‘Report for the Army Council on Mesopotamia. By Sir John P Hewett, GCSI, KBE’ [‎8r] (20/119)

7
Euphrates. In order to assure a constant supply of water to the canal a small pumping installation
was erected at a cost of Rs. 7,282 (£485). Petty repairs to the streets of Hillah town were also done
at a cost of Rs. 1,765 (£118).
Agricultural Machinery.
16. There are two minor matters relating to orders for agricultural machinery for the spring harvest,
1918, which require notice. The first relates to a dispute with regard to an order placed with the Sunshine
Harvester Company, Australia, for the provision of 25 Sunshine Harvesters. The facts connected
with this order are briefly as follows :—
In September, 1917, Sir Percy Cox requested the Government of India to make inquiries from
Australia as to the type of oil-driven reaping and threshing machines most suitable for a flat country.
On the 8th November, 1917, the Government of India telegraphed as follows :— [Telegram No. 76055,
Secret, to General, Baghdadi]
“ Reported by Australia that mobile oil-driven reaping and threshing machines suitable
only for flat country being built by Sunshine Harvester Company. One special operator
required per machine who attends to reaping, threshing and driving of engine single handed.
Approximate price £285 each machine : 50 machines available in Australia. Weight 2 tons :
capacity 2 acres per hour if crop 60 bushels per acre.”
On this a telegram was sent to purchase 25 Harvesters, each to be accompanied by a special operator.
On the 17th December the Government of India telegraphed as follows :—
“ Purchased 25 latest type Sunshine Harvesters, eight feet comb, seven horsepower double
cylinder engines which drive mechanism of machines, whilst horses or mules merely draw
machine through crop.”
On the 4th January the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief wired to enquire the size and number
of mules required for each machine ; stating that the necessity for a large number would greatly detract
from the suitability of the machine, and that, if feasible, he might wish to cancel his order. He received a
reply on the 23rd January that 4 mules or light horses were required for each machine and on the 24th
January a telegram was sent cancelling the order. The Governor-General of Australia subsequently, on the
7th February, cabled that the contractors refused to cancel the contract. He added that the machines
reaped grain only, leaving straw untouched, and were too heavy for irrigated land. On the 7th March
the order was definitely cancelled ; but the contractors are preferring a claim for compensation. The
original order was given on the understanding that the machines were prime movers and required one
man to operate. This appears to be a reasonable inference to draw from the telegram of the 8th November
from the Government of India on which the order was based. The order was cancelled owing to the
difficulty of dealing with 100 horses or mules and the personnel required to look after them. It does
not appear that any blame attaches to the authorities in Mesopotamia in the matter or that they should
be called upon to pay damages. The original cost of 25 machines was about £7,500.
The second matter relates to an order lor tractors with steam tackle.
On the 18th January, 1918, a telegram [Telegram No. Q 2887] was sent by the General Officer
Commanding-in-Chief, Baghdad, to the Chief of the General Staff, Delhi, and repeated to the Whr Office,
London, ordering ten threshing machines and twelve tractors to drive them. The machines were
required to release as quickly as possible the cattle and labour that would be engaged on reaping and
threshing the spring crops, and it was stated that material assistance would be afforded if this machinery
could be provided in time to deal with the harvest between April and May, 1918. The first of these
machines did not, however, arrive until October, 1918, and the rest have arrived at later dates.
No invoice has been received as yet and their cost is unknown. The Director of Agriculture states
that the type is suitable to the country, and can be usefully employed in the Euphrates area, being moved
from place to place as required. The civil authorities will probably be ready to take them over on terms
to be arranged, as they should certainly be valuable in educating the Arab farmer, who has a natural
inclination to adopt labour-saving machinery.
17. The account of the expenditure on production of grain in 1918 is now complete. It covers
only the agricultural and irrigation operations, including the transportation of the revenue grain to the
local government granaries. The cost of cleaning, bagging and transporting the gram and bhusa to
the centres at which the Supply Department would take possession of it is a separate matter (see para
graphs 26-28). The time has now arrived for examining the degree of success attained m increasing
the yield of wheat and barley under the scheme. . , i . x- i j.
In endeavouring to form a just appreciation of the success attained by measures taken to stimulate
and extend cultivation in 1918, one is confronted by the initial difficulty that no reliable estimate can
be formed of the area under cultivation, or of the crop which matured m 1917 Mr. Garbett m his annual
report has stated The areas matured in 1917 appear to have been about 100,000 acres on the
Euphrates to Diwaniyah ; 5,000 acres on the Tigris and 10,000 acres on the Diyalah Of the gross
area on the Euphrates 60,000 acres were harvested on the Dagharah.” The data on which this estimate