Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-12-26
WILL RECLAIM MESOpOTAM|A
TURKS TO PROCEED WITH GI-
GANTIC ENGINEERING WORK.
Engage Sir William Willcocks a:
Director of Work of Irrigat-
ing Arid Lands.

CONSTANTINOPLE. December Cit
is an historical fact that the area be-
tween the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. in
Turkey in-Asia, consisting of about
100000 acres, once supported a popu-
lation of from 100000 to $4,000 coo,
where now it contains less than 1000 O0o
In other words, the once fiourishing land
of ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS has become almost a
desert waste, with countless ruined cities,
and only here and there hamlet mark
ing an oasis which has been preserved
| from destruction.
Of important bearing, therefore, upon
the deterioration of this territory is the
announcement Of the Turkish government,
doubtless already conveyed To you in
cable dispatches, that the Turkish gov
cocks to supervise the contemplated irii-
cation and canaiiZation works in Meso-
potamia and elsewhere Some four years
ago Sir William Wilcocks entranced an
audience in Cairo by his description of
the ancient irrigation works on the Zig
ris and the Euphrates and his forecast Of
the possibilities of reconstructing them
on modern scientific principles. In the
cold weather of 1905 Sir William visited
Bagdad and made a rough survey of the
country Upon his return 10 Bombay he
gave enthusiastic estimates of the future
of this ancient granary.
Young Turks Accept. Plans.
The NV constitutional government of
Turkey has given Sir William the oppor-
tunity he has long sought. and his pans
have been accepted by the young Turk
party in control with enthusiasm. 1.-The
future of Turkey lies in Asia" has become
the motto of the day. The magnitude OF
Sir Williams schemes may be gagged
from the fact that rough estimates place
the irrigable area at nearly :,WUHU
acres, the expenditure at $1U0.OGo.t0o and
the capital value of the land When irri-
gated at $3UD,O0O. The possibilities arc
vast.
In the days of the .Assyrian and Sas-
sanian kingdoms the delta of the Tigris
and Euphrates was the sranary of the
world. This alluvia plain, extending 400
miles inland from the present shores of
the Persian gulf. was celebrated for its
fertility. ''Of all countries that we
know" wrote Herodotus. there is none
so fruitful in grain 1t yields commonly
200 fold, but when the production is great
est even 300 fold. and the blades of wheat
and barley plants are often four fingers
in breadth
This productiveness was mainly due to
irrigation. The great Narlwan canal took
off from the Tisris on the left bank. and
supplied whole pleXus of canals and ir-
rigated an immense area before 1t re-
joined the river little below Badral.
Dijail Canal Irrigated Lands.
On the eastern side the Dijail canal over
100 kilOmeters long and fifty meters wide
irrigated the lands above flood level as
far south as Bagdad. In the neighbor-
hood of Bagdad these labyrinthne canals
converted the plain into one vast garden
But the preservation of titanic hydraulic
works argues the existence of a Strope
central government. The crumbling Sas-
sanian kingdom was riven by the Arabs,
and the desertion of its ancient bed by the
main stream of the Tigris cut off the
supply of the mighty canals and left them
high and dry. The Persian mobiles and
landlords were powerless to repair the
bikes. the main portion Of the canal sys-
tenn became obliterated and the smiling
gardens succumbed to the conquerins
desert.
Nevertheless all the conditions which
made: ancient Chaldea a laughing corn
land remain. except the human directing
force. The Tisris and Euphrates carry to
the sea enough water to make the desert
blossom again and to float the laden ar
gosies to the ocean. The soil needs ONLY
water to resume its traditional fertility
Even now the traveller cannot fa.l to be
impressed by the evidence of amazing
agricultural wealth revealed by the close
packed date groves on the flood lands of
the Shatt-el-Arab, and at Basra the
oceangong liners carry their cargoes of
grain in bulk. Nothing is needed but
money. brains and labor to make the
Tigro- Euphrates valley just such a wav-
ing wheat field the Chenab and Jhelum
canal colonies. This is the task To which
Sir William Willcocks has bent all his
energies.