Page 298 - Bahrain Gov Annual Reports (I)_Neat

296
Agriculture. -2-

was supposed that it was Government property.
Owing to the distance from Manamah it was not con­

venient as a site for an experimental garden but nega­
te-*!*,
ciations were entered with Abdul Aziz Kozaibi & Co..
r\ w
who wished to buy a large area of ground in order to
grow corn etc. The Government was prepared to sell

100 acres at Rs 15/- per acre with an option of a fur­
ther 400 acres at Rs 30/- per acre and a further 500

acres at-Rs 35/- per acre making 1000 acres in all,
subject to a stipulation that a proportion of each
lot purchased should be put under cultivation within
a definite time limit. The Kozaibis would not agree

to these terms and as Abdul Aziz Kozaibi left Bahrain
before any arrangement was made the matter is still in
abeyance.

It was afterwards found that H. E. Shaikh Hamad
claims the whole of this area as his private property
in virtue of a "Eiba" gift document from Shaikh Isa.

Palace Garden. This garden has never been a suc­
cess partly because there is more salt in the soil

than in many other places and partly because there is,
and always has been brackish water very close under
the surface of the ground. For some time work has

been done by a gang of prisoners who are raising the
surface of the south end, which is the worst portion,
by bringing in sand from outside the garden.

Cotton was planted in this garden, but it grew
very badly. It was rooted up and lucerne was planted
instead. Two sowings of lucerne were a failure owing
to strong shamal winds destroying the young plants.

Lucerne is very susceptible to wind and needs a good