Page 464 - 3 Persian Trade rep KUWAIT 1_Neat

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Gypsum mortar is sold by the larah of 100 man ns There ia no square measure in use; and a plot of
of 24 I Vaqiyahs or 11'133 lbs. Tlic term la rah ia ground is described ns being eo many dhiru* accord­
also used for date palm branches, in which sense ing to the sum of its sides.
it means 1,000 branches.
Beams nnd mnsts arc sold by the Calicut land*/
or 10 cubit feet 29 cubic inches; round rafters or The Year 1923-24.
spars by the lorjah or score; and boat ribs by the
gari or cart load of 40 pieces or upwards according The year under review wn< unfavourable for trade,
to sire. owing to th continued unsettled state of the interior!
The four-gallon kcrosine oil tin is used as a mea­ there being no trade with Knjd throughout the year!
sure of capacity; it is chiefly used for the sale of The pearling season, on which the prosperity of
water, but clarified butter, fat and date Syrup a large number < f the inhabitants of Kuwait de­
arc also sometimes sold by the tin. pends, opened badly, but improved later, and
Of the smaller weights is the habbah, equivalent was on the whole considerably better than that
to three grains Troy, is used in the sale of gold and of last year. The market rate of pcarla was also
silver. Gold is normally told by the mithqul 'attdri better.
of 18 habbah* or 54 grains, nnd also by the Turkish
pound nnd fractions thereof. Silver is sold by the
mithqal Shlrdzi of 24 habbahs or 72 grains. The Imports.
mithqnl 'attdri nnd the mithqul Shirdzi are also both
used for drugs nnd silk thread, but for this purpose The total imports by sea amounted to £052,064
they are’ not divided into halbahs, but only into and showed a decrease of 1-19 per cent as compared
halves nnd quarters, the niceties of weight being with the figures for I922-2b, winch is accounted
arrived at by using the two mithqdls and their for by the decreased import of barley, charcoal,
fractions in conjunction. Perfumes, as also gold drugs, groccrv, cereals, kerosine oil, rice and sugar
thread, arc sold by the tolah of 180 grains. loaf.
In the pearl trade the following weights and Of this import trade 77-98 per cent was with India,
measures arc most commonly used in Kuwait. Whole­ 10-97 per cent with the Persian Gulf, 9-96 per cent
sale purchases of pearls from the captains of pearling with ’Iraq, 1-14 per cent with Arab Coast and *15
boats arc made chiefly by size. For this purpose, per cent with other countries.
after any exceptionally good pearls, which it is
desired to dispose of separately, have been removed,
the remainder are assorted by being passed through Exports.
a series of perforated brass or copper bowls, the
standard set of which consists of four, the perfora­ The total exports by sc3 amounted to £276,541
tions of the Largest called ras are *18 inch in dia­ and showed a decrease of 49-85 j>e cent as compared
meter: those of the second, batn -15 inch : those of with the figures for 1922-23. Tins decrease, how­
third, dhail -13 inch ; and those of fourth Half ah ever, is largely accounted for by the com paratively
•11 inch. After being assorted into rds, but:i, etc., insignificant quantity of pearls " shown ’’ as ex-
they change hands at a previously arranged rate, ported. As however it is never possible to obtain
at 60 much the mithqdl *Arabi, which is equivalent accurate figures for pearls, of which a large portion
to 450 grains. The ordinary pearl then usually is always smuggled out in personal luggage; and
passes from one dealer to another on a more precise as the pearl season was better than that of the pre­
kind of estimate based upon weight; in Kuwait the vious year, the decrease is doubtless much less than
Bombay mithqul, equivalent to 75 grains Troy, appears from these figures. There was, howeveT,
and subdivided into 24 ratlis each of 15 dnahs is a decreased export of clarified butter, coir, dates,
usually employed. The unit in the dealer’s system specie, 6Ugar loaf, tea, rice, wheat, wheat floor and
is called a chau, and, although derived from a wood for boats.
weight, it is not in itself a weight The number of Of the total export trade 60-05 per cent was with
c aus in a pearl is found by squaring the weight of the Persian Gulf, 19-67 percent with the Arab Coast,
the pearl in mithqdh and multiplying the result by 13-64 per cent with India and 6-44 per cent with
330. The chau is divisible into 100 duirahs, and ’Iraq.
the duhrah into 10 baddmt. There are other kinds
of chau* also occasionally used, and obtained by an
idcntica: process from other mithqdl*, such as Poona
mithqal of 68$ grains. Customs Administration and Lighterage.
The normal unit of length is the dhird, or cobit The administration of the Kuwait Customs la
of 19 inches, but for rope, which is also sold by supervised by a local Arab, and the system works
weight, the ba" or fathom is usually employed. satisfactorily. An import duty of 4 per cent ad