The Maccabaean

phosphate is not difficult from an engineering standpoint, but in view of the undeveloped condition of the surrounding country, an immediate supply should not be expected from this source. In due time the Syrian phosphate beds will adequately supply all the soil needs of the country and possibly have some for export.

The greatest reserve of phosphate in the world is located in Central Russia, and along the banks of the Volga. It is estimated that the Russian phosphate fields cover an area of 50,000,000 acres. Large areas of phosphate are found in Spain, and in Tunis and Algeria the phosphate mines have been worked for many years by the French. The foregoing sources of raw phosphate are those within easy distance of Palestine and the arrival of shiploads of rock phosphate into the part of Haifa should not be a far-off vision.

Raw phosphate when it is mined is not a plant food and only after treatment with sulphuric acid does it become a fertilizer. Sulphuric acid is often spoken of as the basic acid of industry. In any rehabilitation of Palestinian industry, sulphuric acid must be a dominant factor. Sulphuric acid is used in the manufacture of gunpowder, vulcanizing rubber, in insecticides, fungicides, in disinfectants, in the manufacture of chemicals and medicines, in the manufacture of paper from wood pulp, as a food preservative and in the treatment of woolen goods. The erection of sulphuric acid plants for the conversion of raw phosphate into fertilizer is coincident with the need for this acid in other industrial operations. Sulphuric acid is commonly made from iron sulphide or pyrites, and Spain is the great producer of this ore. Raw sulphur is found in large quantity in the Island of Sicily. Transportation of pyrite from Barcelona to the seaports of Palestine would be a short haul as compared to the distances this product is usually shipped.

After phosphate rock is treated with sulphuric acid it is called superphosphate and it is then advanced as a fertilizer. Should the erection of sulphuric acid plants in Palestine not be feasible for the present, superphosphate can be imported from Germany, France, or England and the writer knows of at least one large American concern that looks with favor on the exportation of fertilizer into Palestine.

Potash, the third element of plant food generally de-

ficient in the soil was, prior to the war, a German monopoly. German scientists asserted that the potash monopoly would hold the world at bay, as without it starvation would eventually result. The town of Stassfurt and the surrounding country overlie huge deposits of potash and the world's needs must be supplied from this source. Potash is especially valuable on gravelly soils and for the growing of vegetables. With the aid of potash the soil of Palestine will grow immense vegetable crops, and the occidental root crops, especially the potato, will become fully acclimatized. Potash before the war was obtainable at from $20 to $40 per ton, whereas it now costs from $400 to $500 per ton. In consequence of the potash famine, the waters of the Red Sea were investigated and found to contain potash, and had the war not terminated commercial development would have followed. But with the war ended German potash will again be available, thus ending the much discussed potash problem.

A a BF Te a er When Malthus enunciated his doctrine that population is limited to means of subsistence he was ignorant of scientific agriculture. The land only gives of its utmost when the needs of a large population demand it. A Western wheat field that shows a net profit of $30 per acre is considered very profitable, yet a Virginia truck grower spends more than that sum on artificial fertilizer. The extensive farmer requires hundreds of acres for his operations while the intensive grower makes a living from ten acres. But both types of farming are necessary in the world’s economy. When land is plentiful and population is scarce extensive farming is but natural, but where the density of population is on the increase intensive agriculture must follow.

The great Houran wheat fields as well as the Julan and the Esdraelon valley may well continue the cultivation of wheat. But the plains of Judea and Samaria must again become the garden spot of Syria. The average density of population in Palestine is 21 persons per square k.m., while in Germany it is 105 per square k.m. Belgium has a population of 7,000,000 and Holland over 3,000,000. A corresponding increase in the population of Palestine will be adequately cared for by the success of modern intensive methods. It is in this connection that the enlargement of the cattle industry along with the use of commercial fertilizer deserves the closest attention.