Report Shows Progress Achieved in Colonization in Palestine

The extent to which the Jewish effort to rebuild Palestine as the Jewish National Homeland has made progress is indicated in a report just issued by the United Palestine Appeal, New York City.

The figures that have been made available are the result of a census taken by the Palestine Foundation Fund in Palestine. These figures, which reveal the growth of Jewish colonization since the World War, show that there are 2,586 farms in Palestine, none of them comprising less than 10 dunams.

In 1881, prior to the immigration of the first Jewish settlers, there were five Jewish farmsteads in all Palestine, and they were scattered about the country. In the two decades following 380 farms were established, while in the next 15 years, 451 more farmers were settled, due largely to the assistance of Baron Edmond de Rothschild and various Zionist associations. Half of the total number of farms now in existence have been established since the War and for the largest part were financed by the Palestine Foundation Fund.

The introduction of better methods of production and crop rotation, of pure breeds of stocks, have had a beneficial effect on Palestinian agriculture. Yields have considerably improved, in oranges, grapes, wheat and barley. It is in the settlements of the Palestine Foundation Fund, for which American Jews provide the largest support, that great improvement is to be noted. Agricultural machines and implements have been introduced, in addition to the agricultural training which the Fund provides through the various schools it has established. Tractors, threshing machines, mowers, motors, pumps, wells and automobiles are some of the paraphernalia provided to place the Palestinian settlements on a plane equal to agricultural settlements anywhere in the world.