In the next place there is the question of the navigation of the Tigris. Ere long there is no doubt that boats will be allowed to come up the river from Baghdad to Mosul, and possibly on up to Diabekir (300-400 miles north of Mosul). This will mean an enormous increase in trade, both in imports and exports. Finally, there is that fascinating problem of the irrigation of the Mesopotamian desert. The remains of old canals are still visible, and it needs nothing but an energetic government willing to spend a comparatively small sum, plus the services of a capable engineer, to transform the whole of that desert between the two great rivers Euphrates and Tigris into a veritable Garden of Eden, even as it must have been in the days of old, when huge armies were able to find sufficient provender for man and beast throughout the whole of that vast region. The "finale" of that great province, containing the ruins of so many ancient cities, has not yet been written; and there are many signs which tend to suggest to the thoughtful observer that, ere another century has passed, Mesopotamia may once again take its place, and that no mean position, amongst the kingdoms of the earth! NOTES [1] "A Year amongst the Persians." [2] By Dr. A. Hume-Griffith. [3] By Dr. A. Hume-Griffith. [4] By Dr. A. Hume-Griffith. [5] Extract from "The Literary History of the Arabs," by R. A. Nicholson, M.A. [6] By Dr. A. Hume-Griffith.