Report to the ... Zionist Congress and to the Council of the Jewish Agency in ... · 1935-08-01 · 8.1935 · p. Seite 359

head of Jewish population, while other producers (Germans, Arabs and private Jews) sold 23 litres per head. Milk products, mainly butter, to the extent of 120-140 litres per head were imported from abroad. It appears that the consumption per head per annum in Palestine is about 200 litres of milk, a small proportion compared with the consumption in other countries. The above figures prove conclusively the further potentialities of dairying in Palestine. 9. Sheep rearing. Sheep rearing, which was formerly considered suitable only for the nomadic Bedouins, is making gradual progress in the settlements, especially in the Kvutzoth. Several years ago the Department allocated certain amounts for the furthering of sheep rearing in Upper and Lower Galilee, but these experiments were unsuccessful. However, the attempt at sheep rearing was recently resumed in the settlements, and thanks to the devotion shown by the settlers there are good prospects of success. Most of the sheep reared in the settlement belong to the local breeds, and experiments have already been made for cross-breeding with foreign sheep. Some settlements imported rams of the Marino and Caracul breeds and he-goats of the Togenbiirdi breed. According to a census in 5694, sixteen settlement units possessed about 4,200 sheep and 1,000 goats. The capital invested in these sixteen herds amounts to £P. 6,500. There are figures available of the income and expenditure from eleven herds in Kvutzoth in 1933, according to which the income amounted to about £P. 3,900 and the expenditure, including labour, to <£P. 3,700. The income for 1934 in the same settlements is estimated at £P. 5,000, and the expenditure at £P. 4,700. The main income is derived from the sale of milk and its products (52 per cent, of income), meat (17 per cent), wool and hair (4 per cent.), skins and manure (8 per cent.), and natural increase (19 per cent.). The Tenuva Company in its report for 5694 mentions the experiment for the production of fresh sheep's milk and its suitability for certain liquid products. In 5694 the total quantity of sheep's milk produced amounted to 130,000 litres, and it is expected that in 5695 it will amount to 210,000. There is no doubt at all that this branch of dairying is bound to take a prominent place in the small farm. In various schemes for smallholding settlements, proposals are made for the settlers to purchase goats to ensure a milk supply for the family. The Damascus goat which costs from £P. 3-4 is capable of yielding 500 litres of milk per annum, containing 4.5 per cent. fat. The tending of goats is not complicated, and this branch is definitely suitable for smallholdings whose owners have not sufficient time to devote to the breeding of cows, and whose area of land is too limited to allow the cultivation of the necessary fodder. 359