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TO ERIVAN 113
up wealth. Farther on wc should see how the same soil
could be transformed by irrigation. Our expert, M. Carle,
agreed that in all probability this volcanic earth was unusually
rich, and in need of nothing but water.
Wc passed one ruined station after another, wrecked by
the Turks or by the refugees, thousands of whom overran
the country during the war, and suffered so much from the
severe winter cold that they took the woodwork of the roofs
and floors for fuel. It was strange to think that there had
actually been stations in this wilderness, where not a soul
could be seen ; but it seemed to show that there were people
living somewhere not very far away.
At Arax station wc saw a few houses, but the plain looked
as dry as ever, except for a faint greenness away to the south.
On reaching Sardarabad station, however, wc suddenly found
ourselves among green fields. A new canal had been dug
which brought water from the Arax to irrigate this part of the
plain. It was almost incredible what a difference this made
at once : here were tilled fields sown with cotton which was
just coming up. Near the station were factory buildings—
a big cotton-cleansing works where 80,000 poods (1,310,000
kilos) of cotton were cleaned annually, and the amount was
constantly increasing.
Continuing our journey, wc had green fertile fields on both
sides of the line ; chiefly cotton-fields, where wc saw women
at work weeding. There was not a trace of desert now ; the
canal and its branches reached every part of the land with
sufficient water for its irrigation, and the brown water of the
Arax is celebrated for its fertilizing properties. Here and
there were also rice-fields, square and surrounded by low
earthen walls ; some of them were flooded, and wc saw men
squatting in the water, weeding and thinning out the plants.
Mr. Ersingian told us, however, that the Government had just
forbidden the cultivation of rice in this particular region, as
it increased the danger of malaria, a dangerous enemy in this
part of the country.
Wc passed village after village of which nothing remained
but hideous heaps of ruins ; they had been destroyed by the
Turks a few years before. What strikes one about these parts
H
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