'Mesopotamia' [‎63v] (126/152)

116 ECONOMIC CONDITIONS [No 9 2
colour; blue galls are most valued for tanning and farm
the bulk of the export; greens are less valued, but are
exported to a small extent; whites were not exported
at all until Germany took to buying them. The value
of the trade is increasing, and in 1912 reached a total
of £150,000, as compared with an average of £44,000
for the previous five years. Germany is the largest
buyer.
Gum tragacanth is obtained from the Astragalus, a
bush which grows in northern Persia, Kurdistan, and
northern Mesopotamia. The better-class gums come
from the Persian frontier and Persia, the gums ob
tained in northern Mesopotamia being of low quality.
The collection is in the hands of the nomad or semi-
nomad tribes, and the incision of the bark necessary to
obtain the gum is not done scientifically, with the
result that full quantity is never obtained. The export
from Basra has averaged £21,000 in recent years. The
bulk goes to London and Marseilles, but recently Russia
has become a buyer of importance.
Liquorice. —The liquorice plant grows wild in
patches all along the banks of the Euphrates, from
Meskene to Diwania, and along the Tigris, from
Mosul to Kut el-Amara. It is also found on the Khabur
and Diala Rivers, and on the Shatt el-Hai. The root
is dug by Arabs, and is brought to receiving stations,
where it is weighed and then cured. Later it is shipped
down to Basra, where it is pressed into bales for export.
About 85 per cent, of the export goes to the United
States. The trade, which annually amounts to about
£55,000. is almost entirely in the hands of Messrs.
Mac Andrews & Forbes, of Baghdad and Basra.
(b) Imports
A list of the chief imports will be found in Table IV
of the Appendix (p. 134).
Cotton. —The import consists chiefly of cotton piece-
goods. The statistics seem to indicate that this branch
of imports doubled between 1904 and 1913, but the
impression given is not accurate, because in 1908 the