irs, and the wa -

ters collected during the few rainy days in a d eep hole, protec-

ted by the cover of a thick stone, supply man and beast du-

ring the whole long summer p eriod. The F ellah stores up the

rain in the layers of the soil itself all over his fields for the

nourishing of his summer cr ops by breaking up its surface with

his light plough and laying it open tolhe rain, by preparing a

good tilth before sowing, and by breaking up all the hard su r-

face which forms after th e later rain s. Summ er plants do not

see a sing le dro p of rain d uring the w hole four month s of their

growth . Only the heavy dew w hich falls at nignt

them. On an average, dew falls on 64 out of 92 summ er day s

(about

2

/s). In the Jord an v alley there is no dew e ither, and its

produ cts, such as sesam e, do not thrive in unirrigated fields. Th us

the loose layer (mulch) formed by the light "nail plough" pro-

tects-

the moisture stored in the ground against excessive eva-

poration and preserves it for the benefit of the plant, just as the

stone protects the water in reservoir for living creatures to drink.

The features of the soil.

— The soil of the plain, w hich is

light and easy to till, forms a comparatively short and quite

narrow stretch extending parallel to the coast from Caesare a in

the North to the village of Khan Yunnis in the South, its other

side being formed b y a zigzag line following the chain of the

mountains. The soil of the Negeb which borders with the sou th-

ern desert is also not heavy. On the other han d the who le of

the plain and all the valleys are composed of heavy soil. The

Shep helah , most of Sha ron, the plain of Acre, the Valley of

Jezreel, Upper and Lower Galilee, and the Valley of the Jordan—

the soil of all th ese contains from thirty-five to forty perce nt

of clay. When this soil is very moist it bec ome s highly c om -

pact; it sticks to the plough, dulling its edge, and the clod s

turned up by the plough hang on to one another and becom e

solid block s. Trying to walk over this heavy grou nd after rain

is like putting on bo ots of clay which grow thicker at every

step until by their weigh t they chain the wayfarer to the spo t.

On the other hand, when this ground is dried by the summe r

heat, it becomes as hard as brick*).

During the last four months of the summ er the grou nd

has a gloomy and. morose appearance. The blazing sun extracts

from it the last remna nts of moisture which are stored in it

from the rainy seaso n. T he surface of the groun d yaw ns and

splits into clefts, like a tree split by the heat after it ha s lost

•) See table 5 p. 20.



another and above medium in a third. On a ou,uuu



them, not merely is all this water lost, but it lays the plan ts

flat, it carries away the superficial layer which has been tilled

and fertilised, and spoils whole portions of the fields. Par ti-

cularly severe damage is done by the torrential rains in a low

country when they sw eep down from the moun tains. Neither

the ground hardened by the heat of summ er nor the groun d

moistened in the middle of the winter can absorb the rain ex-

cept when it comes down gently and is distributed over a long

period. The ground receives more benefit from a rainfall of

four hundred mm s. distributed over a long period than from six

hundred coming in heavy falls and at short intervals.

The "M alko sh" is the latter rain. When it comes as it

should do, it fails in a peculiar way, in straight lines as if

with a plummet. Sometim es the large drops catch the rays of

the sun and assum e a peculiar colour. Th e latter rain also

comes down with a special rhythm, the drops seeming to dance

upon the ground.

Distribution of rain. — Marked differences in the rainfall

are observe d even in one district and in places distant only a

few miles from one a nother . Sometim es the clouds will pa ss

over the fields of one v illage and pour their blessing upon

those of another close by, so that what is a good year for one

may in certain cases be a bad year for the other.

The precipitation, rain and dew, may sometimes differ in

one and the same district as regards quantity or seasona l d istri-

bution to s uch an extent as to decide the character of the farm

and of crop rotatio ns, whether there is to be cereal farming,

dairying, summ er kerab- or black fallow. On a tract totalling

30,000 dunam s, for instanc e, within the Nu ris Block, it h as

seemed necessa ry, at any rate for the present, to introdu ce three

systems of cro p rotation s. At one spot, indeed , just be fore

Beit Shan, summer crops are scanty, while they are medium in

tract in. central E sdraelon , between N ahalal and Afuleh, the

harvests vary not only because of the difference in the holding

capacity of the soil but because of the difference in precip itation.

In" one place clover will give three crops, in another one or

perhaps two, and not too abundan t at that. Nor must it be

forgotten that the keeping of cows for dairying depend s to a

considerable degree on the success of the clover crop.

The withholding of rain is one of the wor st plagues of

the country. The period of growth is thereby shortene d. T he

months of Tebeth and Shebat (January and February) are the

coldest in the year, and- growth is particularly delayed by the

cold of the nights. The success of the crop depends upon the

lenght of the period allowed for growth, and is conditioned by

the time when the cold comes —whether when the plants have

already m anaged to strike root and can therefore resist the

cold, or whether it attacks them when they are still ten der.

Sowing at the end of Cheshvan (Novem ber) allow s the plants

time for developm ent before the cold nights of Tebet h (January)

come. Late sowing falls just in the cold tim e. The lack of latter

rain as a rule b odes evil. If there was not much rain in the

winter time, the winter plants will not find enough moisture for

their sustenance. The ground splits under them and rends

asunder the bed of their roots, and even thos e that are left of

them are as it were imprisoned in thick clods, and in this way

they are cut off from their sources of sustenance. A rainy year

also hampers their development because the upper layer of soil

becomes dry in any case, and the stalks on which the sun

beats from above are not able to draw sufficient moisture from

below, and the conse quence is that as they have no opportunity

to swell out they become shrivelled and stunted, when they are

full-grown, even if the stalk in its early stages reaches a fair height.

• ? •••

m



Prayers for rain.

— The rains themselves are divided

into falls — first, sec ond and third. The Heb rew w ord for this—

"reb iah " — itself sym bolises the fructification of the earth w hen

it comes into contact with the rain. In the days of He rod — so

we are told — rain used to co me dow n in the n ight, then in the

morning the wind blew, the clouds scattered, the sun came out

and the earth d ried. In the good days, according to the Talmud,

the rain used to come on Wedn esday and Saturday. The rain

used

to

come down in the night, and the next day the wind

would blow, the clouds scattered and the sun cam e out, and

everyone arose to his work, thus showing that they were doing

the work of He aven. Th e Rab bis say that since the day of the

destruction of the Temp le the rains have not come dow n from

the "good storeho use." In ancient times fasts were decreeded

on accou nt of the delay of the rainfall. If the seventee nth of

March eshvan (Novem ber) arrived and rain had not yet fallen,

the students of the Beth-H amidrash alone used to fast Monday,

Thursday, and Monday. If the New Moon of Kislev (December)

arrived and rain had not yet fallen, the Beth-Din ordered the

whole community to fast three days, Monday, Thursd ay and

Mond ay. If these went by and there was still no answer, tne

Beth-Din ordered three more fasts, Monday, Thursday and

Monday. During the whole time of these three fasts.they were

forbidden to do work by day, to do more business than was

absolutely n eces sary, to build or to plant, and to give gree tings

to one an other ; they were to be like men who were in disgrace

with the Almigh ty. If Nisan (April) came and the sun reach ed

the. beginning of the constella tion of the Ox, they did not fast

any more, because rain at that season was nothing but a curse,

seeing that it had not come down since the beginning of the year.

On each day of the seven last fasts, following service of

prayer- used to be observe d. Th e Ark was brough t out into the

30 '

JO»



Palestine SoiLs

pieludino tljp mountains

bu f.

Act. £xp. JiA. TeL-Avi . p,ifstine.

Red Ijtauu

oa

mu sail

tfed Loamu sanclu jo ic

•'///\ CaLcafiaui-ioamu mil oîtjt Platn

f DoUan

j"aMj

Loamy

s o i l

?3£ -public square, and all the people collected there, wearin g sack -

•cloth. They put ashe s on the Ark and on the Sefer Tora h in

order to increase their sorrow and to humble their hearts. One

• of the peop le to ok some of the ashe s and put it on the head of

the Nasi and of the Ab-beth-din in the place where the Tefihn

rested, so that they should feel sham e an d repent, and each

•one took and place d some on his own head. After that they

used to call on a «ZakSn" and "Chacham" to rise among them

while they sat ; if there was not among them one who was both

«Chacham" and «Zaken" they called on a «Chacham"; if there

was neither «Zaken" no r « Chacha m" they called on one with a

good presence. He addressed to them words of reproof as fol-

l ows :

«My brethren, it is not sackc loth an d not fasting that will

produce the desired effect, but repentance and good deeds; for

so we find in the case of the men of Nineveh that it is not said

•'and God saw their sackcloth and their fasting', but 'God saw

their deed s.' " After this one had finished his ad mo nition, they

stood up in prayer and appointed as a reader one who was

fitted to pray on these fasts. And this is the kind of man who

was fitted to pray: one who was well versed in prayer and

practised in the reading of the Torah, the Prophe ts and the

Writings; one with several young children and no money, but

who did hard work in the field; one who did not count a bad

• -character among his sons or the occupants of his house or all

his relatives who were connected with him, but whose house was

free from sin; one who never had a ba d name in his early day s;

a man of humility and well liked by the public , and one who

had a good v oice and could sing tun es. If with all these qua li-

ties he was a « Zake n" as well, he suited perfectly; if he

was not a «Zaken", since he had these qualities, he was

fitted to pray. After pra yers a ll the peop le went out to the ce-

metery and prayed there. If rain began to fall while they were





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even to-day. The signs of the times may have changed, but not

the times themselves, nor yet the not ions of the times. "El

Vusmi", nothingelse than a translation of the idea of Yore (early

rain) as it s tands in Saadya the Sage, exists in the every-day

speech of the Fellah. They distinguish between the first early

rain beginn ing five da ys before the festival of St. George in

Lydda, and the latter early rains coming a fortnight later. "The

Yore in its time" falls on that very days, i. e. from the 3rd to

the 16th of November . The entire of period lasts from October

18 to November 18, roughly co rresponding to the month of

Heshvan, or its 8th day, as it was fixed in the Mishnaic period.

When the skies withhold their blessings, they try to bring them

down by prayers and supplications, by cries, exhortations, and

sacrifices. Each district has its local rites. The re may be a

procession of girls in the twilig ht after the evening meal, be ating

empty petrol tins containing pebbles, in. order to make even

more noise. They knock

at the

doors

of the

houses ,

and are

sprinkled with water.

An old

woman marches before them,

a

handmill

on her

head,

on top of

which

a

rooster shut

in a

basket crows lustily

to

call forth divine compassion.

A

pitcher

of water occasionally replaces

the

hand-mill.

A

white cock

an d

a

black

hen are

carried along

and

beaten

at

intervals

so

that] they may cry all the louder. Grain and flour sifters are

carried on the head to symbolise the famine threatening man

and beast. Sometimes an old woman riding a donkey backwards

and carrying an infant grinds an empty hand-mill. These figures

are meant to personify innocence. The old woman can no

longer do wrong, while the infant has not yet tasted sin. The

rooster represents the domestic animals.

Elsewhere they carry an effigy thro ugh the streets, water

being sprinkled thereon from within the houses . The effigy is

dressed like a woman. It is made like a cross , a pitch fork

13

12





C h a p t e r T w o .

SEASONS OF AGRICULTURAL WORK.

The festivals of Israel are fixed for the most part accord-

ing to the seas ons of ag ricultural lab ou r: the countin g of the

Omer from the feast of Pass over, the feast of first fruits, and

the feast of in-gathe ring. No w a s of old the work of the thresh-

ing floor finishes in the farm of the Fellah at the end of Tishri

(October). From harvest time to in-gathering man and beast

pass from the confinement of the clay hut to the unconfined

threshing-floo r under the open sky. Tha t is then where life

throbs both by day and night. The harvest pa sses, the summer

ends, the threshing finishes, and the threshing floor is emptied

of living creatu res and the last remna nts of prod uce. Th en

commences the great work of household renovation, the women

taking comm and. It is they who gather dry grass in the fields

and bring it hom e on their shou lders, w ho m ix mud for mortar

and crush to powder the animal dung when it has been dried..

A mixture of these m aterials with stubble serves for plaste ring

the roofs and the wa lls. Under the diligent han ds of the wom en

the walls are clothed with new coats of plaster. The low co ne-

shaped straw-stacks are renovated with a new coat of moist

plaster. The men after the hard work of the threshing-flo or

now sit with their han ds folded and cha t idly, raisin g the while

their eyes to heaven- app eaiin gly; for w ithout the early rain the-

husbandman cannot go out to his work in the field.

The first rain.— Th e first early rain which deserv es the

name m oistens the soil to a depth of about 20 m ms . It is oniy

16

• / :

Meudiug the plough

First ploughing



then that the Fe llah can begin to open up the field. Th e work

commences with a proce ssion of

the.

elder s of the village to the

field to measure out to each one his portion. The measurement

is made with an ox-goad about two and a half metres long, or

with a rope. They then fix the individual plots, the plot 'ex-

tending the length of the field to which each Fe llah is ass ig-

ned with a breadth of one to three ox-goads . When the mea-

surement has been finished, the time of ploughing beg ins. The

plough of the Fe llah is light, corre spo ndin g to his beast. The

combined strength of the two of them cann ot make so much

as a deep scratch in the dry soil left by the harvest, m uch less

peel off the crust of the groun d. Cons equently as a rule the

Fellah does not p lough the ground as it is left after the harves t,

but only after the rain has fallen. He is practically compelled

to do this by the nature of his implem ents and the composition

of his soil, which for the most part is heavy. Only where the

dry ground left after the harvest is light the Fe llah does not

wait for the rain to open his field. In such place s there are

some who even so w before the early rain (Afir). M any, how ever,

wait with their sowing till the rain comes not only because be-

fore then it is impo ssible to sow, but also to allow time for

the sprouting of the we eds , which they can destroy with the

ploughing, thus assuring the cultivated plants against the attacks

of the noxious ones.

Opening furrows.

- The opening up of the field is done

with rough plough ing. Th e furrows are open and are u sually

distant 20 centimetres from one another. T he ob ject of this is to

open up the tight ground to the penetratio n of the rain, which

will be retained in the open furrow and so water the smo oth

surface. Ground w hich is plough ed finely with narrow and clo se

furrows is not so receptive of the rain as w hen it is ploughed

with open furrows.

17



Season of sowing. — The time of sowing is when the rain

penetrates to such a depth that the plough does not touch dry

ground . Winter plants, viz. beans, karsena, and early lentils,

barley and wheat, are sown by broadc asting over the open

furrows. The plough is then passed crosswise over the field so

as to cover over the seeds which have been sown with a fine

ploughing, with narrow and close furrows. The ancient H ebrews

distinguished between rough ploughing and fine ploughing, be-

tween the furrows for open ing and furrows for sowing, between

ploughing after the harvest and ploughing after the rains. These

ancien t term s are preserv ed in the lang uage of the fellah till

the present day, to denote his operations.

System of ploughing.

— The Arab plough is like the ancient

Hebrew plough. The latter, however, seems to have been more

comp licated. Its distinguishing characteristic is that it cuts the

surface soil and does not turn it up. It perform s, very slowly it is

true, but very thoroughly, all the functions for which a combi-

nation of m odern machines is required — a plough, a roller and

a harrow. Its great virtues are that it does not bring up.clods,

that it doe s not pres s or crush the m oist earth, .but flits as it

were over the ground with its coulter which resem bles a duck's

foot in its ba se, and that it pen etrate s the grou nd with its point

which is sharp and long like the head of a spear. It produces

the requ isite loose and broke n crust by itself witho ut the aid

of other implements. The Fellah has only one garment which

he wears both day and night. From the point of view of clean-

liness and comfort this of course leaves much to be desired.

But the ploughing of the Fellah is above reproach . H is field,

prepared for sowing, is never inferior to tha t prepared by the

most perfect implements, and sometimes it even surp asses all

oth ers. The defect lies only in the slow ness which calls for

modification in .order to ada pt the workin g proce ss to the rate

of speed in our time.

18

T a b l e 3 .

Calendar of Operation on a Fellah's Farm.

(80—100 Dunams) .

<ind of operation

Opening furrows

Sowing

Opening furrows

First ploughing

Second ploughing

Sowing of chick peas

,, „ durra

Third plough, of sesame

Sowing of sesame

Weeding

Weeding and hoeing

F'ulling chick peas

H arvest of barley

Transport „

Pulling of beans

Transport „

H arvest of Faenum

Graecum

Transpo rt of „ „

H arvest of wheat

Transport of „

£

J3

H

Wheat

Barley

Beans

Chick peas

Faenum Graecum

H arvesting of durra

Transport „ „

Threshing „ „

H arvest of sesame

Threshing „

Total

Season

Nov.-Dec.

Dec-Jan .

Jan.-Feb.

February

March

April

1»

Ma y

»

June

»

»

i»

»

n

n

June-July

n »

June-Sep.

n n

it >t

n n

n n

August

j»

Sept.-Oct.

September

October

Working days

Men

5

12

^3

l

/2

( 8

2

1

4

2

—

—

5

1

_

1

2,

12

1

20

4

35

10

3

(3 )

2

&

V - . .

(J

^4

147

Women

—

—

—

—

2

—

—

—

12

4

5

2

~"

3

—

t/o

1 / 2

—

20

8

3

( 3 )

V

'

2

t

1

'

2

1

75V2

ren

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

_

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

20

8

1

JL

1

—

—

—

—

-

31

Working days

(animals)

Oxen

15

36

10

24

24

12

3

12

6

—

—

_

—

—

_

—

—

—

—

70

20

8

8

8

—

—

4

—

2

262

Camels

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

_

_

3

—

1

1

—

4

—

—

—

—

_

—

1

—

1

-

11

19



T a b 1 e 4.

Calendar

of

operations

on an

Arab farm

in

different S eas ons .

Seasons

V»

Nov.—January

Feb.—March

April—V» May

Va May—A Nov.

Total

N

o

d

78

59

45

183

365

Rain and Idie days

R

n

24

24

4

-

52

S

h

a

H

o

d

—

-

-

-

-

S

c

a

d

e

d

10

15

1

13

39

O

p

n

f

u

w

s

7

1

—

—

8

S

w

i

n

12

2

3

-

17

P

o

n

—

16

4

—

20

H

a

v

a

T

e

n

—

-

—

101

101

N

o

o

w

o

k

d

19

19

7

101

146

N

o

e

e

d

25

1

33

69

128

T a b l e 5.

A. Chemical Analyses (calculated

on dry

matter)

in %.

Locality

Dagania A

Nahalai

Ben-Shemen

Ueplh

0-601

0-30

0-50

H

2

O

7-00

11-17

10-35

P

2

O

5

0-18

0-20

0-17

0-37

0-54

0-43

CaCo,

39-25

7-54

15-8

N

Cl

Oig.

Matter

0-2l

0-0060

0-121 -

0-16 - ;

Salts

Soluble

in Water

0-085

1-261 -

0-70 -

B. Mechanical Analyses (size

of

particles

in

mms.) .

Locality

Dagania

A

Nahalai

Ben-Shemen

Depth

0-60

0-30

0-50

<0,01

10-2

49-75

28-88

0,01-0,05

30-1

14-51

17-54

0,05-0,1

37-1

18-29

19-22

0,1-2,0

22-5

17-21

34-29

Total

99-90

99-76

99-93

Water

Capacity

48-5

*) The income of £ 12 during the leisure da ys, derived from outsid e work, is-

Included in the account of income and expenditure of the Fellah's farm (see Chapter IV),

20

Not every Fellah

is

accustomed

to

clear

out and

weed

his

field. Those

who do so

look chiefly

for the

darnel,

the

thorn

and

the

mustard w hich grow am ong

the

winter crops .

A

good

Fellah devotes

his

whole energy

to

preparing good

the

rota-

tion crops (kerab);

in

this

way he

automatically destroys

the

weeds and prevents them from injuring the winter crops sown

in these fields.

The

weeds which

are

left after

the

ploughing

among

the

kerab

are

plucked

up

by

hand

or

dug up

with

a hoe

after

in the

months

of

Adar

and

Nisan (March

and

April) .

The sowing

of

winter crops, leguminous

and

cereal, goes

on from Kislev

to

Shebat (December

to

February),

and is de-

termined

by the

time when

the

rain falls

and by its

distribution.

The time

of

sowing varies

in

different parts

of the

country.

It

is eailiest

in the

Negeb.

In the

Shefelah

and in

Sharon

it is

earlier than

in the

Emek,

and

there

it is

earlier than

in

Upper

Galilee. After

the

sowing

of the

winter crops

is

finished,

the

preparation

of the

summer crops commences. This

is

done

in

various ways.

Preparation

of the

kerab.

— The

preparation

of the

kerab

also begins with opening

up the

fields. Open furrows

are dug

specially suited

for

absorbing

the

rain. After

the

rain has come

down

on the

first open ploug hing

a

second

is

made. Just before

sowing durra there

is

another ploughing

and

before sowing

sesame

two.

The sowing

of

summ er plan ts differs from that

of

winter

crops. It is not done like the latter by broadca sting. Durra is

sown from

a

funnel,

the

upper part

of

which

is

joined

to the

handle

of the

plough while

its

point touches

the

share .

The

ploughman fills

his

hand w hich ho lds

the

handle

of

the plough

as full

as he can

with seeds,

and

lets them drop

one by one

into

the

funnel from w hich they fall

on to the

surface

of the

moist layer

in the

midst

of the

open furrow.

The

dust

of the

21



dry crust then covers over the seeds and the germ ination is

assured. Sesame is sown in two ways. One is like that of

sowing durra, only to the side of the ploughsh are is attached

a board like a wing a bout twenty c entim etres. broad which

sweep s aside the loose dry dust and so clears a way for the

sesame seeds to fall on to the moist layer which has been

opene d. The object is twofold. On the one hand the germi-

nation is assured, and on the other it become s easier for the

tender seeds to spring up, as they have not to break through

the thick crust, a task which is sometimes beyond their strength.

Under this method the covering of the seeds is made with .

moist loose du st The second kind of sowing is calle d: "sh e-

gag p arhah ", i. e. sowing with two ploughs. One plough ope ns

a furrow with wings on each side. Behind it comes the so w er -

a young lad — who with his hand throws the grains through

the funnel into the furrow which has been opene d on moist

soil. The second plough then passes after the sower through the

open furrow, an d takes the mo ist dust from the sid e for cov er-

ing. Th us, while the first plough is returning to open the se-

cond furrow for sowing , this one closes the first furrow with

the dust of the dry crust.

Peas and durra are sown before the later rains, sesame

after them . Rain injures the sesam e wh ether it com es down

on it before the germ ination or after. Before g erm inatio n it

closes the dust of mulch and prevents the sprouting of the seeds.

After germ ination it cau ses a splitting of the grou nd, bec ause

with the closing of the crust there is an increase of evaporation

. due to capillarity . It is therefore a strict rule that sesam e shou ld

be sown only after the later rains, when it is quite certain

that the dust of the uppe r crust will be left loose . Care is ta-

ken to protect the fields from the inroa ds of n oxiou s plants,,

and the "junbut" (Proso pis Stephaniana Willd.) is cut down

22

and the "helfeh" u prooted. The clearing and the weeding are

done in the months of Sivan and Tammuz (June and July).

The harvest season. — The ha rvest begins in Iyar (May).

All species of leguminous plants are plucked by hand. Cereals

are reaped with a scythe when they are tall and plucked by

hand when they are low. The sesam e is plucked up with the

roots, but the durra is doubled over, the stalks being left. The

sesame does not ripen all at the same time; the gatherer goes

into the field every day and picks out by the colour of the

pods those stalks which are ripe for plucking. It is not possible

to wait till they all grow ripe,- bec ause the sesa me po ds, wh en

they ripen, split, and the seeds fall out on the ground.

All the mem bers of the family take part in the harve st.

Each one on an average reaps an area of about two dunams

a day and plucks an area of about one dunam. The reaped

cereals and the plucked leguminous plants are made into

sheaves in the field, and are then carried away to the p lace of

the threshing. Transport is done by means of camels or asses.

Occasionally the women carry away the produce on their

shoulders. The reapers are followed by the gleaners, the

practice of "leket" being still preserved to the present day.

Preparation of the threshing. — Close to every village is to

be found a broad open space set aside for threshing. The place

selected for this pu rpose is alwa ys one exposed to the wind

and with a smooth and hard soil, as a rule on the top of a

hill. Each Fellah has a place set aside for his own threshing .

With the commencement of the threshing all the inmates of the

village, both hum an and animal, take up their abode at the

place of the threshing. The day is spent in work, and during

the

night each one sleeps by his sheaf to protect it from thieves

both from outside and inside. The threshing, animals also, the

ass, the ox and the camel, stand at their mangers by the side

23



of the hea p, and eat during the p eriod s of rest. Durin g the

first and last threshin g a muzzle is put on their mou ths. Th e pr e-

cept "thou s halt not muzzle an ox in his thresh ing" is not obse rved.

In the days of the Tu rks it was cu stoma ry to divide the

produ ce into eight hea ps in the shape of bricklings, at the

threshing place, and occasionally in the field. One of the eight

heap s was for the taxgatherer of the Oshe r Tax . The G overn-

ment took its portion in kind, a nd farmed out the Osher by

public auction. T he taxgatherer used to pitch his tent, which

was ornamented with bright-coloured curtains by the side of

the thresh ing floor. The luxury of this tent was in glaring

contrast with the poverty of the environment. Its watchers had

their eyes on all sides of the thre shing-floor to see that the

produce was not tampered with. The produce that was threshed

in the day was sealed up at night in wooden presses which

left their shape on the heaps of grain. Every touch altered the

shap e and revealed the offence. T he present Government had

arranged after the occupation to receive the Osher tax in money.

It sent asse ssors to value the crops, and the owner of the

produ ce paid according to the valuation, in instalm ents. If the

village could not come to an agreement with the asse ssors,

•they divided the harves t on som e threshin g-floors into ten

heaps, from which the assessor choosed one. They then threshed

"this one and used this as a stand ard for fixing the amou nt of

produce. According to some, the valuation was usually too high

in the ca se of legumino us pla nts and too low for cerea ls,

sesame and durra.

Recently the estimation of the Osher was rectified and it

is now based on the average yield of the four preced ing yea rs.

One tenth of the entire yield is taken and imposed on th e village

as a w ho le; in the village a special comm ittee is formed levying

40 to 70 mils per dunam, according to the types of the soil.

24

Loading





is a maxim with him that for threshing there is nothing better

than the iron hoofs of the oxen. H e goes thresh ing in this way

for a few da ys. Now and then he exam ines to see if there are

still any grains in the clump s. Whe n no more are found, the

"tna i" is finished. He then lifts up the "ta rch a" a second time

and arranges it in a heap as in the "ksaria". He sweeps the

place of the "tarcha" well and goes round the heap. Whatever

is gathered up he puts on one side in a corner of the thresh-

ing-floor, and arra nge s it into a special heap which is called,

the heap of the "terabia h". He winn ows the "tnai" in the

morning and evening winds to sepa rate the straw, and in the

midda y winds to sep arate the grain from the stubb le. When the

wind slacken s a little between m idday and evening , from abou t

five to seven, he passe s the grain thro ugh a sieve (arbal). The

grains fall through the holes of the sieve, and on top are left

the bits of stalk that have not been threshed and other leavings..

These remnants are in turn arranged in another heap which is

called the heap of the "sab alia h" for a new threshing-floor

("tarc ha") , thresh es it, lifts it up and winno ws it. Fina lly he

winnows the heap of the "tarabiah" from dust, and clods of earth,

with grains are left in the hea p. The wives of the F ellaheen •

beat this heap with sticks, break up the clods of ea rth, and .

strain the grain s. Wh atever is left after the b eating and the-

straining they was h in water, softening the earth and picking

out the grain s. Th e thresh ing is done in the heat of th e day

when the sun bea ts down on the head, after the dew which,

came down on the produc e has evaporated, and the produce

has becom e so dry that it can be easily broken up under the-

feet of the animals and the spikes of the threshing-board.

This is the threshin g system com mon in Judea . In Galilee-

the fellah pre pare s a little h eap every day, the thresh ing of

which may be finished during the day. The second day he adds-

26

a fresh heap and threshes it during the day, and so on. When the

first threshing of the whole heap — called the "ks aria " — is

. finished, the little thresh ed hea ps lie around in a wide circle the

centre of which — the place where the hea p of prod uce lay-

before — is empty. In the spac e left in the centre the fellah

arranges new threshing heaps (in Galilee called "na'am"), and

every evening when its thresh ing is finished, he add s it to the

big heap. Thus, the threshing of the "na'am" is carried on till

the whole "ks aria " is finished, and only then doe s th e fellah

start winnowing.

The threshing of the sesam e is done in a special way.

The sesame stalks are arran ged in a closed c ircle, from which

they are taken out in bund les. These are then beaten with a

stick on the ends of the po ds. This ma kes the seeds fall out,

and the empty stalks are then put back into the middle of the

circle. Thus the sesame threshing-floor is comp osed of three

circles —an outer one contain ing the stalk s brou ght from the field,

an inner one containing the seeds extracted from the shells, and

a central one containing stalks which have been emptied.

The tibn is stacked in the shape of a cone, and is plast-

ered with a mixture of mud, stubble and dung to a thickness

of few centim etres. Th is forms the store hou se of tibn. The se

storehouses are always erected by the side of the thre shing -

floors. Dung for burning is stuck on the walls of these stor e-

houses to dry.

The period of the threshing-floor, with all its various ma-

nifestations, goes on from Iyar to Tishri (May to Oc tob er), dur-

ing which time it is a scene of varying co lours. The heap s

of wheat are golden y ellow, those of durra are white like milk,

while those of sesame shine with a pale gold. T he mixed sp ans

of ox, ass, and camel yoJced to the thre shin g-bo ard go roun d

and round, led by a little boy. The m en winnow to the wind

27



the prod uce that has been thresh ed, the corn falling by its

weight in columns while the chaff flies away. The women beat

with stick s and sm all hamm ers the re mna nts of the stalks which

have escaped the threshing-board and the hoofs of the animals,

and shake the sieve s. F rom the time of Ruth up to this day

there has scarce ly been any chang e, neither in the metho ds of

operation nor in its notions.

28

First tliveshiiia: with animals

Threshing .with, the threshing board



Final tliresliiuK with auimals

Yiew of the 'threshing floor

C h a p t e r T h r e e .

' CROPPING SYSTEM.

The customary rotation of crops is of two fields. Half the

area is set aside for summer plants and half for winter plants.

Winter plants grow for the most part during the rainy se ason,

except wheat, which continue s to grow for abo ut six week s

a(ter the later rains. Summ er plants grow in the sunny pe riod,

being nurtured by the depo sits of rain w hich a re stored in the

ground, and by the dew, and rain itself reac hes them either in

very small quantities or not at all.

Shelef and Kerab.— Winter plants are divide d into cere als, viz.

wheat and barley, called "shelef" (stubble); and leguminous plants,

viz. beans, lentils, "karsena", "jilbana", "hilba" and lupines.

Summer plants are peas, durra and sesam e. L eguminous plants

and summer pla nts are called "ke rab " (i. e. rotation crops).

Cereals are sown after kerab , and they are the real source of

income in many cases, and it is only for their sake that all the

trouble is taken with the growing of the kerab .

The kinds of cereals. — The main winter plants in heavy

soil are wheat and. barley; the main summ er crop s are durra

and sesame. Barley is the best crop in light soil and wh eat in

heavy soil, which is the more important in the sphere of crop-

growing. D urra is best in poor soil an d sesame in rich soil

and in a rainy year. In Galilee chick-pea s do well, in Judea

and in Samaria not. Karsena, jilb ana, and lentils are not of

much importanc e, and are only for dom estic use . In the ro ta-

tion of crops they take the place of durra or sesame on the

29



slopes of the mountains or on the mountains. The rotation of

crops usual on light sandy ground is barley and lupines. Lu-

pines are sown in soil that is no good for other field plants.

Beans, lentils, onions, "hilba", and ba rley are sown outside the

field on garden land manured with old dung from the village.

In the South , in districts whe re the rainfall is small and

drou ghts are frequent, a rotation of three years is usual: (1) durra,

(2) sesame or fallow, (3) w hea t. In the same way a rotation of

three year s is obser ved on soil the pro duc ts of which suffer

from the ravages of insect pests (Arad, me duad, Syringopais

temperatella): two years of kerab and one year of wheat.

Division of the field accord ing to the kinds of crops. — In

regard to area the major portion is taken up by whe at and

durra . As a rule the F ellah sows half of his fields set asid e for

winter plants with two thirds whea t and less than one-third

barley. The same applies to d urra and sesame , durra taking up

the greater part of the area. In a rainy year the area devoted

to sesame is increased. H ence one may say that the rotation of

crops as a rule is : one year w heat and one year durra, or one

year wheat and one year sesame.

In the valley of Jezreel and in Galilee legumino us plants

are sown more than in Judea and Sharon, the districts where

durra and sesam e thrive best. The fields from Petah Tikvah

to Tulkarem have a particularly go od appearan ce. H andsome

fields of dur ra and sesam e are also to be found in the low

country of Lydda.

Sometimes beans are sown instead of karsena and lentils.

And in the summer crops sometimes the area of peas is dim-

inished and that of durra increased.

The order of sowing is, first beans, then barley, karsena,

early lentils, and last of all wheat. Sowin g is finished by the

middle of Shebat (F ebrua ry). Of summ er plants the first to be

30

sown is chick peas, then co mes d urra and la st of all after the

later rains sesame.

The distribution of pla nts in the fields of the Emek is in

the following proportion:

From 8—10 kels*) of wheat 60 dunam s

2.5 kels barley 10 duna ms

1 — 1.5 kels karsen a 5 duna ms

0.5 kels lentils 5 dun am s

l

l$

kel durra 50 dunams

78 kel sesame 10 dunam s

2 kels chickpeas- 10 dunam s

150 duna ms = 1 feddan.

The kerabs according to their importance.

— The kerabs are

not all of the same value. The most valuable are not the nitro-

gen-fixers but the cultivated c rop s. The storin g of m oisture in

the ground and the destruc tion of weeds are m ore im portant

than the storing of nitrogen for increas ing the yields. When

there is not sufficient moistu re in the grou nd the m aterials

of nutriment found in abu nda nce in the earth are of no avail,

since they are not soluble and consequently cannot be absorbed

by the plant. It is the weeds that destroy the crops. Not only

do they deprive the plant of food and room, but they suck up

all the moisture stored in the ground. Cultivated crops destroy

the weeds, and the wheat which follows them finds exception-

ally favourable cond itions for its deve lopm ent, as it does not

meet with any com petitors which encroac h upon its preserves.

These plants also destroy the fieldmice, or at any rate make it

harder .for them to exist; and the mice are a great plague in

the country. Durra which is gluttonous of nitrogen can in many

•) Galilean kei: wheat and leguminous crops 72-75 kgs., durra 72 kg,

barley 50 kgs, sesame 50 kgs. Every kel contains 12 "meeds".

31



cases, if it is properly prepared, be a better kerab than chick-

peas, for instance, which gather nitrogen.

As already sta ted, whe at and barley are the principal,

sou rces of the income of the farm. In the choice of kerabs

preference has al.vays to be given to those which create the

best co nditio ns for the deve lopm ent of these plan ts. A distinct-

ion must be made between kerabs for summer plants, kerabs for

half-summer plants, and kerabs for winter plants.

/ . Summer kerabs.-In the front rank stand s sesam e, which

practica lly has no equ al. Its time of sowing is lat e; it should

not be sown till the rainy perio d has entirely pass ed because

then the soil in which it is sown cannot form a hard crust an'

become closed to the air and the dew. The ground is prepared

for it with pa rticular care. It is broken up in such a way as to

become loose and open to the air, while being well drenched,

with rain water in its lower lay ers. T he mulch of the broken,

and loosened crust protects the rain water which is stored in

the groun d from evap oratio n. The nitrification is powerful and

intensive. T he roots are strong and .piercing like a spit; thef

draw their sustena nce from the lower la yers, they do not ex

hau st the surface layer, and they pre pare a path for the wheal

which is to come after them . Th e co nstant hoeing required fa-

sesame loosens the ground still more and preserves its moist

ure. The constant weeding also destroy s the weed w hich ar

left after the winter plo ugh ings . Th e destruc tion of wee ds, a

has been mentioned, is an essential condition for the succes

of the wheat, which comes to grief even in the best soils if th

weed ing is not done properly . T he fertile soil which produce

the wh eat prod uces also plan ts which press it close and try *•

squeez e it out, and when these obtain a foothold in the mids ^

of the whea t it is imp ossib le to exterminate them by weeding;

alone . Not. only is the wheat injured th rough being trod den on]

32

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by the weed ers, but their efforts to destro y all the weeds are

unavailing. War must be joined with the weeds while the fields

are under kerabs , and the whea t m ust find a field prop erly

prepared for it in respect both of tillage and of the eradication

of weeds.

.4. Sesame. — Sesame crops themselves are not as a rule

particularly profitable except in fertile soil and in a rainy year,

when the cro p is likely to be con sider able . Very often all the

trouble and care bestow ed on it are only for the sake of the

wheat that is to com e after it. Such wheat alwa ys y ields a lar-

ger crop than wo uld be the case if it were sown in a field of

any other k erab . The wheat is sown after it without an y further

prep aratio n of the soil, because after the pluckin g of the se sam e

the surface soil is left loose , broken up, leaving ex cellent mulch

and free from all remna nts of stalks . The seeds are merely burie d

by one ploughing over close furrows. The drawback of sesame

is that its success depen ds too m uch on the rain coming down

at the proper time and in the proper quantity, so that its crops

are less reliable than those of other plants. F urther, the same

crop does not all ripen at one time, and this makes the in-

gathering more difficult.

B.

Bamia. —

Of equal value w ith sesame is bam ia. This

plant is not very common in Palestine. It is sown with a space

of 60—80 cm s. between the rows, and it is plou ghe d over all

the time that it is growing. The roots are stronger than those

of sesame , and draw up their sustenance from below. The

plants look like twigs of woo d, and form a coverin g for the

ground. The bamia leaves the ground free from weeds; but

if leaves b ehind strong stalks which have to be cleared away

from the field.

C.

Durra.—

Durra is of inferior value, as it exh austs the

soil. It has, however, deep roots, and it loosens the ground and

35



throw s a shad e over all the grou nd. It is sown in poor soil

where sesame would not thrive. Good durra grows as high as

a man's head , and in exception al years as high as a man on

horseback. It is not so dependent as sesame on the later rain,

but it can be relied upon to do well only in unusually rainy

years. The dew has unq uestion ably a great influence on its

grow th. As late as ten o'clock in the morning its leaves are

still wet with dew. Be sides the fact already mentione d, that the

durra exhausts the soil, it has a further drawback, because the

field sown w ith it is left covered with large stalks which have

to be cleared away (though it must be mentioned that they

serve as food for cattle and as fuel, and therefore cannot be

reckoned a s w aste), and the whole ground is broken into

crannies.

Half-summer kerabs.— Karsena, late lentils and chick-

peas .

In Galilee peas are impo rtant as a kerab , especially in

places where sesame does not thrive owing to climatic condi-

tions or to the character of the soil. The great advan tages of

these kerabs is that througho ut the winter the groun d is op en

to the rain. Also the winter ploughings destroy a great part of

the weeds, and leave the ground better prepared for the wheat

which is to come afterwards. These species are also nitrogen-

gath erers , and therefore so far from diminishing the store of

nitrogen for the use of the wheat which is to come after them,

they enrich it, especially if they are not plucked but reaped

with a hand -sick le. Remnants of the roots are always left in

the ground, even when the plants are plucked up by hand.

3.

Winter kerabs. —

Beans, lentils, karsena, "hilba", and

other kinds of legum inous plants. All of these are practically

of the same value, being deep-rooted and gatherers of nitrogen..

The roots of the bean are the stron gest and strike deepest .

Thi s plant require s a deep soil, and in thin soil it will no t

36

prosper. Thes e species as a rule do not pro duce large crops

and beans are worth the trouble they require only in first-class

soil. W hen it is grown rep eatedly in the same field, its yield

falls off. Still, when t here is no other k erab it has to be sow n

for the sake of the wheat which is to follow it. In places

where sesame will not grow well on account of climatic con-

ditions, it is practically the only kerab. Beans may also be reaped

with a scythe or reaping m achin e; th is saves expense and

improves the ground with the remna nts of the roots that are

left in the soil. It does not, however, free the soil from weeds.

Winter weeds drop their seeds while the bean is still growing;

after it is reaped the m oisture still remains in the ground , and

later on it causes to spring up summ er weed s which are in-

jurious to the wheat which is sown subsequ ently. Most of the

things which have been said about the bean, both in respect

of its advantages and its drawbacks, apply also to the other

kinds of leguminous plants . The only difference is that the

other kinds do not require deep soil, and do well both on the

mountains and on the slopes of the mountain s on a thin layer

of earth. Their crops are also smaller than those of the bean

in good years, but are less liable to variation and are m ore

reliable.

Among winter kerab s are to be reckoned also vegetables

like onions etc. These plants possess all the advantages enum-

erated in the sesame, and some of them even surpass it. T he

special preparatio n of the ground, the consta nt hoein g and

weeding, and the properties of the plants themselves with their

peculiar deep-growing, broad, strong and branching roots — al l

these things improve the mechanical character of the g round,

enrich it with certain materials of nutriment, destroy the weeds,

and create favourable conditions for the plants which are to be

sown in this field. Thi s kerab is poss ible, ho wever, only in

37



; villages close to a town which provides a market for vege-

tables, and on limited a reas , and* it is not merely a sub sidiary

product used for the rotation of seeds, but it has substantive

value of its own as an important source of income. The same

remark applies to the water-melons which are used as a sum-

mer kerab for barley in certain dis tricts, especially in the ne igh-

bourho od of the sea-p orts in Sharo n. T hese plants bring in

much more than wheat and barley; they are reckoned the prime

source of incom e in the farm, and they are an end in them -

selves rather than a mere accessory to wheat and barley.

4. Fallow-

— In places where sesame d oes not thrive, like

the Jord an valley, or in districts where the rainfall is small,

like the Negeb, and also in the northern districts, the following

rotation of crops is practised. Half the field is sown with cereals,

while of the second part a portion is devoted to leguminous

kera bs and a portio n is left fallow, that is to sa y, it is ploug hed

at the end of the winter, and then left fallow for a year.

Th e fellaheen call this tillage "kera b bar ad" i. e. rainy

tillage. In the North it is called "sunny crop-grow ing" and in

the South "sun fallow." Th is is the metho d of dry farming, but in

an imperfect form, be cause it lacks the operations performed in

the course of the summer with a cultivator and with ha rrows. In

rainy countries this tillage is called "black fallow."

This system

is p ractised only in certain ca ses and under special conditions.

38

C h a p t e r F o u r .

THE HARMONIOUS STRUCTURE.

The whole farm of the Fellah forms an organic unity. Every-

thing is produced in it by his own p owe rs; he is not depend-

ent on any external econom ic factors and he is not affected

by the changes and vicissitudes of the outer world . The sim-

plicity of his implem ents c onstitutes his strength in the struggle

of existence. H is world is not governed by the p rinciple of

"time is money", but by the principle of "preservation of matter."

He allows nothing to go to waste. Everything which appea rs

to be lost returns to him after variou s transform ations. Leavings

and remnants which in other places are not thought good enough

for the rubbish heap are used by him for building material, for

fuel and for feeding stuff for his cattle. All work in his ho use

is done by his family and not by hired labourers from without,

so that he is always taking in and never paying out. And the

slightest profit he makes from his labour is of value to him.

In the usual two fields rotation of crops there is thorou gh

regularity. The winter cereals alternate either w ith cultivated

crops or with nitrogen-gatherers. But the only product which

yields a good income without involving much expen diture is

wheat. It is a higher yielder in itself than other crops, and the

reaping and ingathering do not cost much. The other species

require plucking, some of them weeding and tending, operations

which require many hand s. These manual operations however

do not affect the profit of the Fellah . H is work h as no money

39



value for him. It is no com mod ity in the market and there is

no price for it. In a country w here indu stry is not yet even in

its cradle and where agriculture is primitive to the last degree,

labou r has no money value. Every little (herefore coun ts. In

a place wh ere labo ur comm ands no price there is no need to be

particular about time and to despise slow work. There is no

harm in putting on a spurt one day and sitting idle the next.

What is the use of time-saving implem ents and quick-working

cattle if the w ork can be do ne also with light implem ents whic h

he acquire s for a few pound s and which last him all his life,

sometimes being left over for his son?

External appearance and structure. —

The whole village

both in its external appea rance and in its structure seems to

have risen o ut of the soil on which it stands. It is indeed for-

med from that soil—dust of its dust and stone of its stones. The

Arab village is a creature which takes its colour from its envi-

ronm ent. In the plain it is built of mud, all hom e manu facture

not costing a penny. The materials are compo sed of the dust

of the earth, of the straw which it pro du ces and of the dung

of the animals which it feeds. These prime materials are work-

ed up by the hands of women who gather stubble, make straw,

mix earth and water to make mud, harden the mud w ith cow

dung which has been dried in sun and breaks in their hands,

and bake bricks. On the slopes of the mountains the house s

are built of stone s from the mo unta ins. The mem bers of the

F ellah's, family-collect the stones with their own hands and

raise the w alls, and the village builder only completes the struc-

ture. The Fellah buys from outside nothing except the corner

stone s and wood for the roof and the do or. The stalks of tall

grass covered with dust are used to cover the roofs. This dust

produce s grass and herbs. Only in villages near to town which have

been "spoilt by civilisatio n" ha ve they begun lately to cover the

roof with imported tiles.

40

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42

Buildings. - In the She felah the whole village is surro unde d

with a mud wall. Acc ording to presen t ideas this wall affords

no protection and it is no wonder that the walls of Jericho fell

at the blast of the trum pet. The y are , how ever, sufficient for

the needs of the Fellah. H ouse adjoins house and every court

is surrou nded with a high fence made of mud . T his is in the

Shefelah. In the South it is built of medium-sized stones. Inside

each court there is one building. The poor man has one room

which serv es at once as a dwelling for m en, a resting place for

beasts and a storehouse for produce, i The ho use of the well-

to-do Fellah has a num ber of roo ms : one large room for the

use of men and beasts, one for receiving visitors, and one for

storing. Besides the main hou se in the court there is a lso a

small building "tab bun " (the oven). Som etimes two families

live in one court. The low conical straw-stacks plastered with

stubble twigs and mud are scattered outside the court, b y, the

side of the threshing floors, where they stand like sentrie s on

guard.

The cost of building the house are for an ordinary Fellah

as follows: In the mountain districts, stones £ 3—4; wood for

roof and door £ 2 ; builder 's wage s from £ 5— 6; total

£

10—12. In the Shefelah, stu bble (Kash) £ 1—1.5; w ood

£ 2; total £ 3-3.5.

Working Animals, — The F ellah's implements are also home

ma de; they are not broug ht from a distance or from abroad.

The who le of his land, coverin g from 120 to 150 dun ams , he

works with three oxen, or with a horse or a cam el - "seeka " in

his own langu age. H e gives the preference to oxen for the

following reason s: (1) they are cheaper to maintain than any

other draught a nim al; (2) the working day is longer with them,

as the oxen do not re quire to rest at midd ay. It is usual to go

out to the field with, three oxen and to work with two , c han g-

43

[



jfng one ox every two hours, and so they work from dawn to

;dusk without cessation; (3) many operations. are performed

better with oxen

e. g.

ploughing

and

threshing;

(4) in

case

of

âccident or old age the Fellah does not loose much as the

j price of the flesh for slaughter is almost equal to the value of

•

the

draught animal.

i

• Feeding costs nothing. For the greater part of the year

;

the

oxen graze in the fields. Many wild plants have a value for

the farm whe ther they are left in the field or cut down as

weeds. In winter during the period of rainfall they feed on the

tender grasses and in summer on the remnants of the stalks of

the cereals. When the field is too crowded at the beginning of

the sprouting of the cultivated plants, the Fellah sends his

beasts to tick them, and this is good both for the beasts and

for

the

field.

The

plants that

are

weeded

out in the

winter

serve as food for the cattle, and so two birds are killed with

one stone: the field is cleared and the animals are fed. For

about eight months the oxen feed on pasture, and for about two

months

the

Fellah adds

to the

pasture

a

little

hay.

Only

for

two months does he feed them on full d iet in the farm yard,

made up as follows: a manger full of hay with a handful of

: "alif" (concentrated food) three times a day, and two rottles of

sesame cake

or of

beans

in the

course

of the day.

According

to

the

Fellaheen about

two

kantars of sesame cake or of beans

and karsena are required for one "seeka" per year. A part from

the sesame cake, therefore, all the food is home produce.

The Fellah keeps

a

camel

for the

following reas ons :

(1) his crops do not suffice to support

him, and the

camel brings

him in money by being used in outside work for transport.

(2) Transport can be done by the camel

itself,

but by oxen only

with a waggon. It does not cost more to keep a camel than to

keep oxen. The camel also obtains m ost of its food in the

44

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46

open field; coarse grass es which any other animal w ould dis-

dain are delightful to the palate of the camel. Th e "sa bar"

(cactus) which grows round the villages serves a double purpose :

it is a "live fence" for the village and provides food for men

and camels — the fruit for th e former and th e leave s with

-their prickly points for the latter. To this food which the camel

obtain s free his master a dds bean s, straw, and a small q uantity

of karsena or jilbana.

Productive animals. -

Not every Fellah has a special milch

cow. But when he has one, it also hardly costs him anything .

It also is a produ ct of the ho me, and lives on the leavings and

extras of the house, also on grass sprouting from a rock and

on thorns that a man cannot get at with a sickle, though the

mouth of the animal can. So too the fowls. No special food

is provide d for them. They rumma ge in the dung hea ps and

live on the refuse and the insects c reeping about there. Never-

theless they are good lay ers ; in some cases they are equal in

this res pect to birds of good stoc k and they have the advan tage

over them of being immune against several diseases.

Implements. — The Fellah's implements are few in number

and light in weight. H e carries his plough on h is shou lders

when he returns from w ork, and a young boy looks after the

threshing board and the m ule attached to it. All his implem ents

are hom e-ma de, formed out of wood obtained on the spot

(mostly from Zizyphus Spina Christi), only the coulter being

made of iron. The plough c annot b e beaten for simplicity,

lightness and su itability to the climate, to the condition of work

and to the object in view. It performs at one stroke and with-

out calling for any undue strain or effort the function of a

plough, a roller and a harrow . It does not bring up cl ods, it

makes the earth loose, it does not overturn it, it does not cause

any of the moisture to evaporate, it does not bury any weeds

47

ili?

11

V^ r

1 «

?

i l l

in his passage, and, of course, it does not make them grow or



increase their number. When rain comes down for a long tim e

continuously or with brief in tervals, the Arab plough is the only

one with which work can be don e. In such condition s the

European ploug h does not cut the ground, but packs the dust

together, makes bricks, rolls the earth into clods, and dam age s

the ground for years. H ence in rainy years the Arab plough

prolongs the working season.

Investment capital. — The whole "cap ital" required for the

equipment of the Fellah's farm is made up pretty much as follows ;

5 oxen or a camel

(or a horse or mare 10-12) £ 15

15 or 20 sheep 20

An ass 3

A ploug h ' 0.40

A threshing-board 0.60

Two wooden picks 0.15

One iron pick 0.20

7 sack s for straw 0.60

One scythe 0.10

One yoke or pole 0.60

Ropes for binding 0.30

2 sieves 0.25

Total 41.20 — 47.20

Adding a cow £ 6-10, a goat £ 0.80-1,

and 30 fowls £, 3- 4 14 — 14

-2 0

- 4

the total for all implements and sources

of food supply is £5 5.2 0

—

61.20

48



£

Income and Expenditure of an Ordinary Fellah.

(Area SO-100 Dunains, number of souls 6-9)

1. Expenditure. —

a. Farm Expenses:

Food for two oxen, 2 kantars sesame

cake or beans

Seeds

Communal charges

Various, repairs etc.

Osher and Verko

b.

Household expendi ture:

4 kantars wheat at LE. 4

3 kantars durra at LE. 2.50

600 litres of milk at PT. 1.5

400 eggs

Olive oil 7 jars

Clothing

Vegetable, rice, lamp-oil, sugar etc.

Total expenditure

2. Income.

—

30 dunams wheat at 50 kg.

10 „ barley at 60 „

10 „ karsena

30 „ durra

10 „ sesame

800 litres milk

1,000 eggs

Outside labour

Total income

49

7

6.50

1.60

0.30

4.50

£ 19.90

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of the night being as of yore. And the same summ oner, who se

intelligence, the gift of his m aker, is blessed by all Jews in

matin s, goes on fulfilling his task. Both the sacre d and the

profane are under his way, from the wo rship of God in his

temple to the farmer in the field. Day by day they once brought

sacrifices to the altar at cock crow. Nor have there been any

chan ges, even in the me anings of the sum mo ns. It is the third

crow of the cock that porte nds good fortune. Who ever takes

the road before cock crow do es so at his own risk and peril,

the Talmud sa ys. Do not fare forth till the rooster ha s crow ed

two times, some say till he has crowed three times. And if

one asks of what rooster, be it said of the ordinary rooster.

It is this triple cock crow which is called awal siaha, tani sia/m

an d talit siaha by the Fellah to this very day. With the third crow

the sound of milling resou nds from every hut throug hout the

village. It is this voice which acclaims life and daily bread. All

the pro phets of misfortune from Jeremia h to the heral ds of

vision saw the wrath of God in the silencing of the voice of

the bridegro om and the bride, in the loss of the murm ur of the

mill and the light of the candle. The day is short and the task is

long. With the dawn she must light the stove, knead dough of the

flour ground before daybreak by candle light and bake her flat

cakes.

Perhaps the milling is less toilsome in the cool of the night.

Weeding and hoeing, harvesting and gleaning, all these

are part of the woman's daily round, apart from her watchful

care for the hom e. The infant that is bound to her gives her

no respite. Suck ings and infants yet in the cradle are borne

out to the fields on their mo ther's hea ds and shou lder s. In

the heat of the day they stay outdo ors in their cradles, right

among the toilers.

Hours of work.

—The Fellah who is poor begins his work

in the field in the sowing season at dawn and finishes it at

dark . Th e whole day is given up to work without any rest

period. He eats his frugal "pittah" while he is ploughing. He

returns home abou t an hour after sunset, when he feeds his

anima l and e ats his own even ing meal. After a few hou rs sleep

he gets up and goes to feed his oxen till dayligh t. Then he

goe s through another day in the same way. In harvest time

the Fellah begins to reap at daybreak and goes on without

cessation till two hours after midday. He then returns home

and gets something to eat, rests about two hours, and

then brings his draugh t anim al — his ass or cam el —, loads it

with the prod uce which has been reaped and takes it to the

threshing-floor. During threshing time work begins with sun-

rise. Till seven he is occupied in turning over the heap or

winno wing. After that begins the threshin g, which goes on till

after mid day. From four o'cloc k he turns o ver the threshed

produce (tarh'a) or makes it into a heap again.

The seasons of work. — The farm of the F ellah does not

dem and the undivide d attention of its owner in this way du ring

the whole of the year. It occup ies him only for four or five

months: three or four weeks in sowing the winter crops, three

or four weeks in sowing the sommer crops, and over three

months in threshing work, while two month s he is idle on

accou nt of the rain. In this way he has ab out five m onths

free for outside work (see table 4, p. 20).

Th e F ellah's farm in the plain is usually mon ocultural,

being devoted wholly to c rops. Occasionally the F ellah has

also a few score of olive trees and a handful of fig trees. In

many villag es there is not a sign of vegetab les, and in most of

them only a few vegetables are grown. In the Shefelah and in

the South nearly every Fellah has a cow. Only a few have sheep.

As has been mentioned, agriculture does not occupy the

Fe llah the whole of the year. He is free for other work for

52

53

T a b l e

12.



about five months. During this period

he

tries

to

gain

a

living by outside work. Every village provides some additional

occupation itself. Those, however, who live on the mountain

^ slopes

and in the

neighbourhood

of

town s find additio nal occu -

pation

in the

stone quarries, either actually wo rking

in the

quar-

ries or acting as camel-drivers to transport the stones to the

towns. Those who live on the mountains work at the furnaces

and

at

making charcoal.

For

burning lime they

use

" na tch"

(Poterium spinosurn),

a

brushwood that grows

on the

mountains .

Wages are from 8—10 Piast res a day.

2 .

S ize

of

F a r m s .

The normal unit. —

An ordinary Fellah has a portion

in

the village land

of

from 70—100 dunams.

He

works

the

whole

of this area without outside assistance. One who

has

more land

engages a "harat . " The wages of the "harat" are paid as a rule

in kind:

5

kantars

of

wheat

and 5

kantars

of

barley,

or

food

and clothing

and one

pound

per

month.

Among

the

villagers

are

some

who own

larger properties

extending to 400-500 Dunams, and who work all their land by

means of "harats ."

Tenant-Farming. —

The Effendi who lives away from the

village lets

his

land

to a

tenant.

The

large lando wners

in Ga-

lilee

had

stone dwellings everywhere

for the

residence

of

these

tenants. The terms of tenancy are very simple. The Effendi

gives

the use of

his land

to the

Fellah

and in

return

he

receives

the fifth part

of the

product .

A tenant

who

hires more than

a

feddan

(150

Dunams

in Valley

of

Esdraelon,

in

certain places

120

Dunams) engages

a "harat" and pays him a quarter of the total prod uce, and the

"harat"

on his

side pays

his

proportion

of the

fifth

due to the

owner

and of the

Osher

of the

Government.

In

addition

the

Fellah has to pay for the plucking of the durra and of the p e a s

which costs about 3 pounds .

54

A. Income

and

Expenditure

of a 12

Feddan Farm

in

Galilee,

(worked according

to

Arab system

of farming).

I n c o m e

Wheat

Barley

Lentils

Karsena

Chickpeas

Faenum Graec.

Horsebeans

Durra

L. E.

T o t a l

7 0 0 - -

257 800

41-360

112-200

117-920

18-400

30-360

61-200

1339-240

E x p e n d i t u r e

Total seed expenses

Tithe

Wahaif

ex p en ses

2

Harateen 263-288

less weeding

expenses

3- -

L. E.

1 4 4 - 4 8 0

1 6 7 - 1 3 2

1 1 8 - 5 4 7

2 6 0 - 2 8 8

Total

exp.

Owner s part

690-447

648-793

1339-240

Sources of dat a: Calculated according to average prices, quantity of crops as obtained

in Tabgha (Lake of Tiberias).

See P. J. C. "Landwirt schaft liches vom See Qenesar eth" , "Das Heilige Land", May

1922. p. SO

B .

Income

and

Expenditure

per

Feddan

1

.

= •

Crops

Wheat

Barley

Lentils

Karsena

Chickpeas

Faenum

Graec.

Horsebeans

Durra

Total

G/

c

s

41 §

< Q

52

14

• 9

15

14

7

2

7

120

•G

<u

<u

_n

530

150

90

150

112

42

42

14

1130

i

• o

>

i n

5300

2250

360

750

900

210

250

850

10870

o

K

i 1

663

281

45

94

113

26

31

106

I

r>

g r a

615

235

6

26

4

4

60

-

1

m

s

1325

562

90

188

225

52

62

212

i

•S)

C

en

"3 i>

, 3 5-

3133

1228

231

443

476

124

139

392

-

Owner s

Pan

in Klg|

2167

1022

129

307

424

86

111

458

4704

in

LP

21.670

8-176

1-419

3-684

4-664

688

1-221

2-352

43-874

In this dist rict one fedclan = 120 dunams.

Wahaif expenditures : Seed guard, Harvesting works, Threshing.

55



9f)T]rmn.Tr| pm? S r r r n r m

jo

}HTT

At harv est time he hires day labou rers, giving them food



n dwelling liouso

Bedouin tent; the wife ninkinjj hatter

and tobacco all the time they work and 120-150 P .T. in cash

per feddan.

Fo r weed ing 3-4 poun ds are spent in the course of the year.

This work is done by women for five to six Piastres a day.

Finally he has an addition al expen diture of 4-5 kels of

wheat for bringing the produce from the field, for ingathe ring

and for threshing.

All expenses are borne by the tenant, except that for

watching, in which the owner also shares. In lieu of this outlay

the Effendi tak es a meed (a twelfth part of a kel) for every

feddan watch ed. F or the food of the cattle at. threshin g time

also the tenant has to pay a meed for every head.

A 3 .

The Household of the Fellah.

The diet of the Fellah is poor and monotonou s. H is staple

food is the "pittah " which he bakes every day. A few "pittahs"

with onions or radishes form his morning and midday meals.

A cooked meal — called by him "tabiekh " — is only prep ared

for him in the evening. It consists of the herb "khubbeza" flavoured

with onions and pepper. When tomatoes are in season he eats

tomato sa lad flavou red with p eppe r. Pepp er and oil are his two

condiments. Most of his requirements are provided by his own

fields, and he buys but little outside.

Bread.

— In the diet of the Fellah the most important article

is bread. An average family of 7 souls u ses 7 - 8 kanta rs of

grain (two-thirds wheat, one third durra). This quantity is made

up from the produce of an average farm. The poorer Fellahs

do not obtain from their fields enough for their food and they

make up the deficiency partly by gleaning, partly by purc hase

rom outside.

Miik—In

many village s milk is obtain ed from she ep by

those who have their own shephe rds. The average number o*

57

head s is 15—20. Th e sheep pasture on the m ountain s, in th e

where there are no olive trees they use sesame oil which they



cereal fields, and in the durra fields. The flocks are more nu -

merous in marshy places, which supply fresh herbage all the

year round . Milk is most plentiful as a rule at the seaso n of

the rainfall, for three or four months a year, when the herbage-

is plentiful. All the yea r round the shee p live on dry food. Th e

Arab cow yields abo ut six hun dred litres of milk a year, the-

whole of it in the course of a few m onth s. The ewe yie lds

50—60 litres of milk. Most of the milk is used for making curds

and cheese for household consumption. Occasionally the mistress

of the house sells a little cheese in the neighbouring market or

to a trader visiting the village, from whom she obtains a few

articles in exchange.

Eggs.

— Most of the Fellaheen have 30—40 fowls. Not one

of them kno ws how many eggs he collects nor do they pay any

attention

to

this bran ch. In the hom e they use this article of

food chiefly to entertain visitors. As a rule the woman sells the

eggs and ge ts in exc hang e feminine article s like needles, thread,

cheap ornaments and so forth.

Meat - The Fellah uses very little meat. For entertaining;

visitors he will kill a sick sheep or some sick fowls. They also

have meat when an ox or a camel falls ill beyond recovery.

They then kill the animal and treat the members of the village

with a portion of the flesh. Som etimes with the m oney which

the woman obta ins in the market from the sale of fowls, cheese-

and eggs, she purchases a pair of trotters, a head or so forth,,

with which she prepares a special treat on returning home.

Oil.

— The Fe llah uses a great deal of oil. A favourite dish

of his is "pittah " dippe d in oil. He consum es a jar of oil p er

person per year. In some villages the F ellah has his own olive-

trees. He presses the olives in the neighbouring oil-press, leaving

the refuse in payment, while he takes away the oil. In villages.

58

prepare themselves.

Vegetables.

— The Fellah does not grow enough vegetables

for his requirements. In many villages they are not grown at all.

In most villages there are only a few winter vegetables. Those

who want vegetables buy them in the neighbouring town. The

Fellah's favourie dish is the "tabiekh" made of "khubbeza." The

woman gathe rs this herb in the winter mon ths, dries it, and

uses it for cooking most of the year.

Clothing. — Expenditure on clothing falls under two h ea ds :

(1) Clothing boug ht once a ye ar; (2) Clothing bou ght every four

or five years. Every year the Fellah b uys a "fob." If a Fe llah

is asked how old he is he will an swe r: "I have bought so and

so many pairs of shoes and tob s." In times of scarcity he

buys a tob every two years. An "ab aiah " is bought every four

or five years, and a "tarboush" every five or six years. Expenditure

on clothing is made up a s follow s: "to bs" for a family £

2.5;

shoes £ 1; propo rtion of the cost of the tarbo ush and

abaiah £ 0.50; total £ 4.—

Soap.

— The Fellah uses soap only for washing clothes.

For washing the body and the hands he is satisfied with plain

water. For washing clothes also they use for the most part ash

of the stalks of sesam e a supply of which is prepare d for the

whole year. Of clothes washin g altogether there is very little.

As a rule the tob is wash ed once a month or once in two

months. Most families use two to for bars of soap a year, i. e.

2—4 okias, costing 6 PT. a year.

4. The Communal Organisation.

Communal Bodies.

— The ruling pow ers of the village a re :

(1) the Sheiks, (2) the Mukhtars, (3) the Elders (Ichtiaria). The

Sheiks are the heads of the family group s (the Ham uleh), and

59

their function is to settle disp utes which arise between the

Th e right of use of every Fe llah to the share m arked on

1



mem bers of the H amu leh, and in conjunction with the Ichtiaria

to arrange those matters which concern all the members of the

village. The Mukhtars are elected by special law and approved

by the Government. They are the representatives of the village

with the Government.

Ownership,-

All the arable land in the village is "m ush a,"

and belong s to the com mun ity. Once every two years it is

divided up amon g the inha bitan ts of the village. The land itself

is divided into three or four main sections acco rding to the num-

ber of Ham ulehs in the village.

Every F ellah h as the right of use of a certain shar e of the

land of the village. Th is sha re is expressed in terms of vario us

measure; sometimes by Feddan (pair of cattle), sometimes by

Seeka (plough), similar to the F eddan of the Mishna, sometimes

by Kerat (every Kerat is V24) and sometim es by Sehem, a certain

fraction, the denominator of which is fixed by the nominator.

The Musha (undivided) land itself, is marked out in a

fixed numbe r of bloc ks. This numb er v aries .accordin g to the

kind of land and its situation. For example-,.-the land of a village

whose area is 15,000 dunams may be divided into 30 blocks.

Each b lock (Muka) has a different name which is derived from

som e incident that occurred in the village or from the person

to whom the land belongs.

For ins tance:

Jazirat el Takh una = Station on island,

Bez Iyoun el Assavur = Swamp "Ain el Assavour"

Kalat el Beader

•El Belita

Malab el Jazlan

El Majir

Kur Amar

= Platform of Threshing Floor

= Oak

= Place of Gazelles,

= Caves

= Valley of Amar.

60

the Musha land is not concentrated in one block, but scattered

amo ng the variou s blocks of the land of which the village is

compo sed, or in a number of single blocks, according to an

agreem ent with the village rs. The F ellah' s share is therefore

divided into plots. It may be that his plot or parcel in one

block is consolidated there, or it may be divided into separate

strips in the one blo ck. The strip is termed M aris.

Th e numb er of individual strips varies acco rding to the

kind of land. It is possible for a Seeka to be scattered amo ng

20—30 places,i even though the number of blocks be les s; for

some times the block cannot be definitely d ivided acco rding to

the kind of land, the good and the bad being mixed up and

confused. The width of a strip is sometim es 4—5 metres and

the length some hundre ds, and there are instances when the

width is 2 metres and the length 1,000. In one village for example,

such a field is called "Tu al" , after th e length of the stri ps;

in another it is called "Da nab H awa sheh ," i. e. the end of the

tail, as this field is considered so good, that every villager wishes

to have at leest a crum b. Each strip may contain even only one

dunam, and sometimes there are two partners sharing this dunam.

Som etimes the land is indicated as Musha theoretically,,

whereas it is actually, by agreement among the villagers, sub-

divided land. Jewish colonies have done much to influence the

neighb ouring villages to becom e "Mafruz" lan d, i. e. each indi-

vidual h as h is own separ ate land, but it is scattered in a

number of places.

The usual share of a fellah in the land amo unts to from

V2—1 fedda n. Between Gaza and Jaffa E gyptian fellaheen have

settled on small holdings of 30 -4 0 dunam s. S ometimes one of

the Sheiks or Effendis owns a half or a third of the whole

village. In some village s it is only the H amu iehs which differ in

61

f

it

j

li t

in



the number of sehems they own, some h aving a larger portion,

some a smailer, wh ile within the H amulah

the

land is divided

according to the number of individuals and their share-rights.

Th e ac tual own ersh ip of the land of variou s villages usually

does not go back, according to the report of old Sheiks, even

two gen eration s. A hundred or hun dred and fifty years ago many

lands were empty of inhabitants. Their workers lived in neigh-

bourin g to wns or in larg e villages. In the same way the southern

Fellah at the prese nt day lives in Heb ron, in Gaza, or in Beth-

Gubrin, and his land is a day or two days journey away. Even

the capital cities of to-day , like Jaffa and Jerusalem, were in-

habited more by countrymen than by traders, just as Lydda,

Ramleh and Nablus are at the present day.

In those good old days the land was not assigned to its

tiller by the ox-goad measure (masafim), but each one took as

much as his heart desired and his h ands could work. But as

time went on, the "land of God " becam e less and less, and

men of might seized it and would not give it to others. Spac e

was limited and quarrels were frequent. The weak banded to -

gether into families, and took up their fixed abo de on the land

which they tilled. In som e cases the wo rkers could not live in

the village owing to the shortage of water. The y managed,

however, to find som e old stopped-up wells, by opening which

they obtained water; and so the last obstacles were removed.

Ploughing plots.

— After the first rain s the Sheik s and the

Mu khta rs go out to mea sure the fields and to assign eac h to

his part. Measurement is made with an ox-goad about two and

a half meters long , and with this the plots are marked out.

The plot ex tends the who le len gth of the block with a width of

from one ox-goad to six ox-goads. The length is known from

long prescription , and there is no need to delimit the fields

assigned to each "hamu leh" every year, as their boundaries are

62

fixed by tradition a nd are well known. Th ey are also recognised

by ancient landma rks, which are often "living landm arks," wild

plants of great age like Hazab (Uriginea Maritima). After they have

marked out the main blocks, they cast lots between the hamulehs,

and then between the individual mem bers of the hamule hs. The

casting of lots is done with the "lep eh" under the tarboush with

rags of different co lours , each colou r representin g a plot.

Parcellation.

— Since 1928, the Survey Departm ent of the

Government carry out the parcellation in accordance with a list

of share s in each of the cultivation block s, which is supplied

to them by the Land Settlemen t Department, after consultation

with the village authorities.

The communal affairs.

— Th e com munal affairs of the village

are few. As a rule they are confined to the watchin g of the

fields and the go vernm ent taxes , and in a few villages they

include the water supply. The re is a special charge for water

only in villages where the water is deep down and has to be

drawn up with a long rope with the help of a pair of oxen or

a camel. In such villages it is usual for one man to und ertake

a co ntract for the draw ing of the water, especially in the period

when the drau ght a nima ls are occupied in the field, that is, for

six months in the year. The dau ghte rs of the village carry the

water on their he ads in pitc hers, exactly as in the days of

Rebecca. T hey may be seen morning and evening by the side of

the well, each one waiting for her turn to receive her share of water.

The whole communal expenditure comes practically under

the heads of drawing water and watching the fields. The expense

of watching is distributed according to area, each sehem

contributing one mesh a (5 rottles of whea t). The charge for

water is made according to the number of heads and pitchers,

as a rule five P iastres per month, and one Piastre for 4 pitchers

of water.

63

i

11

t

Thus the communal charges on each individual are made



up as follows:

for watchin g 2 mes has of wheat 40 piastres

for wate r 120 ,,

For defraying the expense s of the Muk htaria, of journeys

and of entertaining soldiers the Governm ent retu rns 2—2

l

/2°/o

of the taxes to the Mukhtar.

[

\

64

C h a p t e r Si x.

THE FELLAH'S FARM UNDER EXPERIMENT.

An area of 250 duna ms is divided into seven different

types of farm units at the branch station at Gevath (Valley

of Esdrae lon). The pu rpose of the investigation is to com pare

the typical farms establish ed in Palestine from the point of

view of the cost of crop -prod uctio n and ret urn s; and like-

wise to ascertain the possibility of develo ping ho ldings on mo -

dern lines.

The pla n of experime nts wa s laid out by the Divisions of

Rural Econ omics and of Agronomy. The work is carried out

by the Division of Agronomy.

The area set aside for the primitive type of farm is culti-

vated strictly in accord ance with the prevailing system. To

ensure greater certainty, this portion has been handed over to

an Arab fellah, who cu ltivates it at his own expen se, ac cordin g

to his own meth ods without any influence on our part, the

Division simply taking exact notes on his methods of cultiva-

tion, hours of work, the cost of maintaining his working teams

and of providing his essential food requirements.

This arrangem ent will provid e a clear picture from an eco -

nomic point of view oUhe advantages and disadvantages of each

type of farm under consideration over a long experimental period.

The Aim of the Experiments.

In general the plan follows two main lines: that adopted

in existing farms in accordance with their essential characters, and

the new line marked out by the Division of Agronomy and the

65

Division of P lant-B reedin g. In regard to the first, the system

Economy. — The economic value of some meth ods,



of farming is carried out on set lines without any alteration;

while in the second, the farm is worked according to those positive

results which have been obtain ed by the various Divisions of

the Experimental Station, which show any relevance to the sub-

ject under review. The best meth ods of cultivation, combination

of manures, quantities of seeds and sowing dates are adopted.

The best selected seeds from the Division of Plant-B reedin g

are used. C ontrol of disease s and insect pests is practis ed

according to the instructions of the Divisions of Plant Pathology

and Entomology.

The aim of the experim ents is also to verify and to com-

pare the results of those m ethod s which in the experime ntal

plo ts have prove d to be the best, for the following reaso ns :

Absolute yield.

— Experiment plots are small. The largest

are 5 ares. While this size is quite sufficient to furnish com -

parative data of a relative value between the various m etho ds

tried,

it

is too small to give their absolu te yields, the

managing of small experimental plots being of a special

character.

Combination of many factors.

— In experimental plots we

genera lly deal w ith a single factor. Thu s, for instance, in green

manuring experiments the investigation is limited to green

manuring versus non-m anuring. Other treatments, like tillage etc. ,

are done in the customa ry manne r of the country. In the eco-

nomic fields all the treatments will be carried out according

to

the results obtained in the corresponding experimental fields.

Technical po ssibilities.

— Certain meth ods are to be tested

as to wheth er they are rea lisable under field cond itions on

acco unt of technical difficulties involve d, for exam ple, the metho d

of sowing in strips and cultivating during the growing season

between the rows.

cost of production, etc. , can hardly be established in expe-

rimental plo ts, and larger fields appro ach ing to the size of

farms are required for this purpose.

Types of Farms Exi s t ing in the G ra in Region .

The following are the three princip al typ es of existing

farms in the grain reg ion: —(1) The fellah's primitive farm;

(2) The consolidated mixed farm ; (3) The mono -culture

Europ ean farm. At oppo site pole s are the entirely prim itive farm

of the fellah and the cons olidate d mixed farm, while betwee n

them, the remaining types constitute gradual steps in develop-

ment. These include transition farms which gradually approach

the mixed farm acco rding to a definite plan in advan ce, a nd

farms in which the main reven ue com es from grain while the

other branches are subsidiary.

1. The fellah's farm. — This farm is minutely desc ribed in

previous chapters. Its characteristics are : —bi-annual r otat ion ;

mono -culture; depen dence upon grain ; the rotation crops are

the only mean s of main taining fertility; m anure is not an item to

be ca lculated ; the stan dard of life is low, in many cases below

poverty level.

2. The consolidated mixed farm.

—

This farm is described

in a separate essay. Its cha racteristics are : — the chief item is

fodder crops rotation ; increase and maintenance of fertility is

secured by manures and fertilisers regulated in alternation for each

field; the system of cultivation and form of orga nisatio n are

mo dern ; the standard of life is com parable to that prevailing in

all civilised countries.

3.

The mono-culture European farm. — In its crop rotation

this farm resem bles that of the fellah except that in stead of

primitive implements, modern ones are wholly or partly e mploy ed.

66 67



The mixed farm is the only one which can serve as an

example in respect of the standard of life which it assures its

owner, and it is this which is the chief point of departure for

all the reforms which it is propose d to introduce in the other

types of farms.

Living Area.

— As the consta nt factor we take a given

stand ard of life in a certain period of years. The factors se-

curing it are subject to variatio n. We expres s the former in

money when we assume that provision of the essential needs

of a working family in farm produce and cash requires a sum

of £160 per annum net. The factors securing th(s amount vary

as to size of area, form of organising the farm, extent of inten-

sification, etc. -""

Size of unit in the intensive farm. - T h e unit establ ished for

an intensive farm is, for non-irrigated land 100—130 dunams;.

for heavy irrigated soil, 30 dunams; for plantation soil according

to the quality 1 0-1 5 dunams . All these units are intentionally

adjusted to the form of farm base d upon the family's own

labour without requiring hired labour at all or only in except-

ional cases in seasons of stress.

The extensive farm. —

The size of this farm will require an

area three or more times greater than that in the above examples

in order to secu re the given stand ard of life, because in a farm

of this type the revenue is comp osed of the surplus inc ome deri-

ved from the difference between the standards of life of the owner

and the workm an, in con trast to the intensive farm which really

dep ends upon family labour o nly. In the grain region it can be

maintained only on the cultivated fallow system, that is, half of the

area remains idle. The various customary rotation-crops in the

prevailing cropping system require excessive m anual labour and

these crops cannot, in virtue of their yields, produce a surplus

for the owne r abov e the cost of labour. A farm of this type is

68

satisfactory as a transition in colonisation but not as a perm anen t

condition . Its system enables the prepara tion of large area s

with few labour forces and also the increase of fertility of the

soil. Th e machine is, in such transitio n farm, impe ratively

necessary; primitive tools cannot in this case take its place.

The size of the fellah's farm.

—The improvement of the fel-

lah' s farm is possib le only in such units a s a re esta blished for

types of intensive farms dependent on the family's labour, for the

following re aso ns: —(1) the extensive transition farm can be c ons i-

dered only for unsettled areas of land and not for land distrib uted

between close sett lers; and (2) this farm req uires a very heavy

equipm ent costing large sums, requires qualified labour, and

suppo rts a thin population. On the other hand it is possible to

raise a sm allholding to the degree of the describe d m ixed farm

over a long transition period, even with the fellah's tools, without

any appreciable change.

Sources of revenue in the mixed farm. —

The dairy is the

chief source of revenue in the mixed farm. Its structure and

form of o rganisation are entirely adap ted for growin g fodder

and maintaining cows. Th e first dairy farms were founded on

non-irriga ble land or with slight auxiliary irrigation. Th is is

the position also to-day . The path to growing of fodder and

improvem ent of cattle is for the most pa rt beaten out. Not so

the p ath to the market which has not yet even been found.

For by market we must mean foreign markets, seeing that in

Palestine the urban pop ulation is sma ll and their purc hasin g

power low.

In other countries intensification in agriculture proce eded

by way of conversion of grain to meat and milk. It is po s-

sible that in Palestine redemp tion will come to heavy agri -

culture by "the milky way." Milk products will stand com pet-

ition in eastern markets. All the factors of production available

69



in the country are absolutely favourable, as the writer has shown

in special studies. But a national economy cannot be dependent

on solitary branches even when they exist and certainly when

they are only a matter of specu lation. Poss ibly the dairy

farm will produce competitive prod ucts from heavy irrigated

soil alone. It is, therefore, necessa ry, for greater protection, to

seek also syst ems of intensification which are no t depen dent

upon cattle breeding.

Plan of

E x p e r i m e n t s .

Area. —

Th e area of 250 dun ams w as divided into 25 fields

of one hectare each. This size may be considered as sufficient

for the purpose pursued, as it represents the average size of

field in a small holding.

Soil. —

The soil of this block is similar to the rest of the

experimental fields of the Station, analyses of which are given

elsewhere.

The fields lay bare for many years covered with weeds,

especially the wild c arot and the wild Canary gra ss. To g et rid

of the latter espec ially, the field w as p lough ed 25 cm s. deep in

the summer of 1926, except, of course, the field devoted to Arab

farming, where no other implement but the Arab plough wa s

ever used.

The era dicatio n of wee ds in the Arab farming fields wa s

done by han d little by little, in the course of successive years

of cultivation. Th e so il was in a very exh austed state, and crops

grown in the first year were low in yield. Owing to the relative-

ly large size of field, only a single co mpon ent of the rotation

occupies the field at a time, and, consequently, results will only

be obtain ed at the end of the variou s periods . In this respect

the farm differs from the experimental fields, where all the com-

ponents are simultan eously grown, and results are continuously

70

in evidence. In the Arab farming, however, all the components

occupy the soil simultaneously.

The rotation of Arab farming should consist of the main

rotations of the country, namely: wheat-sesame , wheat-durra,

wheat-chick peas. However, as the summer crops depend upon

yearly rainfall, it is left to the farmer to withdraw a given crop

if conditions of the year are unfavourable.

r e c i p i t a t i o n

: — T a b l e 1 5 .

Rainfall at Gevath Experiment Station.

Month

October

November

December

January

February

March

April

May

June

1925—1926

5

9

14

9

4

5

O \

19-7

78.0

196-7

94.4

43-3

20-0

1926—1927

•2 a

B |

& .E

13-5

277-5

112-5

167-0

38-5

52-0

1927—1928

4

3

6

10

20

5

— in

'c 5

o \

23-5

44-8

21-5

119-7

201-7

10*3

192»—1929

II

1929—1930

12-5

74-0

155-2

231-3

192-5

28-3

37-2

6-0

6-0

O-.S

0-5

, 123-5

11 131-7

15

I

162-3

10

3

3

77-2

8-7

40-5

To tal 46 j 452-1 65 661-0 48 421-5

66

743-0 49 544-4

The Cultivator. — The fellah and his family have their

residence no t in the Experime ntal Station but in a village in the

vicinity where he is working other land in tenancy. H e comes

to work the 60 dunam s at the Station at the proper time of

operation. H is family consists of six pe rs on s: the fellah and

his wife, two s ons , 3 and 17 years old, a nd 2 daug hters,

6 months and 15 years old.

In addition to the fields of the S tation the fellah work s

about 200 dunams. The w orking anima ls which he u ses for the

71



whole area, the fields of the Station included, are 4 oxen and

2 asses. Half of his own area is sown with winter crops, viz.

wheat, barley and beans, the other half being sown with sum-

mer crops, viz. durra and sesame. Additionally every year one

dunam of lentils is sown.

In the following table the field returns which the fellah in

question receives from his 200 dunams and the use he makes

of them , is give n :

Kind of crop

Wheat

Barley

Beans

Sesame

Durra

Yield

in kels

50

28

20

19

14

10

6

10

4

3

15

4

Seeds

kels

15

3

1

1

Surplus for sale

Quan tity j Value

kels

10

15

10

14

5

7*500

6- -

7-500

18-200

2-500

Total 41-700

Every worker receives 4—6 pittahs during the day, weighing

about 1 kg., and v egetable s. When a cooked m eal is prepared ,

as burghul, lentils or rice, he takes a portion of it to the field,

besides the evening meal. Then he receives during the day,

according to the season : eggs or olives or tomatoes, or figs,

or saba r (cac tus fruits), and some times leben (sour milk) or

olive oil.

The home and farm expend iture of the fellah is c omposed

of the following items:

1

Taxe s, viz. Osher and Verko and communal expenses are not taken into account.

» Seeds wh ich the fellah receives from the landow ner are included under "Tenancy

fees." Prices calculate d as average of the years 1927-1929.

72

lloehu,' sesame

Sesame H iresliing floor

A.

Food.



of

12 Kels Wh eat at 75 kgs. eac h, for

flour, regular price per ton £ 10

1 kel w heat — 75 kg s. for burgul

30 rotl meat for Sabb aths and Fe asts

at 150 mils (each time y

2

r 0

^ )

30 rotl onions per year

24 rotl olive oil at 140 mils

Rice, soa p, salt, pepp er etc. during

the year, 30 mils daily

1 tin petrol per year

Semneh (cooked butter)

>/

2

kel lentils (37.5 kgs) at £ l per kel

Vegetables, muskmelons etc. during

the year

In additio n, the eggs of four laying hens

are used. Milk is bought only in the event of

sickness and thus costs but very little.

B.

Clothing.

2 suits for each member of the family

during the year, at 300 mils each

1 pair of shoes for each member of the

family during the year, at 300 mils each

1 "Abaiah" (cloak), bought every 8—10

years for each member of the family,

at 600 mils _

C. Feed for Working Animals.

4 Oxen, 2 asses, fed during the year, ex-

cept in the sea son of green fodder and the

season of pasture.

4 kels karsena at 750 mils

4 „ durrha „ 400 „

3 „ barley „ 450 „ _

Total Home and Farm Expenditure during the year

73

9.

—,

4.

—.

3.

10.

—.

—,

—.

5.

,—

,750

500

200

260

950

180

600

500

—

1.600

1.400

34.940

3.600

1.800

—.400

5.800

6.—

£46.740



Types of Farms under Experiment.

/.

Arab fanning.

- Thes e are the fields leased to the fellah

of the neighbouring village of Medjdel, who was described in

the foregoing pages.

The field is divided into three sub-fields of 20 dunanis

each and based upon three types of two-year rotation :—(1) chick-

peas and whea t; (2) durrha and whea t; (3) sesame and wheat.

The total area of the field is 60 dunams.

2.

Parallel farm to the Fellah's farm.

— This field is

divided into two sub-fields of 10 dunams each and based upon

two types of two-year rotation : (1) durrha and wheat; (2) sesame

and wheat. This farm is cultivated by the Division itself with.

European implements. The total area is 20 dunams.

3.

Grain farming without cultivator.

— This field is divided

into three sub-fields of 10 dunams each. Tw o-, three-, and

four-year rotatio n. The total area is 30 dunam s. C rops of the

four-year rotat ion: leguminous, wheat, summ er-crops, flax.

Three-year rotation: leguminous, wheat, summer-crops. Two-year

rotation: leguminous, wheat.

4. Grain farming with cultivator. —

Partition, size and rota -

tion are the same as in No. 3, but the cr ops are gro wn in strips-

between which the soil is cultivated.

5.

Farming based on green m anuring. — 30 dunams. divided

into three sub-fields. Green m anuring every two, three and

four years.

6. Cultivated fallow. — 30 dunam s, divided into three sub -

fields

;

the same as in No. 5, but dry-farming takes the place

of green manuring.

7. Dairy farming. — 40 dunams, divided into two sub -

fields, one of them being sown with leguminous and hoed crops-

(vetch for hay, clover, stock beets, pumpkins, maize for fodder

and grain) and the other with grain crops (wheat and barley),

74

The rotation crops as well as the cereals alternate with one-

another . Organic manure is applied every four years, at the

ratio of 40 tons per hectare.

Three m ethods are being investigated : (1) Fallow, (2) Green

manuring , (3) S owing in strips, with or with out the help of

fertilizers. The frequency of repeating the first two meth ods are-

also investigated in these fields.

Dry Farming. *)

"F allow practice is credited with being able to increase

yields because of the following beneficial pro per ties :

It assures an adequate amount of moisture in the soil for

high yields even in dry years, it resto res the fertility of the

soil, and increases the bacterial activities, it perm its to get rid

of weeds and pests, etc."

Conservation of Moisture.

— The net amou nt of water left

at the disposition of the crops is considerably lower than that

of the total rainfall. Even the more humid region s take on

a less favourable asp ect in regard to the s upply of water

to the crops than it would have been supposed at first thought.

Thus,

dry-farming methods, even with the sole purpose

of increasing the water supply, can be justified for a larg er

area than the strictly dry regions of the country."

Fallow as Restorer of Fertility.

-The depletion of soil

fertility is becomin g more and m ore cons picuo us, ow ing to

the continuous c ropping for grain . As dry-farming is to be-

come finally synonymous with dairyless farming, farm manure

will sooner or later go out of use. The only way of returning

to the soil the elements drawn from it by crops will be by

*) The paragraphs dealing with "Dry Farming," "Green Manure" and

"Sowing in Strips" are extracts of a study by M. Elazari, Division of Ag-

ronomy, Agr. Exp. Station. The study in full com prehenses results of ex-

periments made in 1921—1930, and will be soon published.

75

add ing chemica l fertilizers. The pra ctice of green m anuring

presents a problem by

itself.

It may be that this way of farm-

estimated to be abo ut 80%. We eds also serious ly interfere with

the growth of the crop and may co nsiderably reduce the y ields.



ing will continue to proceed , but if not, it may prove very

beneficial to allow the soil to rest from time to time."

B acterial Activities. — The optimum temperature for soil

bacterial activities prevails during the summ er m onths, from

April to October or November. But those months happen to be

at the same time qu ite dry and the moistu re co ntent of the soil

is too low to stimulate intensive bacterial activities.

Th us, it seem s that the intercala tion of a fallow year in

the rotation would be a great improvement. By maintaining the

soil moist during the whole summer, maximum bacterial activity

would be obtained and soil fertility would be increased."

Fallow as an issue of particular local farming condi-

tions.

—

As is pointed out above, the non-irrigable land is to be

confined to exclusive grain farming. Until the last few years,

cereals, particularly wheat, were the only remunerative crops,

and the othe rs, which alternate in rotation with whea t, either

were deficitary or required much hand labour. Under such con-

dition s, better results might be obta ined by substituting fallow

for these crops. In recent years, maize gave quite good results

and has proved to be equal to wheat, as regards income, in

the humid parts of the country. Yet it is not known what the

average income would be if wheat and maize were to alternate

continuo usly; a reduction of yields of both crops is to be ex-

pected . In some re gion s, maize is not quite successful, so that

the question of the rotation has not lost its acuteness."

Rotation and pests.

— The winter cro ps in this country

are subjected to many pests, the most injurious of them being mice

and weeds. The extent of damage caused by mice may amount in

some years to 25% and m ore. For the year of 1930, the damage is

76

Both pests can b e got rid of by alternating winter and

summe r crop s, the latter being quite free of those pests, on

condition that large areas of land are sown. But this rotation

is feasible only in such regions where summer c rops succeed.

For the other regions, fallowing seem s to be the only effica-

cious solution."

Fallow as transitory practice.

—

From time to time,

areas of land, which has been idle for several years are brough t

under cultivation. Such land is for the most pait in a poo r

state of fertility, covered with weed s, and c onstitute s a refuge

for pests.

Under such conditions the yields are at the beginning quite

low and it generally takes several years to bring the land into an

improved state.

Fallowing practice, even when superfluous under normal

conditions or as a permanent practice, may be useful in this

particular case, during the tran sitory stage. By this method

better results may be obtained than by continuous crop ping."

Green Manure.

"The main object of green m anuring is to provide the

soil with orga nic ma tter, and in conn ection with this the gree n

manuring is much superior to the dry farming method which

not only does not increase the orga nic matter of the soil but

is supposed to impoverish it.

The importance of organic matter as a primary factor in

maintaining the fertility and physical state of the soil is un -

animously recognis ed. Most of the soil of Palestine does not

make any exception to the rule. Its susceptibility and ready

responsiveness to the effect of organic matter has been established..

77

However, farm manure as a supply of organic matter can

hardly be taken into consid eration . Beside s its very limited

productio n, actual and pro spectiv e, it will be confined to dairy

adve rse conditions of rainfall. For the succes s of the winter

crops depends not as much upon the total rainfall as upon its



farming. For the non- irrigab le and cons equently strictly grain

farming the green man uring may be the only resource of or-

ganic matter supply.

The green manuring realises

to

full extent many of the

advan tages of the dry farming method. If well prepared , the

green manure will allow to

ge t

rid of weeds and pests. It

will keep moisture in soil and hence encourage bacterial activities

all the year rou nd. It may even supply the next crop with an

additional amount of moisture saved during the year when the

green manure was used.

Thus, even with regard to assuring adequate moisture supply

to the crop the green m anuring may advantageously substitute

the dry farming met hod, any way in regions with mode rate

rainfall.

The same as dry-farming the green manuring may be con-

sidered as a transitor y or pe rman ent pra ctice. It may constantly

alternate w ith the cereal or only be intercalated from time to time.

All these effects and variations are bein g dealt with in

those fields."

Sowing in Strips.

"Sowing of cereals in spaced strips and cultivating between

them is not custom ary in this country. In some parts of the

drier region of the south ern bo rder, rows are spaced to about

30—35 cms., but are left uncultivated during the growth of the

crop.

This way of sowing may be sufficient for the kind of

soil of that particula r re gion but for the heavier soil it is quite

worthless and cannot be taken in consideration.

Sowing in strips with repeated hoeings between them is

seemingly the most efficacious way of securing the yield under

78

distribution.

In the case of wheat whose growth extends , under the

best distribution of rains, to at least six weeks after the last

rains, the grain always matures under unfavourable conditio ns.

The explanation of this is easily grasped. Whatever the state

of hu midity of the soil may be, fissures are bou nd to form

sooner or later after a certain period of dry weather persis ts.

The first action of the cracks is that they cause rupture

of the roots and consequently reduce the supply of moisture

and food. Then, the surface exp osed to the air gets larger on

account of the cracks, and the dryness of the soil increases

rapidly, both in intensity and in depth.

To prevent this state of things there seem s to be only

one efficacious solution and that is to make poss ible the forma-

tion and maintenance of a mulch during the growth of the

crop.

This can be done if sowing is practised in strips sufficiently

spaced to allow intervention of cultivating imp leme nts.

The system of spacing enjoys some of the special proper-

ties of both the cultivating fallow system and green m anuring,

and moreover leaves no area unsown, as in these two system s.

The spacing system can therefore become a permanent intensive

one wherever the dairy farm is unsuitable for lack of markets

or other reason s, and it may suit also grain crop s in the rotation

•of dairy farming even when manure or fertilizers are used ."

79

Plan

of

Experiments (Explanations

to

biagram),

fl. Ciry Farming.

K Four-year rotation : fallow, wheat, summer or leguminous, cereal.

M a p of E x p e r i m e n t a l F i e l d s .

P.Z.E.AGRIC.EXPER.STAT-IOM

m m >U7

j row

r r n n



1 with fertilizer, 2 without fertilizer.

II. Three-year rota tion: fallow, wheat, flax. 1 with fertilizer, 2 with-

out fertilizer.

UJ. Bi-annual rotat.: fallow, wheat. 1 with fertilizer, 2 without fertilizer.

B. Green /Manuring.

I. Four-year rotation: cover crop, wheat, summer crop, flax, or

cereal. 1 with fertilizer, 2 without fertilizer.

II.

Three-year rotation: cover crop, wheat, flax. 1 with fertilizer,

2 without fertilizer.

III. Two-year rota tion: cover crop, wheat. 1 with fertilizer, 2 with-

out fertilizer.

C. Grain Farming, Cultivated.

I. Four-year rotation: leguminous, wheat, summer crop, flax or


II. Three-year rotation: leguminous, summer crop, wheat. 1 with

fertilizer, 2 without fertilizer.

III. Two-year rota tion: leguminous, (summer crop?), wheat. I with j


f

b . Grain Farming, not Cultivated.

i. Four-year rotation: leguminous, wheat, summer crop, flax or


II. Three-year rotation: leguminous, summer crop, wheat. 1 with

fertilizer, 2 without ferti lizer.

III. Two-year rotat ion: leguminous, (summer crop?), wheat. 1 with'


IV. Two-year rota tion: durra, wheat. 1 with fertil., 2 without fertil.

V. Two-year rot at. : sesame, wheat. 1 with fertil., 2 without fertil.

E. dairy Farming.

Four-year rot ation: wheat and barley; maize for grain and forage;

barley and wheat; pumpkins, beets, clover and vetch.

F . Fellaheen Farming.

I. Two-year rotation: wheat and leguminous.

II.

Two-year rotation: wheat and durra.

III. Two-year rotation: wheat and sesame.

IV. Two-year rotation: leguminous, wheat. 1 with fertilizer, 2 without

fertilizer.

V. Two-year rotation: durra, wheat. I with fertil., 2 without fertilizer.

VI. Two-year rotation: sesame, wheat. 1 with fertil., 2 without fertilizer*

80

0M

or

FARM ECONOMICS

OVATH

r c n

-D-

j

,„__

H I

••

v

-~i

;

IV-

1 v—-

For explanations see pp. 80 and 82.

81

I - •

Explanations to map



Fallow

Wheat

Fallow

Or. manure

Wheat

Gr. manure

Fenugrec

Wheat

Maize

Fenugrec

Wheat

Maize

Durra

esame

afs

Dry farm.

Barley

Oats

Green man

Wheat

Flax

Fenugrec

Wheat

Flax

Fenugrec

Wheat

Wheat

Wheat

Vetch

Clover

Beets

Pumpkins

Maize

Maize

vetch

Clover

Beets

Pumpkins

Maize

\ Wheat

Bariey

Durra

Sesame

Wheat

Wheat

Wheat

82

Th e fellah rnmiiii; to

work,

Oevath Exj>. SK

Sowing sesame with a funnel, Gevatli Exp. St.



The size of a family farm . — Th e size of a farm w ithin the

capa city of one family (without hired labour) is determined

T a b l e 16.

Calendar of Operation in Arab Farming Experiments

Agr. Exp. Station Gvath.



3.600

3.600

0.500

1.500

chiefly by the duration of the p loughing seaso n (see Table 4,

p . 20). One yoke of cattle needs one adult wu rker —the harath:

he ca nnot be procured as a daily labourer, but has to be

enga ged by the year. H is wage s are paid in kind and amount

to abo ut £ 18 — £2 2 per year. Details of the am ount of grain

pai d to the hired la boure r in Galilee are given in table 12, p,

55 .

The w age of the harath in Judea is as follows :

6 sacks of wheat 930 kgs. £ 9.000

3 „ „ barley 450 „

3 „ „ durra 450 „

One abayah

Cash

Total £18.200

It is of course not worth while keeping cattle to be used for a

limited number of days; they must be used for a complete season.

Na tura l p asture alone doe s not suffice for their susten ance, and

the additiona l concentrated food, amoun-ting to some £ 7 per

yea r, constitu tes a very consid erable item in the fellah's budget.

The keeping of the harath and yoke of cattle costs him about £30

pe r year. On the farm for w hich detailed figures of revenue

and yield are given in Tabl e 12, p. 55, from one feddan (120

dun am s) a bout 11 ton of grains are obta ined, and this on land

of g ood quality. £4 4 goes to the owner of the land, £2 2 to

the hara th. Th e surplus income of the owner is only made

pos sibl e by a ruthless exploitation of the hara th w ho is in con-

seq uen ce living below the poverty line. The lowest limit of

exp ens es of the harath must be £ 50 which is the sum spent by

a. not entirely dest itute fellah's family. De tails of the expen-

ditur e of the fellah are given in separate ta bles on pp. 49

and 73.

84

Operat ions

Opening furrows for wintercrops

Ploughing and sowing „ „

Weeding and hoeing „

Ploughing on the chick peas field

„ » ,. durra „

,. „ sesame

„ and sowing chick peas

1 926-2 7 1 927-28

1928-29

Second plough, on sesam e field

Hoeing of chick peas

Hoeing of sesame

Hoeing of durra

Ploughing and sowing sesame

Harvest of wheat

Transport of wheat

H arvest of chick peas

Threshing of chick peas

Harvest ing and t ransport

of sesame

Threshing of wheat

Winnow ing and cleaning of

wheat

Threshing of sesame

H arvesting and t ransport

of durra

Threshing of durra

Winnowing and cleaning

of wheat

28-29-111

28-29-111

30-3MII

1-2-IV

14'15-IV

28-V

28-V

20-VI

10-15-VH

16'18-VlI

18-19-V1I

20-29« VJ1

29-31« VII

4-7'IX

8'10-X

8'11'X

85

10-28.XI 1-2.XII

11-23-

22-25111

21-28-111

17 '231V

6-13-V1

9-13-VII

4-29-V1II

30-VIII

14-15'VIII

5-14.XI

2-15-XII

30.111, 3.IV, 22.

30-111' 1'4-IV

30-111 1'4-lV

25-26-1V

27-28-IV

28-1V

11-17'V

12" 18-VI

'24-27- vi

24-31.V1II, 1-6.IX

9-20-1X

29-30.IX, 1-8.X

6-7-X

8-11-1X

17-IX

T a b

W O R K I N G

A. Wheat Experimental Field

l e 17 .

D A Y S ,

at Gevath (Arab Farming).



Y e a r s

Area of the plot

Kinds of Work

1. Opening furrows

2,

Ploughing

&

Sowing

3. Weeding

4.

Ha rve s t

5. T ra nspor t

6. Threshing

7.

Winnowing

T ot a l

1925 - 26

23

W orke r s

M

e

10

17

9

18

2

5977

W

o

m

e

-

5

-

—

-

5

C

d

277

10

-

-

6

- '

1877

Dunams

Animals

H

o

—

-

3

87s

-

O

x

377

12

-

-

—

—

1577

Ol

377

1273

-

6

7

—

29 —

1926 - 27

30 Dunarns

W orke r s

M

e

18-5

2

3

14

32

10-5

8 0 0

W

o

m

e

5

2

7

6

-

20

C

d

-

3

-

5

15-5

-

23-5

Animals

in

a

X

—

O

x

49-75

A

s

6-25

4l - 1

-

16

-

20

-1«

7

-

-

49-75 26-25

Y e a r s

A re a of the plot

K inds of W o r k

1. Openin g furr ows

2. P lough ing & Sow ing

3.

H o e i n g

4.

H a r v e s t

&

T r a n s p o r t

5. T h re s h ing <S W i n n o w i n g

T o ta l

B.

1925

20

Dur-ra 1

- 2 6

D una rns

W o r k e r s

M

e

37 3

4

5

6

0

18

2

/a

W

o

m

e

—

2

2

4

0

8

C

d

3

2

-

-

0

5

Animals

H

o

4

a

3

4

-

—

-

8

a

/a

O

x

—

2

-

-

-

2

A

s

3

4

-

2

-

9

experimental Field

1926

- 27

15 U una ms

W o r k e r s

M

e

8

6

—

9-5

7

30-5

W

o

m

e

—

—

2

7

1

10

C

d

—

2

-

—

-

2

A nima l s

H

o

—

-

—

-

-

—

O

x

n

16

16

--

-

12-5

44-5

<

6

4

-

6

2-5

18-5

8 6

1927

- 2 8

30 D una ms

W o r k e r s

M

e

17-25

14-50

4

22

-

25-50

3-50

86-75

W

o

m

e

—

-

3

1

-

1

-

5

C

d

—

-

4

9-5

5-5

11

0-5

30-5

A nima l s

H

o

—

-

-

-

-

5

-

5

O

x

29

29

-

-

-

48

-

106

A

s

14-5

14-5

-

5-5

12-5

11

-

58-0

-

1928 - 29

30 D una ms

W o r k e r s

M

e

8-8

16-4

2

16

5-5

19-5

8

76-2

W

o

m

e

—

-

10

—

-

0-5

-

10-5

C

h

d

2-4

-

1-5

10-5

5-5

6-5

2

28-4

A nima l s

H

o

—

-

-

-

-

10-5

-

10-5

O

x

21-6

32-8

-

-

-

—

-

54-4

A

s

14

17

-

15

9

14-5

8

77-5

4 years

for 30

W o r k e r s

M

e

7-6

15-6

2

15-7

7-8

25-1

6-2

80-0

W

o

m

e

—

-

4-5

2-4

1-8

1-9

-

10-6

C

d

1-4

3-3

2-1

5-0

4-0

10 2

0 6

26-6

a v e r a g e

D u n a m s

A nima l s

H

o

—

-

-

1-0

1-0

10-6

-

12-6

O

x

13-9

31-8

—

-

-

12

-

57-7

A

s

8-2

13-7

-

5-4

10-3

10-4

2

50-0

)

x/ -

- - - lit nJ

W

if

at Gevath

1927

(Arab

- 2 8

Farming]

30 D una ms

W o r k e r s

M

e

9-75

12-5

—

2

1

25-25

W

o

m

e

-

-

—

—

—

-

C

d

—

6-25

—

1-5

-

7-75

A nima l s

H

o

—

-

—

—

-

-

O

x

28-75

25 —

-

-

1-5

55-25

A

s

13-75

12-50

-

1

—

27-25

1 9 2 8 -

-2 9

15 D una ms

W o r k e r s

M

e

6-5

6

-

8-5

1

22-0

W

o

m

e

—

-

—

8-5

0-5

9-0

C

d

—

2

—

-

-

2

A nima l s

oi

X

—

-

—

-

-

—

O

x

13

10

—

-

—

23

A

s

7-5

6

9-5

-

—

23

4 years

fo r 30 1

W o r k e r s

M

e

11-1

10-6

1-9

11-8

5-7

41-1

W

o

m

e

-

0-8

1-8

9-2

1-0

12-8

C

d

1-1

4-3

-

0-4

-

5-8

a v e r a g e

D una ms

A nima l s

H

o

1-8

1-5

—

-

-

3-3

O

x

21-7

17-5

—

—

8-5

47-7

A

s

11-3

9-6

-

8-8

1-7

31-4

< c

I

Y" /

•/*-/

87

1.0

T a b l e IS .

Income and Expenditure of Arab Farm under Experiment in Gevath.

(60 dunams)



1926-1927

1927-1928

1928-1929

Average

Average per

dunam

I N C O M E

21-280 12-136

5-250

15-300

5-288

19-150) 10-952

18-5771 9-459 -

O Q.

38-666

20-588

J

0-734 {40-836

0-619

0-631

33-363

0-556

EXPENDITURE

3-293

2 - -

2-786.2--

i

2-994 2 - -

3-023

2- -

0-050i0-034 0-056

3-866

2-058

4-083

3-33S

9-159

6-844

9-077

8 * 3 6 0

0 « 1 4 0

o

2 9 - 5 0 7

1 3 - 7 4 4

3 1 - 7 5 9

2 5 - 0 0 3

0 - 4 1 6

1. Calcula ted according to the fol lowing pric es: Wheat £ 10, Durra

£8 , Chickpeas £ 10, Sesame £26.

2 Manuring expenses, amount ing to

£

3 on the average, which were

incurred for experim ental pur pos es, are not included in the items of ex-

penditure.

T a b l e 19.

Returns per Dunam on Experimental Plots,

Arab Farming.

Year

1925-26

1926-27

1927-28

1928-29

Average

Wheat

s l

<s

25-2

30-0

30-0

30-0

—

—

10-4

8-9

8-9

Return kgs

o

u

t

n

u

r

e

» £

87-8

61-7

51-9

77-2

69-6

n

u

r

e

B

80-2

-

82-1

81-1

Chick peas

- =

si

14

15

-

-

-

5?

T3

L

CO

— •

8-1

-

-

-

:

u

n

k

OS

24-3

35-0

-

-

29-6

a g

-

15

30

15

-

Durra

e

d

k

40

-

0-4

0-4

0-8

—

:

u

n

k

-

101-1

22-0

47-0

56-7

Barley

e

m

m

5.6

-

-

-

-

e

k

C/)

-

-

-

-

-

•

u

n

k

as

95-0

-

-

-

-

Sesame

e

n

m

a

m

< T 3

-

-

-

15

—

e

k

-

-

-

0-6

-

k

t

u

r

n

ai

—

-

-

27*5

-

1")

88

ko

Follnli wlicnf- fiolil at Oov;

iovnrli

r

"Wlieat field fnllowing ^r ceu m.-inui-e.

HOVJIHI

Exp . S t .

The catchword of modern capitalistic economy is "live

and let live." If this motto be a pplied in this instance the farm



"Wheat sown in strips, flevath Kxp. .St.

above considered would have to grant the harath the wage of

£5 0 per year at the very least. This would mean the lowering

-of the revenue of the farmer from £ 4 4 to £ 1 6 per feddan .

According to the low level of wage standard of the harath, the

landlord of an area of 12 feddan obtains an income of £6 49 .

If he were to satisfy the most e lementary perso nal need s of the

harath, the farmer's own profit would drop to £ 31 2; and if

the hara th were to receive a y early wa ge of £ 60, which is

the desira ble sta nda rd, the farmer's p rofit would sink to

only £ 190.

The land under experiment does not give such yields, and

according to its properties it is of the type most common in

the country. Instead of a yield of 11 ton per feddan, o btained

in the richly fertile land referred to in Tab le 12, the average

yield is here 6.5 ton; the revenue from one feddan is thus not

£66 , as in the former case, but only £5 0. The latter is the

minimum sum required for the maintenance of the harath, on

which it is absolutely impossible to make any reduction. The

owner of the land has thus nothing left over for himself, and

can only live by harsh exploitation of the hara th. The con-

clusion to be drawn therefore is that any addition to the area

over and above the unaided working capacity of the family cannot

•raise the standard o f one man without lowering that of another.

The only solution lies in raising the fertility of the soil and the

-efficiency of the work of the family.

For in the whole grain-

growing region of the coun try agriculture can o nly yield a bare

living, and not furnish interest on capital.

"Wheat following' cultivated fallow, «Vvath Ex p. St.

89

R e s u l t s of E x p e r i m e n t s i n M o d e r n F a r m i n g

1

) .

The experimental period of three years (dairy farming three

years ,

farms of other types one year) is hardly sufficient for

of returns since all the factors of produ ction in mod ern farms

have been specially studied on hund reds of actual farms (not

experimental on es), the results of which have been published in



con clusio ns to be drawn, even when the fields were normally-

good and the years were average. This is still more the case-

in years of drought and of mice plague. The period under con -

sidera tion suffices, howe ver, to indica te in a genera l w ay the

difficulties inherent in the transition from grain to fodder growing

and the methods best suited to overcome them.

In the year 1928/29 new metho ds were first introdu ced on

fields assigned for this purpose . The conclusions which can

be draw n at the present stage refer only to the results of the

use of vario us fertilisers, bu t not to the efficacy or otherw ise of

the new methods of cultivation employed.

All the land used for experiments was, till the year 1926/27,

"bur " (uncultivated). In this year, a portion w as sown with

barley, and yielded up to 500 kgs. per hec tare. The rest of the

land was sown with w heat, with a yield of 560 kgs. per hectare.

In 1927 /28, the w hole area was sown with maize, the yield being

830 kgs. per hectare.

In this account of the experimentation done by the Division,

it is thus not intended to offer any definite conclusions, but only

to summ arise data for future investigation, and also to show

that the use of mo dern implem ents does not in itself provide

a solution of all outstanding problems, and that additional

factors must be brought to the field.

Only the fellah farm re prese nts an econ om ic unit in

every respect, beca use his fields are worked acc ordin g to his

independent individual experience. The work on the other farms is

done by m eans of hired labour. Th e aim is a mere com parison

») The detailed descriptio n will be published by the Division of

Agronom y.

90

a separate treatise.

Fields A. & B.: D ry Farming and Green Manuring.

These experiments were started in the years 1928/1929 and

1929/30, i. e. that in those years only prepar atory work was

done . Wh eat follows in the next yea rs, 1929/30 and 1930/31.

Rotation. Each of those method s comprises three various

rotations. See explanations, p. 80.

The following Ta ble give s the yield of cereal (in kgs. per

hectare) preceding the fallow and green manuring, as obtained

in 1928/29.

Details of experiment

W h

Grain

1-205

1-317

777

e a t

Straw

2-169

-

1459

' B a r

Grain

1

1-894

2'577

1-238

1 e y

Straw

2-273

2-835

1-330

°

1 t S

Grain Straw

1-162

1-697

869

2-324

4-260

2-429

1. Pho spha te and N itrate

(in one application)

Nitrate in two applications

2.

No fertilizer

The comparative experiments with fertilisers in the above-

mentioned fields were m ade not for their own sake, bu t only to

discover the influence of fertilisers on different system s of cul-

tivation.

The land under oats was twice attacked by h ot desert

winds (H ams in): the first time immediately after flowering, and

the second time just before the ripening of the grain. In con-

sequence the yield suffered from sun-b urnin g and the grain itself

shrank.

The crops of wheat after green manure and dry farming

for the year 1930 were annihilated by mice.

91

The res ults of the Division of Agronomy give the

following yield of wheat, after green manure and after

Details of exper iments

W h

e a t F l

a x F en u g r ec



legum inous cro ps for grain, on an averag e for three yea rs, in

kilogrammes per hectare :

Fer til izer

None

P h o sp h a te

P h o sp h a te

&

Nitrogen

AHer green

manure

l '030

1'862

l'84O

After grain

crops

852

1'218

1-222

The maximum yield of wheat was

—

2,256 —

1,450.

The maximum yield of wheat in the dry farming experiments

was for the same period of years as following:

after cultiva ted fallow . . . 1,750 kg s.

after ses am e with fertilizer . 1,425 „

Fields

C.

& D.: Sowing in Strips Versus Ordinary Sowing.

An are a of 6 hectares is dev oted to the study of these

methods.

The method of sowing in strips is charac terised by the

fact that all the crops which enter into the rotation are sown

in spaced strips allowing cultivation between them.

Rotation . Thre e different rotations are included. See ex -

plantations, p. 80.

The experiments were started in the year 1928/29.

F ertilizers. Half the area of each field was fertilized that

year with Phosphate and Nitrate of Soda for comparative pur-

pos es. In future the entire field will be fertilized, as results of

previous years show few p rospects to increase yields without

fertilizer. Th e following Ta ble gives the yields obtained in

1928/29 (in kgs. per hectare).

92

Grain

1'591

691

1'282

706

Straw

3-661

1-612

-

Grain

540

377

601

403

Straw

6-543

1-773

2-765 j

2059 j

Grain

766

181

1-184

341

Slraw

1-609

1-196

2-487

888

Field C. Strips : —

1. Phos phat e and

Nitrate

2. No fertilizer

Field D. Ordinary sowing : —

1. Phosphate and

Nitrate

2.

No fertilizer

The area worked by "cultivators" w as sown in strips,

each c ons isting of four rows with spac es of 14 cms. in between,

and each strip being 65 cms. apart from the next. The amou nt

of seed was 60 kgs. per hectare.

Four cultivations were made during the period of growth,

on 28/12/1928, 25/3/29, 7/4/29 and 3/5/29, immediately after each

fail of rain, especially to destroy the weeds. The Arab "cultiva tor"

is of a small type and reaches to a depth of 5-6 cm.

Fie d E.: Dairy Farming.

Area. An area of 2 hectares is devoted to this purpos e.

The features of this type of farming are its special rotation and

the use of organic manure.

Rotation . The rotation is compo sed of fodder c rops and

of cereals in almo st equal parts . The following fodder cro ps

are sown :

Clover, vetch hay, stock beets, pumpkins, maize

for forage, maize for grain 1 hecta re.

Wheat and barley 1 hectare.

Th e cere als and the fodder crops also alternate amon g

them, s o that each crop appea rs in the rotation on the same

field once in four years only.

93

The area devoted to each of the various rotation crops is

in proportion to the total area, admitting that 2 hectares are

Yields of Fodder Crops (Green Fodder),

( in Tons per H ectare) .

Yield



able to sustain 2 cows. Some changes in regard to area are,

however, made from time to time.

Manure. Manure at the amount of 40 -4 5 tons per hectare

is app lied every four yea rs. Until now only old manu re was

used. The manure is applied before the fodder cro ps: clover,

vetch, stock beets, pumpkins.

In addition, fertilizers may be used every two years.

In regard to methods of ploughing and sowing, this type

of farming show s little or no difference against the other type s

of farming described.

The main characteristic is the summer ploughing. Immedia-

tely after the ha rvest of the crop, the soil is ploughed at a

depth of 18 -2 0 cm. In these experim ental fields, ploug hing is

more shallow, as earlier experiments proved deep ploughing to

be quite superfluous.

Other treatments, like discing, rolling, harrowing are

necessary for complete preparation of the seed bed.

Sowing is as a rule performed before the rains. Th e

forage crops are sown first, then follow barley and wheat.

This order is sometimes necessary, as sudden rains may

interfere with the sowin g. It is of more importance for the

forage crops to be sown early than for the cereals.

Th e expe rimen ts starte d in the y ear 1926/27, when one

fourth of the field, Va hec tare, was manured, and the various

rotation cr ops were sown . It was disco ntinued for the year

1928/29, and retaken again in the following years.

The following yields were recorded:

94

Kinds of fodder

obtained in

an avernge

dairy farm

30

25

25

10

1-2

40

41-4

19-5

7-7

16-7

1-26

23-6

1928/29

12 0

16

6-4

5-2

1-27

8-6

2

)

1929

;

30

40

16

3-9

8-1

8-2

Remar k s

Clover

Vetch

Pumpkins

Maize

Maize for grain

Beets

i) Due to delay

in sowing

•)

After sapling

Yields of Cereals on Various Crops,

(in Kgs. per H ectare ).

Rotation Crops

(Kerab)

B a r

1928/29

l'200

1070

780

l '050

975

775

1 e y

1929/30

1-377

-

752

652

701

507

W h

1928/29

935

797

422

914

990

719

e a t

1929/30

6«6

436

639

556

645

539

Vetch

Clover

Beets

Pumpkins

Maize

Maize for grain

Crop yields in dairy farming do not themselves determine

the amou nt of direct income but only d etermine it indirectly by

fixing the yield in milk and offspring. The capac ity of a unit

area for sup porting cows is directly dependent upon the amount

of the crop . The yields indica ted in the first table on this

page, first column, a re avera ge figures ob tained in dairy farms;

where yields are as high as these, it is poss ible to keep one

cow per hect are. The balan ce of revenue and expen diture from

this type of farm is given in Chapter VII, table on page 99,

and table 20, p. 109.

95

The lasting effect of the application of chemical and

organic fertilisers extends over a consid erable period of time,

according to the findings of the Division of Agronom y. The



results given here are not intended to be conclusive but to serve

as a record of observations made.

96



H arvesting with binder

with machine

C h a p t e r S e v e n .

MODERNISING THE FELLAH'S FARM.

In the following chapter we shall set down only in general

outline those grad uated improvem ents which are feasible

in

the

farm of the fellah. A detailed programme, together with precise

demonstrative evidence, both economic and technical, will be

the subject of a sepa rate study based on an analysis of the

various types of existing farms in the grain region of the country.

The following schem e of improveme nts rests axiomatically upon

two preliminary su ppositio ns :

A. That the fellah's farm remain s during a specific tran s-

itory period in its prevailing form without im portant chan ges

in his draught anima ls, im plemen ts, crop rotation, or his way

of life. Its objective is increase of revenue without app recia ble

increase of the items of expenditure.

B.

The improvements proposed are principally of a bio-

logical and not technical nature, in origin domestic, rather than

acquired by import. A farm still in the transitory stage cannot

be burdened with massive machinery and buildings since they

are then not a means of productio n but of luxury. The existing

instruments of production must advan ce the farm to the desired

standard by increasing the fertility of the soil, augmentation of

yields, and increase of revenue, with the consequent raising of

ihe standard of life.

First Transitory Stag es in. Mod ernisation

of a Primitive Farm.

The Heavy Crane. — Up-to-date instruments of product-

ion introduced in the mo dernisation of primitive farms in

97

the first transitory stage may be compared, in many instances,

to the use of the heavy and cos tly crane to lift light and in-

significant loads. The "crane" is the capital invested in the

The capital investm ent in a diversified farm based on

own labour am ounts to £1,200 excluding land, when completely

equipped with all instruments of production. The value of the



form of building s, machinery and too ls ; the "loa d" is the net

profit remainin g for the supp ort of the work ing family. In the ab-

sence of exact cor respo ndenc e be tween crane and load, the

balan ce of the farm is lost and it is doomed to constant

failure.

The capital investment in a consolidated diverse farm (of

the German type) in Palestine amounts to £3,500. Its area is

from 250— 300 dunam s. Its chief source of revenue is from its

milk prod uction . In 1927, the time of inve stigation, when the

farmer's price of milk was 2PT., the gross income was £410.

Expenditure reached £310 including £110 cash for maintenance

of the family, so that the profit was about£100. Interest on capital

and ground rent is not calculated. These are all cash figures. £47

are spent on hired labour, low paid because of the low standard

of life of the labou rer. A plough man receives £ 28 per yea r; a

stable boy £ 10 per year. The daily wage is 8P T. If hired

labo ur is to be paid at a rate affording a human stand ard of

living — £ 7 per monthly field labour er, £ 5 per monthly stable

man and 17PT. for a daily labourer

—

expenditure on this item

will rise to £164 instea d of £ 47 with the result that the net

profit will disapp ear and the farmer -ow ner's standard of life be

lowe red. Incr eased intensification cannot bring about the desired

salva tion, b ecaus e increased produ ction by intensification is re-

quired to m aintain the b alance of profit of the dairy. The farm

servin g as illustration obtaine d £2 50 from dairy produce when

milk was 2P T. per litre. When it drops to 1 PT., double the

quantity must be produce d with the same expenditure, with a

cor resp ond ing increase when the price fluctuates from 1.3 to

1.5 PT.

98

land, from 100 to 130 dunams, reaches £500. The average cash

revenue from such farm is £ 260. Expenditure in cash £ 190,

including about £80 on purchased commodities for the family.

Depreciation swallows £21 — total expenditure is £2 11 . The

family also consume s about £7 0 worth of the farm's prod ucts .

The net profit therefore is £49.

In a transitory stage, equipped with only some of the

instruments of production, the farm's capital investment will be

£ 700 without land or £ 1,200 with land. The worker will have

£ 40 in cash for his supp ort, and a

ne t

profit of £ 9. Interes t

on capital and grourtd-rent is not calculated. The following table

illustrates the turnover of the three farm types discussed:

o

?

c re

A

B

C

D

E

Area

in dunam

250

100

120

250

80-100

Invested

Capital

Land

Equip-

ment

£

l ' 2 5 O

500

500

l'OOO

300

2-250

l2OO

700

420

80

C

a

I

m

e

•

T

a

C

a

E

j

d

S

y

o

h

j

h

d

i

n

C

j

N

e

:

P

|

F

m

p

o

d

e

1

q

e

t

h

s

y

o

f

h

i

h

d

=8

410

250

150

195

70

310

211

141

135

35

110

80

40

60

15

100

49

9

-

-

70

70

5 0 - 6 0

17

35

Total

benefit

derived

from

the farm

.€

280

199

99-109

77

50

Two working members of the family are occupied in each

of the abov e selected farms. If they w ere to hire themselv es out

at £ 7 per m onth they w ould earn £ 168 per annum under n or-

mal workin g hour s, with no over-time , none of the worr ies of

*) A •=- German farm, B = Small holding farm (full equipm ent),

C = Sm all holding farm (transitional stage), D = Grain farm working with

modern implements according to Arab crop rotation, E=*Arab farm.

99

maintaining a farm, and without having to invest any capital.

In farm A the farmer receives a su rplus of £11 2 (£ 42 in cash

and £7 0 in produce) above the family's remuneration for labour.

for labour performed when all other expenses ate paid and 5

per cent interest on the capital. On the average for all farms

the labo ur earnings of the family amount to 69 kroner per hectare



This difference is secured only because of the discrepancy be-

tween the two stan dard s of life of the owner and his workers.

In type B the farm brings in £ 199, that is, the farmer re-

ceives a surplu s of £31 abov e the family's remunera tion. In

order, therefore, to obtain a surplus profit of £11 2 as in farm

A, a capital investm ent of £3,50 0 is needed, and in order to

secure only £ 31 above ordinary wages of hired labour £ 1,700 are

required . This is the "ex pensiv e cra ne" w hich from a pure

econom ic standpoi nt ho ists but a small profit, chiefly providing

the farmer with his independence.

This is also the agricultural situation in developed countries

as Switzerland, Holland and Denmark, for example. Prof. Larsen

describing the farms of Denmark reports:

"On the avera ge for all farms w ith less than 10 hectares,

more than 80 per cent of all work is done by the farmer himself

and his family, and what he ought to know is, therefore, how his

labour income corresponds with the income he could have had

by working for others." •

"The average size for farms with less than 10 hectares is

about 6 hectar es. T he total lab our incom e per farm will then be

479X 6=2,8 74 Danis h kroner or 69 ore per calculated working

hour. By com parin g these figures with the normal wages for

hired men in the same year it is found that the labour income

on the average has been 10 per cent higher, and amon g the

10 years there were only two, namely 1921-22 and 1925-26,

where the labour income was lower than the normal wages."*)

..."the farms have been ab le to pay the family rem uneration

or about half the calculated normal remuneration . Th e labour

earnings have been highest in the group of less than 10 hecta res,

amo unting here to 1,436 kroner per farm and for farm s of 50

hectares or more there have been no labour earning s but even

a deficiency of 2,025 kroner per farm when 5 per cent interest

is to be paid on the capital. In 1926—27 the labour earning s

amounted to 1,634 kroner per farm for the small-holdings, 639

kroner for the medium -sized farms, and the deficiency for the

large farms was 4,288 kroner. A comp arison of the figures for

the two years s how s a considerable pro gress both for the large

and the medium -sized farms w hile in the smal l-holding s th e

labour earnings have declined by about 200 kroner per farm.

In 1927—28 the labour earnings for this gro up are 30 per cent

below normal remuneration, corresponding to the amount which

the family could have earned during the year if w orking for the

same number of hou rs in other farms at the going wag e. In

1926—27 the labour earnings were 25 per cent below normal

remuneration for the same group of farms."*)

The instrum ents of production themselv es employed in each

of the abov e typ es of farms are as links of a chain , each of

which must be firmly welded, as otherwise the chain will break

at

its weakest point. Pedigree cows and poultry not gradually

home grown but imported are susceptible to ills unless kept in

airy and costly build ings. H eavy ploughs can only be drawn by

strong animals who require plenty of good food. One draught

animal's food requires 20 dunam or one-fifth of the farm's estate.

•) O. H. Larsen, Organisat ion and Developmen t of Invest igat ions in

Agricul tura l Economics and Farm Management in Denmark, 1927.

*) Results of Danish Farm Accounts in the Accounting Year 1927—28.

Bureau of Farm Managem ent and Agricul tura l Economics, 21st R eport ,

4th October 1928.

100

101



by when he is press ed for time. He is obliged to use it even

for a sma ll are a, e xploiting it to the full, but also leaving it idle

for long. In this case two motives are mixed

—

the machine as



a means of production is an economic necessity, and as a means

•of luxury is a psychological necessity.

Means of Production and Means of Luxury. —

To those who

believe implicitly th at the mac hine in itself alway s incre ases

the fertility of the soil, it is obviously always a means of pro-

duction by its very nature. But those who regard the machine

in most of its functions only as an aid to biology, find it also

an imp edime nt wh en it is a prem ature luxury, prior to the farm

being able to bear it. It is this conflict which is espe cially

revealed in the transitory stage from primitive to modern agri-

culture, bringing complications into the entire farm.

The same implem ent may be a means of production and

a mea ns of luxury acc ordin g to the extent of its use. The fast

mo tor is a means of produc tion if there is enough wo rk to run

it for econom ic pur pos es every day in the week. The ass , for

examp le, cannot at its rate of speed execute the same am ount

of work. But if there is only e nough w ork to run the motor a

few ho urs and for the rest of the w eek it stan ds idle, its greate r

speed has only a luxury and not an econom ic value. Under

such conditions there is nothing better than the ass w ith its

natural slown ess. The m otor has ceased to be a factor of pro-

duction and has become luxury.

In a land of small farmers only the working family and

not the hired hand s determine the system of work. The size

of the "living are a" determ ines the essential rate of speed in order

to com plete all the labour, with its rational distribution, accord-

ing to the calendar of operation for each season throughout

the year. That instrument which correspon ds to such rate of

speed and guarantees the p roper standard of life is an instrument

104

tnhiii hr enl . yieldi ng 800 lif.n.-s IK.I" vesU

1

Crossbreo l , Arab :uv\ Du M i, 1 st jjonomfcion, yicM inj;. over -iOdO

lifiMs (:ivor;ige for three veal's)

of production; that which works at exceptional speed during a

few days in the seaso n and rema ins idle the rest of the time

for lack of work, owing to the limits of the "living area," is a luxury.



Crossbreed, Beyrouth

fun I Friesinn ("A F riesiaa

l.ilootl), nvpni^c yield for

thren years 2,935 liters.

( J r os>11r eed . B e yr ou th ; iml

Krii-s i i i i i . averayi

1

yield Im-

il ii-ci> ve in s 2.71 1 l if f is . .

j a g g j g g E

1

m

I

I

i

r

i

M

1

Crossi)reed, Be.yrouth

find Friesian (

3

/« I'Yiesiau

blood), average yield for

throe years 3,517 liters.

Psychological causes may make the latter instrument essential

even when it is possi ble to perform the w ork it does with

slower and simpler too ls. It is poss ible, for exam ple, that the

Danish farmer cannot ada pt himself to the tempo of the pre -

vious generation and has adopted modern speed even though

it is not economic, because of its convenience alone. It is thus

but an additional expense required by his standard of life such

as other items —fine cloth es and boo ts, a roomy hom e, fine

furniture, etc. In Denmark there is an expansive exhibition field

on which there has been erected a veritable ancient village in

all aspects—homes, farm buildings, yards, house utensils, tools

and water suppiy. The primitive simplicity of an earlier age hovers

around the visitor as he strolls through its pat hs. It is con-

ceivable that with these ancient instruments of production, ex-

hibited merely as a mem ory of early days , preva iling returns

could be obtaine d by the fanner, if it were not for his desire

for presen t day comfort. Noi the need s of prod uctio n but the

refinement of the habits of the producer caused the substitution

for simp le and plain too ls of expensiv e, intrica te a nd heavy

mach inery. Possibly this refinement has also affected the cows

and pigs who, if not now maintained according to modern stan-

dards, would deteriorate. Possibly quality cro ps, those which

withstand competition require special arrangem ents, involving

additiona l investm ents and a large turnover. It is difficult to

distinguish fundamentally in modern ag riculture between what

is vital and what is luxurio us or convenien t. At all events the

"leverage" to o btain profits in all these cases is ponde rous

and intricate.

In many developed countries agriculture has during the last

105

decade suffered more or less from se rious crises. Under stres s

the Government assists the agriculturists in various ways, direct

and indirect, by gran ts, long term loans at low interest, by

maintaining scientific and economic institutions at its expense,

takes the benefits he enjoys as a guide for the primitive .man.

If you adorn the hut of the fellah with a Rembrandt painting you

not only mar the picture but fail to give enjoyment to the fel-



the opening up of market s, protective tariffs, etc., thus relieving

the individual farmer burdened with an excessive investment,

and so balancin g his deficits which have a purely economic

origin. These deficits are partially the result of the disc rep-

ancies arising from the excess of investments for the conveni-

ence and comfort of the worker as com pared with those essential

for producing revenue. Th e purely econom ic law is decisive but

in its place there come reasons of social policy which require the

protection of agriculture as par t of the life blood of the general

social organ ism. The Swiss farmer burdened with a heavy

capital investment but subsidised by the Government in various

ways affords an illustration of these statements.

The agricultural community absorbing from childhood the

habits of its generation, its defects and virtues, cannot return to

the slow primitive plough, for it is mon otono us, discouraging

initiative, and is oui of accord with the rhythm of modern times

and of modern thou ght. Driving a tractor is more harmonio us

and pleasant and even in cases w here it does not increase the

returns c omp ared with the expense, it can serve as a means of

encouragement and stimulus, and is a factor in production just

as hours of rest, without which work would be impo ssible. It

is not so in the case of the primitive cultivator who is oblivious

to the rhythm of the time. If we endow him with various

modern mach ines we comm it a double erro r — we do not increase

his revenue nor do we bring him satisfaction from the new

inventions. On the contrary we add mill-stones to his neck.

—

The standards of the higher civilisation do not correspond to

primitive wants . The man of culture misse s his goal when he

106

lah, who derives pleasure from mere coloured advertism ents.

It is necessary first to advance him gradually to such a state

of culture that his aesthetic sense will appreciate the beauty

and glory of fine art. In the same way do modern instruments

introduced before their time operate. They are a burden to the

farm and do not benefit the ow ner even as a means of comfort.

The art of reforming the primitive farm is to determ ine

exactly when the farm has graduate d to the point when it can.

use modern machinery, and not to introduce it before then. It

is the e ssence of the art to transfer the farm by gradu al de-

velopm ent from the easy to the difficult sta ge.

The crane of

which we have spoken must be an organic product of the land

itself, growing naturally like the crops. It must be prep ared for

during the transition stage w hen the fellah's nature is still

charact erised by satisfaction with little for this charac teristic is

also suscep tible of chang e. Until the needs of the fellah increase in

accord with a cultured standar d of life he will find the natu ral,

domestic " cran e" in the home -grown and not acquired sto ck, for

its cost is but nominal, not having absorbed much expenditu re.

Tho se vehicles of labour produced gradually on the farm

itself will never become excessive even when, as the farm devel-

ops,

they serve not purely for production but also for convenience.

The farm will in course of time exchange its primitive implemen ts

for modern ones and so chang e its form free of the above men-

tioned causes of conflict.

Improving the Fellah's Farm with his Present

Instruments of Production.

Transition stages in Palestine's modern farm.

—The modern

farm w as from a certain point of view born with a defect—its

107

numerous requiremen ts. It begins with large expenditures prior

to its receipt of even small returns. Every mode rn farm in the

country is handicap ped at the start by an expense of £8 0 per

T a b l e 2 0.

Compara tive Expenditure on Different Types of Farm s ( in £).

Smallholder's

Smallholder's



annum. Half of this sum comprises communal expenses for se-

curity, education , orga nisatio n, and for such needs as conc en-

trated foods, maintenance of machinery, chemical fertilizer.

In every modern farm, in civilised countries, a large pro-

portion of the farmer's instruments of production represent

"accumulated capital," gathered during gen erations and trans-

mitted from father to son just as the treasures of the home. Jewish

colonisation in Pales tine also do es not prov ide the settler with

a complete equipment, w hich costs about £1,20 0, but only

with a partial equipment, costing £70 0. During a prolonged

perio d of year s the se ttler ca n, by his thrift and self-dep rivation,

acquire the complete equipm ent. His instruments of production

will, therefore, be almost half composed of virtual accumulated

capital. F or the fellah the tran sition will be lightened, in partic -

ular if he continue s for a certain time to utilise (he common

draught-animal and implements and not tractors or motors.

The stages of prog ress in the development of a modern

farm in this country from its foundation to the desired standard

are expressed in tables 20 and 21 (pp. 109, 110).

'transition stages in the fellah's farm.

— The fellah's farm will

be clear of most of the expend iture items enum erated above for

a fairly long perio d. H e can utilise the cro ps of his farm for his

family's sustena nce, such as wheat, milk, eggs, vegetab les, to

the same extent as the above mentioned modern farms without

any necessity

to

resort to the "heavy" rather than the "light crane."

H is present implements will enable him to increase his cash

proceeds by from £ 2 0 to £ 30 during the transition period.

Th is is all it is ne ces sar y to find at first, for with it the fellah

beg ins to app roac h a cultured standa rd of life, and the farm

108

H e m s

German Farm

Farm

(self-working)

Farm (trans-

itory stage)

Fellah 's Farm

S eed s

Labour

Feeding

Manure

Maintenance of

Buildings

Tax es

Sundry

Depreciation

Colony Expenditure:

Education

Guard

of Colony and

Fields

Administration

General Exp.

Sick Fund

Pasture

Bulls

F ire Insurance

Dues

o f W o r k er s '

Organisation

Sundry

Home Expenditure:

Food and Sundry

Clothes and Shoes

Farm p r o d u c ts

used for household

Total

Expenditure

12 —

3-200

5 1 5 0

1-650

80 —

30 —

70 —

47—

59 —

6—

10 —

20—

12—

")46—

10-250

—500

10-250

3-400

1-250

4-000

—550

1-800

22 —

180—

60 —

20 —

70 —

402—

50 —

10—

10—

21 —

10—

—500

7-250

3-4001

1—

4-500

—550

1-800

32 —

150—

3 0 —

o

s s —

281—

50 —

4—

6—

2—

10—

29—

95 —

196—

11

—

4—

35 —

7—

7—

4-500

0-300

1-600

5 0—

*) Usually old cows are replaced in this farm by part of (he young

other part being sold — and thus depreciation is reduced by

£

23.

70-400

offspring— the

109

T a b l e 2 1.

Standard of Living on Farms in Transitory Stage in Different

Settlements ( in £).

Prise

of unit

will of itself increase its receipts until it reaches the maximum

development possible.

This additional income does not call for any revolution in the



I tems of Expenditure

weight

mils

Farm A

F ar m B

F ar m C

/. Food and Necessaries

a, bought from outside

S u g ar

Oi l

Cracked grains

l e g u m e s

P o ta to es

Fru it and vegetables

Sugar for jam

Toilet soap

P e t r o l

Total for the month

Total for ihe year

Meat

Cloth ing

Nevvspaperi

Miscellaneous

Total bought from

outside

b. Derived from the Farm

W h eat

Milk

Eggs

Chicken

Vegetables

G r ap es

Jam

Total according to

market pr ice

Total food and

n eces sa r ie s

/ / . Communal

Expend.

Sick fund

Education

Organisation taxes

Miscellaneous

Total Colony Exp.

Totai Expenditure

65

180

70

80

30

70

25

150

10

30

4

100

10

1000

- • 2 6 0

- • 3 6 0

- • 2 1 0

- 0 8 0

- • 1 2 0

- • 1 5 0

- • 0 7 0

- • 1 0 0

- • 1 5 0

1-500

1 8 - -

2 —

10 —

1-200

2 —

6-750

1 5 —

4—

2—

3- —

2-400

6 —

1-200

1 —

33-200

43-750

76-950

10-600

87-550

•-•260

- •4 5 0

- •2 * 0

-•160

- •1 2 0

- •2 5 0

- •0 70

- •1 0 0

- •1 5 0

1-840

4-500

21 —

6—

3-500

3 -

2—

2—

2 400

Q,

1-200

34-780

42 —

76-780

12-600

89-380

- •1 0 0

—250

- •1 70

-•050

-•120

-•100

-•030

-•060

-•120

1-000

12 000

6—

7—

1-500

2—

4-500

21 —

6 - -

5 - -

3—

2-400

9 —

1-200

28-500

41-500

70 —

12 6 00

82600

Number of family members: two adults and two children .

Source of data: Special survey arranged by the au thor in about

200 farms.

110

farm. In various parts of the country there are certain fellah farms

which produce greater returns, as is seen from type 2 table 14

page 56, and even in the Plain of Esdraelon with its exhausted soil

greater returns can be obtained if the farm receives the neces-

sary attention. The few selected farms from the lengthy list

tables 9 and I I, page 42, 46 serve as striking examples. The

question is how shall we make all the farms cap able of earning

the same income?

The fellah's farm can be enhanced by the following reforms:

1.

The increa se of the fertility of the soil ; 2. The increase of

its presen t crop s; and 3. Diversification. The se factors can be

brought into operation with small me ans without shaking the

foundation s of the farm in its present form, and without the

growing complication of unmarketable fresh crops.

/ .

Increase of the soil's fertility.

—For lack of organic manure

the land has become poor in humus which is what increases

fertility as well as water holding capacity, the decisive limiting

factor as describe d in our introduction with special em phas is.

Green manure can supply what is lacking if one fifth or one

sixth of the farm's area is allocated for it. Partly it can be

used for fod der; the green m anure can be turned under by hand

-without changing the plough or by easily affixing to it a share.

"Wages cannot be calculated here for in a ny case there is no

dema nd for hired lab our, and hand s in a village for whom

there is no demand must inevitably remain idle. The Experi-

mental Station will publish the results of its research es in the

use of green manure together with the required instructions.

2. Increase of yields. — There is no remedy in changing

ihe existing system or substituting summer crops by new species

il l

or changing the prevailing time of sowing. The reasons are

as follows :-

A chan ge of rotation calls for fundam ental chan ges in the



whole structure of the farm, different draught animals and con-

sequently the allocation of a special area for their feed instead

of cheap pasture and utilisation of the weeds around the field.

Chang e of times of sowin g mean s plo ughin g of brittle soil,,

which involves much expenditure which is not recoverable from

yields, as well as op pressive labour. It requires a heavy plough

which in turn needs a strong draught animal. Yet the light plough

is in the transition period the most successful weapon in the hands

of the fellah in his struggle for existence. It must not be substituted,

until the opportune moment arrives, because such an exchange

would upset the whole balance and harm ony of the ho lding.

Summ er ploug hing of heavy soil is justified in certain case s

only in a dairy farm which gives first place in the crop rota tion

to fodder c rops such as clover and vetches. Ploughin g of brittle

soil is som etime s obliga tory in order to adv anc e the clovi-r

harvest or because-of a regulated distribution of labour in or-

der to prolong the working season. In a small grain farm such

oppressive ploughing has no economic justification whatsoever. .

In overturning the stubble it deprives the cattle of their natural

past ure, an im portan t item in the econom y of the fellah. Only a.

dairy farm based on stable feeding and grown fodder can afford to-

dispense with the feed of the stubble and the remains of the harvest.

The yields of the fellah can be increase d without exce s-

sive manipulations simply by carefully preparing a goo d rotation

crop , by use.of fertilizers and selected seeds .

Preparation of good rotation crops. The fellah who pre-

pares a good rotation crop by additional ploughing and w eed -

ing increas es the yield of such crops as ses am e and durra,.

and in consequence also of the cereals which follow them in.

112

rotation. Th e additio nal plo ughing s preserve the moisture of the

soil, the determining factor in'the life of all plants in semi-arid

countries. The plough ings and w eedings destroy the harmful

weeds which cause a double evil, absorbing the moisture



o

gathered with much effort in the soil and squeezing out the

productive plants. The defects in the prepara tion of a good

rotation crop are the result of a lack of good draught anima ls.

The fellah may not exchange his oxen for a mule which requires

for its feed an area of 15 to 20 dunams thus becoming in the

present are a unit a means of convenience perhaps , but not of

production. The fellah requires a pair of strong oxen living on

pasture.

He has no need to expend money on them but must

breed them at home by crossing the native cows with a bull of

pedigree

breed.

Use of fertilizers. Comm ercial fertilizer operat es succe ss-

fully only when the land is cultivated prop erly, aerated and

conserving moistu re. When the plant is thirsty it cannot well

benefit from the nourishment prepared for it in the ground.

Our experiments have shown satisfactory results in particu lar

with fodder and flax. By improving the rotation crop the moisture

is well preserved and the weeds destroyed so that the nourish-

ing elements are liberated to the benefit of the plants.

Selected seeds withstand drought, disease and various

pests. They increase the yield up to approximately 15% with-

out supplementary improvements. The Experimental Station

has obtained good results from its early experiments with seeds.

The Government should provide at a fixed price selected seeds

for each region in accordance with its climatic conditions.

3.

Diversification. — In most parts of the country the farm

of the fellah is depende nt on one culture and it is not surp ri-

sing therefore that its existence is not certain. The farm can be

diversified without burdenin g it with crops for which there is

113

no sure market. The add itional branch es should be native

plantations and home produce oi various kinds.

Native plantation s. A small area, 5 to 10 dunams, should

be given over for irrigated or dry p lantations according to local

in the usual shelters. A small sre a ne.xt to the farmyard is al l

that nz~d be sown for ioddzr which can Szrve as an zddi:ion.il

feed.

Greater comfort for man and beas t

will

come with

the

opening up of mark ets for the new crops and the forward



conditions,—olives, figs, table grapes, or citrus where the soil

is suitable. The Government has begun to work along these

lines by laying out various nurseries.

Domestic produce . Each farm grows vegetables for its own

use and sells the surp lus. But it is also possible to grow cer-

tain vegetables as cash crops like onions. Egypt exports great

quan tities of onion s and there is no reason why the local fellah

should not compe te with it. Each fellah can a lso m aintain

two local cows and more poultry. Palestine im ports semneh,

and the fellah can find a market for his semneh and his sour

milk (lebben), besides improving his own diet therewith. This

also applies to poultry keeping. Egypt exp orts many eggs to

the United Kingdom and there is no reason why the fellah should

not compete with it.

Improving productive und draught-animals. It will be

necessa ry to introd uce into every village pure b red bulls for

crossing with local cows. The results of such c rossing in

the modern farms of the country are astonishing. The

offspring of a native cow and Dutch bull produ ces after its first

calf 2,500 litres of milk per annum in place of 700 litres, the

produ ction of its dam. The fellah require s for this farm a pure

bred bull able to pro duc e both a series of working oxen and

cows noted for milk and meat. The Agricultural Departmen t

of the Government at its Stud Farm at Acre has secured satis-

factory results from Devon bulls. The maintenance of the herds

can remain for the most part as at prese nt with the addition

of a few supplem enta ry improve men ts, for the herds will not

radically ch ange their mo de of life. The y will continue to live

114

move of the farm as it develops of its own accord.

Improving the poultry. This is possible in two wa ys: — by

crossing the local hens with Legho rns or R hode Island Reds

or by pure selection. Th e local hen withstands pests better

than the imp orted , and it is also a goo d layer. Its m ann er of

living need not be essentially chan ged either as reg ards feed

or barn. Such alterations immediately increase expenditure and

this branch is still too weak to bear the burde n of mod ern

investments.

There are two ty pes of farms wh ich both form an o rgan ic

unity being harmonious in their organisation and balancing their

income and expe nditure : the low-grade farm, like the fellah's,

and the high-grade farm, like the high-class dairy farm in this

country which is comp arable to that of the Danish farmer. Th e

first lives by its very limitations, the poorness of its income and

the absence of expenditu re; the second by the creative powe r

of the worker who com pels the soil to render high yields and

who bases his farm on diversified bran che s.

Looked at from a narrow econ omic point of view both

forms justify the mselv es in so far as b oth bala nce. Fro m a

humanitarian point of view the. first should be rejec ted, for it

compels the worker to live below the poverty level. From the point

of view of nation al econo my it may be said that the primitive

farm exists not on any positive qualities inherent in it, but upon

the negative aspect of the country's econ omy. With any d evel-

opment of industry, the fellah will leave his land and go

into the town, the village will be emptied and the land deserted.

With the opening of the ga tes to Am erica or to any other

115

1

country which prom ises better conditions of livelihood, there

will without doubt be a large emigration from the country.

The aban donm ent of primitive farming is imperative not

T a b l e 2 2 .

Areas, Seeds and Yields in Tel-Adass, 1916-1919.

1916-1917

1917-1918

1918-1919

Yields per Ha



only for the new settler coming with a high standard of living

from Eu rope, but also for the fellah. The aim of b oth is the

sa me ; the difference is only in the rate of speed at wh.ch it is

to be attained, an d the difficulty is in finding a suitable path

of transition. Tran sition farms include both no n-rational and

rational types. The former are thos e which are burdene d with

the heavy machin ery of tne m odern farm w hile yet retaining the

usual cro pping system of the farm of the fellah. Th ese the

author calls "sem i-modern farms" - m odern in expenditure and

primitive in revenue, or spend ing like farmers and earning

like fellaheen. Goo d transition farms are those which cnange

the whole system of farming by converting grains into milk

and eggs. .

Illustrations are num erous and will be broug ht in a special

study The incom e and expenditure specified in Tab les 22 and 23,

(pp 117 -119 ) may serve as an example. On the border of the

fellah's farms described in Tables 8, 9 (pp. 41-42) and 10

(pp 45-46) there was a grain-growing farm of 800 -1,0 00

dunams using modern implements. In comparing the respective

figures of inc om e and of field retu rns it will be seen that the

latter farm is in neither respect superior to the former.

M o d e r n i s i n g t h e F e l l a h ' s F a r m i n a c c o r d w i t h

G e o g r a p h i c a l D i s t r i b u t i o n o f F a r m i n g S y s t e m s .

Village lands can be schematically divided into the following

div isio ns: - (1) the lands lying along the borders of the sands

and of the heavy so il; (2) the la nds lying in the plain, irrigable

and non-irrig able; (3) The lands in the plain bordering the

foot-hills; and (4) the valleys. (See map facing p. 120).

116

Grain crops

Wheat

Barley

Oats

Horse beans

Lenlils

Chick peas

Peas

Durra

Maize

Fodder (green) crops

Barley

Fenugrec

Oats

Vetches

Na'amni

Maize

Sesame

Fallow

To ta l

31-8 26746

23-4

6-9

2-5

10-3

12-6

1

0-0

3-0

93 8

29846

3075

1875

3388

562

85

418

325

24-1

14-0

2-7

6-9

2-1

10-9

9-7

0-5

0-9

14-4

19235

12604

3367

3627

560

7187

8593

647

30

waggon

89-6

117

34-2 22450

11-5

4-2

2-4

5-7

1-0

•3-0

3-0

2 ^

> 5

12827

2632

1324

2307

42 0

846

105

waggon

65-0

in Kilograms

841

1275

446

750

329

45

47

836

108

798

900

1247

526

267

659

886

1294

656

1115

626

551

404

420

33

wag.

| 282

I 3 5

wag.

T a b

Cash Income and Expenditure and Net

N

0 M

1 e 23.

Farm Income at Tel-Adass 1916—1919 in L.E.

E X

P E N D I

T U R E



I t e m s

1916- 17

L.E.

1917 - 18

L.E.

1918 - 19

L.E.

1. Field cr ops

2.

Vegetables

3. Dairy: Milk

Ca l ve s

4.

Poul t ry : Eggs

Poul t ry

5.

Out s i de -W ork

6. Sundry

487-916

22-998

34-171

8-800

1-772

1*548

13-639

9-200

467-910

59-467

47-542

11-036

2-726

- • 7 6 2

78-088

Total

580-044

667-531

Area in hectares

No. of cows

No. of heifers

Young stock

Poul t ry

Net farm income per hectare

Net farm income per feddan

(150 dunams)

Price of wheat per ton

93-8

5

4

50

3-701

50-334

16- -

89 6

8

2

4

59

3830

52-088

16- -

676-898

99-804

5-390

3-288

3-507

25-911

814-798

65-0

75

3-440

46-784

23-542

Figures showing income from field crops after deduction of quantities for

the supply of working and dairy animals and poultry.

118

I t e m s

1. Fie ld cro ps :

Seed

Insurance

Threshing

Tithe

Sundry

2.

Ve ge t a b l e s :

Seed

Manure and Sundry

3, Da i ry :

Oil Cakes

Pasture

Bul l and Sundry

4.

Poultry

5. Working Animals

6. General Ex penses

T o t a l

Net Farm Income

Total

1916 - 17

L.E.

80-276

-

-

82-273

- 162-549

4-143

- 4-143

- • 1 0 2

7-120

2-342

9-564

—

3-918

48-804

228-978

351-066

580-044

1917 - 18

L.E.

113-800

6-242

-

60-484

11-960 192-486

11-663

3-210 14-873

- • 0 4 1

—

2-308 2-349

- • 3 3 4

12-623

93.687

316-352

351-179

667-531

1918 - 19

L.E.

153-596

4-505

80-198

77-220

36-040 352-359

9-772

16-858 26-630

—

—

—

- • 8 8 3

2-703

208-597

591-172

223-636

814-808

119

1.

S andy soil bordering heavy soil.

— In a parallel line with

the coast there stretches with alternations a strip of sandy soil

at the side of heavy soil from Caesarea to Gaza. On the road

from Ramleh to Jaffa the re are v isible to the eye the bou nda ries

/UGG EJTED GEOGRAPHICAL



where the two types of land meet. The villages of Yazour and

Safriyeh can serve as illu strations . The passer by finds from year

to year the same meagre crops on this fine plain. All the land

is fit for irrigation but owing to a lack of safe markets for

crop s suitab le for heavy soil we mu st be satisfied, as a tem po-

rary measu re, with irrigatin g only the light soil. Every fellah

can plant 5 dunams orchard, using the heavy soil for the present

for un-irrigated crops. If our proposed reforms are carried out

he will extract from his 50 dunams more than he now obtains

from 100 dunams.

2.

The heavy soil in the coastal region. — This land can b e

divided into three typ es: —t ha t which is entirely irrigated, that

which is pa rtiall y. irrigated, and that which is not irrigated .

To the first type belongs the land belonging to the villages of

Beit-Da jan and Safriyeh on the eastern side of the railway, an

expansive plain, heavy soil, physically good but exhausted, and

producing poor crops. The fellaheen plant orange groves even on

this h eavy soil. While it is clear that the returns will not equal

those from a grove on its natural soil, the smaller results

will be much greater than from any other irrigated c ultures,

even thou gh the gro ve is not as long lived as that in its

natural soil, and requires additional wo rking days for its cul-

tivation . We are not referring to the capitalistic plantation which

thrives on the surplus remaining after wages have been paid.

Thi s will be a small farm which entirely dep ends on the nu mber

of working hands in the family and not the number of hours

they work, for the market for hired labour is very limited and

a workin g family will be able itself to devote the necessary

120

D1/TR1BOTION O F

THE

FA R TIING 5YSTEMS

I N

PALESTINE.

n\nn

|/

d fdrmmO ilono/idr thi

/onu ol lion) ind t\uvy /oil

yn?v

soil farmino

tntirrly irrioilrd.

o

attention for an orcha rd even in he avy so il. In this section

it is also possible to plant an orchard on 5 dunam s, vegetables

on 5 dunam s such as onions which have , a market, and a little

fodder. It must be emphasized that ov er-modernisation will also



—. a

.S 3

a. >

P

L

5

T

5 °

M

n

H

Oo

o m

T J

n> m c

-i nt

A3

2

M 3

^ p

•

H

m

I • • • t | i i i t j i i i i j i . . 1

1

1 i i i j i 1 1 . i - f

com plicate this farm by the excessive investm ents. The re is no

need for costly water installations; there is no need to exchange

the method of drawing water by means of the blind mule's or

camel's circumambulations for that by electricity. Th e water

drawn by the m ule m oistens the soil ju st the same as that

drawn by electricity or oil pum ps, and e xtracts in quantity and

quality no less fruit from the tree. An orange grove of 50 dunams

needs the rate of speed of electricity, but such rate is superfluous

for irrigating a p lot of 5 dun ams . In such case the electric

force is not a mea ns of prod uction in the field of the fellah,

just as the su bstitution of his oil la mp in the home by an

electric lamp will not be considered productive. Manuring,

adequate irrigation, pruning the dry branches, selection of buds,

the c ontrol of pests and diseases, all these biological factors

are the sole means of production.

The comfort of

electricity

will

be enjoyed in the field and in the home only when the farm,

profitably supports itself.

. \

For the lan d in the plain which is not irrigated the re is

no other so lution than the increase of yields and of revenue

by means of the plan detailed abov e. The inc rease of the area

unit in com parison with irrigated soil will provide w hat is

lacking in the presen t stand ard of life. Th e unit for mod ern

farms has been fixed at 100 duna ms on unirrigated soil, an d

25-30 duna ms on heavy irrigated soil. Th e fellah's farm can secu re

the same

ne t

profit as the m odern farm, for not h aving the extra

expenditures with which the modern farm is burdened he has

no need to secure the same gross returns.

3.

Land in the Shephela near the hills.

— Alongside the foot-

121

hills the low-lying land and the valleys stretch in a parallel line

with the coast. The plantation s can be set on the hill side s. The

cool climate and the water holding capacity natural to moun tain

soil together with its percolati ng quality make the hilly region

T a b l e

24 .

Density of Population in Palestine a ccording to Districts ;

(Government Census of 1922).

a

E •?



suitable for many kinds of plantations. Labour will be distributed

in a regular o rder accor ding to the seaso ns of the year, for

the season of work for heavy soil is shorter than for the hilly

lands, and the otherwise idle days in the rain season are fully

exploited. The hilly land s can be divided into plots of from

5 to 10 dunam s of olives, caro bs, figs and gra pes. Special

attention should be given to the culture of caro bs becau se of

the extraordinary value of their fruit as cattle feed for both the

dairy and draught animals, and because their bearing stage

begins much earlier than olives. The plain land w ill serve for

cereals in accord with our proposed reforms.

4. The valleys. — This type includes the valley of B eisan

and for this region a necessary transition stage must be fixed.

By means of research and experiment, cultures must be found

which flourish in irrigated heavy soil and are mark etable. In this

short transition period there is no need to exploit all the irri-

gation possibilities. It is better that the waters should flow into the

sea than that produce should flood the market and be thrown away

for lack of buyers. The present rotation of crops will also continue

here until experiments produce results which justify a change.

By means of partial irrigation we protect the usual field

crops of this region against drough t. Specific sections can be

allotted for bananas, table olives and mulberry for silk. The area

unit for soil of this type is fixed in a complete modern farm at

25 dunams. If we take into consideration that not all the water

will be exploited during the transition period for intensive cul-

tivation, we shall attain returns securing a desirab le standar d

of life with another similar area in reserve.

122

Districts

Acre — mountain

A cr e — plain

Haifa — mountain

Haifa

—

plain

N azar e lh

—

mountain

N azar e th

—

plain

Tu lk ar em — mo u n ta in

Tu ik ar em

—

plain

Jerusalem

—

mountain

Ramallah

Bethlehem

Jericho

Jaffa

Ramleh — mountain

Ramleh — plain

Ga z a

He bron

Nablus

Beersheba

Jenin

—

mountain

Jenin — plain

Beisan

Tiberias

Safed

T ot a l

T o w n s

Grand Total

b

l

E •>

3 _

2 o

43

7

54

24

26

8

39

13

65

59

9

3

30

52

20

63

35

91

-

67

6

30

37

41

822

18

-

Area

in dunams

544188

136412

652395

460522

316301

229629

340108

392657

352000

354000

4600001)

654000

412000

360000

377000

1280000

22350002)

15740003)

12500000

689400

144600

377000

428000

754000

26023212

410000

26433212")

Number

of souls

24867

4248

20787

11036

12419

2838

21837

9785

28694

26901

17955

890

17605

24148

17615

54615

36994

40748

72898

28963

1934

8738

13771

14029

514315

242867

757182

5

u

Q n.

46

31

32

24

39

12

64

25

81

76

39i)

1

43

67

47

43

17

2

)

26

3

)

6

42

13

23

32

19

20

1722

29 4)

a -a .

— <u

Z o o .

22.04

32.26

31.38

41.73

25.47

81.20

15.58

40.13

12.27

13.16

25.821)

734.90

23.40

14.91

21.40

23.44

60.42

2

)

38.63

3

>

171.50

23.79

74.77

43.14

31.08

53.75

50.60

0.58

34.55 J)

i) After deducting 2SO,000 dunam s dese rt lan d 180,000 dunan is, or 10.02 dunam per he ad

or 100 souls per km* remain.

i) After deducting 622,600 dunams desert land 1,612,400 dunams, or 43.50 dunam per head,

or 23 souls per km

?

remain.

3) After deducting 468,800 duna ms des ert land 1,105,200 duna ms , or 27.10 dunam per head»

or 37 souls per km

1

remain.

<) After deducting 1,371,400 dunams desert land 25,061,812 dunams, or 33.10 dunam per head,,

or 30 souls per km' remain.

Source of data: Dr. J. Thon , The Land Problem . "H apoel H azair", No. 30 (41) 1930.

123

The Sums Required for the Improvement of the

Fellah's Farm.

The improvement is of two k ind s: such-a s is apt to com e

due to inner growth and such as require special sums of money.

-



Betterment due to

inner

growth.

The improvement of kerabs,

improvement of seeds and the arrangement of a plantation near

the village do not involve large sum s. All the fellaheen are to

partake in the raising of the money for purchase of bulls for

joint use. The sum to be paid by the individual will not be high.

There is no need of burdening anyone with any purchasing

exp ens es; for with the natural growth the fellah will get the

strong bulls and the. improved cows .

In like manner the fellah should not arrange any tree-nur-

series.

The Government is to provide him with saplings at low

cost, the payment thus being not burdensome.

Improvements involving investments.

Under this heading

come several th ings. First of all the irrigation is to be attended

to.

Small repairs are to be mad e in the buildings on the plot.

There is to be applied also arational green manure on one-

fifth of the field, so that within five yea rs there may be one

crop lost; but it is to be expected that this loss will be made

up wholly or partially by the increase of yields.

These technical, improvements cannot be • made possible

without credit facilities at a low interest-rate . The fellah, howev er,

deeply in deb t, will find this kind of credit of no avail, as long

as he is not freed from th is bu rde n; for the value of his farm

and all its income as abasis of credit will not allow an amount

to be lent to him high enoug h to bring abo ut the desired effect.

Only when the fellah will be clean of his debts will he be in

a position to m ake use of this credit for additiona l improv emen ts

and working capital.

124

iliiii

^

••• • •.•-. •

; - ^ r ^ j

• - « . . . • - " • - * ,

V —

S £

» - . >• ** • * . • , • . . . . . . w> • - »

' ;

\

• ---

4 i

" . •

-a*

Old caix>l» hvc on I 'ucky gro un d

(I-J;III-C'I-"\VIKI)

Carob planted on rocky ground, (Ben Rlieinen 1913)

A passing observer, seeing the soil with its scanty yields



ground before plant-in»' (Kiryath. Auavim)

Young o rchard on terraced rooky ground (TCiiyni.li Ana vim)

and the w orker in his low estate, would be apt to judge harshly

of the natur e of both. But he would be m istaken , for grea t

pow ers a re latent in both , and merely a wait the touch of a

devoted hand to draw them forth.

The existing situation is a heritage of very old -standing,

whose destructive effects cannot be done away with in the

twinkling of an eye. For long generations everything was taken

from the tiller of the soil, and nothin g given him in return. And

he, havin g no alternative , paid out the soil in the same coin,

alway s tak ing from it and never giving. So, there was a twofold

robbery

—

of the cultivator and the soil both.

Almost the whole financial bu rden of his coun try was im -

posed upon the p easant for many a ges. The tithe and the other

taxes in themselves were enough to break his back; and

ye t

they were as nothing as compared with their concom itants, —

the tax-gathe rers and other agents of the rulers, who placed the

peasant at the mercy of the usurers and the speculators who

preten ded to be sav iors in his time of dist ress . In orde r to free

himself 'from these latter, he was com pelled to sell his pr odu ce

at-low prices and to buy it back again for his househo ld needs

and

:

for sow ing his fields at double and fourfold pric es; H e

descended lower than the beast of burden , who se instinct impels

if to rebe l when it is too poor ly .fed. But, bec ause he -being

-human, his reasoning powers impelled him to accept a yoke so

heavy- that h e could" not even attempt to-rebel. . Everything for

him was as a-heavenly decree: the iniquity of his-rulers and

the oppre ssion of their agents, even at third and fourth

•

hand .

L

Even when he looks up from his dep ths to the- heights,

125

the fellah sees only poverty. The ancient H ebrew, for exam ple,

called the Milky Way the "River of Fire ." But the fellah speak s

•of it as the "Tarik-el-te bben e" ("Way of Tib n"). Poverty-sym bols

dominate not only his daily live, but his imagination as well.

The fellah has been reduced to a bare crust not by his

side by the Department of Agriculture of the Palestine Governme nt.

It suffices

to

recall that the cattle plague has been wiped

out, and the locust inva sions of the last two y ears successfully

com batted ; that the Government has a well planned organ iza-

tion for the control of contagious animal diseases and pests and



primitive mode of cultivation, but by the prevailing social system

and the m isrule of the Turkish government and its predec essors.

Th e fellah's p rimitive wisdom , which is enshrined in many folk-

sayi ngs about all sides of farming, would suffice him for ex-

tracting enoug h brea d from his soil (tho ugh with little to spa re),

even if he used only his present im plements. But he has lacked all

freedom of movem ent and freedom of choice. Th e law has not

protected him.

The first m easures for improving his Lot should be

taken through protective legislation and agricultural credits.

If this is

done, his standard of living will rise even if he retains his present

implements. But if not, there can be no betterment or moderni-

sation for him; all increases of income will slip through his fingers.

The modernisation of agriculture requires not only agrarian

reforms, as an undispensable requisite, but the creation of pre-

liminary cond itions for the introduction of technical improvements.

The creation of these preliminary conditions is necessarily a

Governme nt function, b eing beyond the powers of the individual

or even of priva te organiz ation s. If, for examp le, cattle plague

is a con stant visitor to a country (as in Pale stine under the

Turkish rule), there is no use in improving the bree ds; or a

locust invasion which, if it come only once in 15 years, destroys

all the fruits of th e farm er's labo urs in a few week s, the increase

of yields is of only lim ited benefit. W hen insects and plant

dise ases d estroy his fruits, no impro vem ent of varieties will be

of any avail. The preven tive m easures to be taken against these

evils lie in the two provinces of research and adm inistration.

Many valuable beginnings have been made from the administrative

126

for the inspec tion of fruit. In the c ourse of time it ha s provide d

good means of communication without which the mod ernisa-

tion of agriculture is unthinkable.

When introducing technical improvements, a clear distinc-

tion must be drawn between the transitional phase and the final

aim. During a transition p eriod, nothing more can be done than

to carry on farming in the grain belt within the limits of

self-

sufficiency, with a very slight surplu s for the ma rket ; but, at

the same time, we must keep in mind the ultimate aim, nam ely:

that there m ust be the sam e sta nda rd for the villager as for the

skilled wo rker of the city, and the former must not be expected

to be content with little. Unless their standa rds are equa lized,

noth ing w ill bar the rush from the village to the city. Th erefore ,

with the increase in the needs of the tiller of the soil, the raising

of cash crops becomes an imperative necessity.

The strengthening of the farm in the heavy soil zone de-

pends not only upon money crops, but also upon the diversity

of its crops. Only the ora nge can b ear the burden of the

national economy alone, because , owing to its monopo ly, its

supporting capacity is very great. In other zones, the farm is

apt to take on various forms: either single branches such as

dairying, poultry-raising and certain types of plantations, or a

"mo saic struct ure" p ut toge ther of a little bit of this and a little

bit of that. One district might specialize in vinegro wing, a

second in dairying, a third in almond plantations, and a fourth

in tobacco. The se products may be a n egligible quantity in the

market, and yet, taken all ' together, they form a respectable

127

source of liveliho od. The pre sent type of grain farm, with its

single crop, can by no means sup port close settlement with a

decent standard of living.

When we speak of cash crop s, we always have the world

mark ets in mind. It is in great in dustrial countries that agricul-

ture can maintain itself on the inner market, but even then needs

the help of the protective

tariff.

The prod ucts of backward



countries cannot hold their own against competing superior goods.

Not even in their local markets can they maintain themselves

except upon the ir produ cer' s ca pacity for suffering. But the cul-

tivator 's needs increase w hether crops do or not, and even they

are not secure without a tariff wall.

The path of transition is lined with sharply conflicting

factors. The transition period may be compared with a bridge,

which must under all circumstances be shock-proof. Farming

can be p rotecte d from shoc ks by gua ranty -price s for field crops,

so that they will not be hit hard by th e fluctuating prices of

the foreign im port s. On the other ha nd, prote ctive tariffs are a

two-edged sw ord. There are in backward countries no strong

shou lders to be ar, the b urde n, — neither in the cities nor on the

land. And there can be no certainty th at the benefits will accrue

to the worker and not to the money-lender and the speculator.

Back ward countries are like a runner who comes to the

races just a little bit late, and so has no chance against rivals

with no gre ater sk ill than h is own . Because of that slight delay

a certain distance will always be maintained between them. And,

in order to overcome the handicap, he will need good additional

equipment. In agriculture, the means for overcoming handicaps

are in the nature of research and extension institutes, organiza-

tion, and financial agencies. In ten years science and organiza-

tion can attain results not secured during centuries of adhering

to old traditions.

128

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