{"value"=>"<p>Correspondence, memoranda, reports, cables, radiograms; statistical information (e. g., rainfall, distribution of wells); maps and drawings.</p> <p> From the time of its incorporation, PEC demonstrated interest in formulating solutions to the problems Palestine's water supply posed for the country's development. Success depended upon the united effort of the major institutions engaged in building up the country, including the Palestine Government itself; PEC took the initiative in securing their interest and soliciting their cooperation.</p> <p> The files comprising Irrigation - General within this series, illustrate the beginnings of organized efforts to extend the water supply's capabilities. Without irrigation, the semi-arid soil in Palestine was suitable only for the sparse production of cereals. With irrigation, productivity of soil tripled or quadrupled, permitting the sowing of more valuable crops. The country's orange groves, for example, were entirely dependent upon an artificial water supply.</p> <p> The water activities of PEC were conducted through the Palestine Water Company, Ltd., organized in 1933 as a wholly owned subsidiary of the corporation to help provide an inexpensive, adequate supply of water for irrigation and domestic use. The principal aim of the company was to reduce irrigation costs by establishing centralized regional water systems. By eliminating the duplication of pumps, water mains, and reservoirs, lower water rates for the farmer could be attained, and resources freed for other farm improvements. Some of the methods employed by the company and illustrated by the records making up this series include: preliminary investigations and planning for central water installations; the devising of sound administrative and technical means of distributing water and erecting water plants; and the continuous effort to adopt newer methods and machinery.</p> <p> As early as 1930, PEC brought to Palestine, jointly with the Palestine Jewish Colonization Association (PICA), water drilling machines from America; and PEC alone secured a rotary drilling machine, which revolutionized drilling in Palestine. These were the first such imports of modern machinery into the country. American methods of well drilling were carefully studied, and various types of equipment compared, in the process of culling the most effective methods of drawing water from Palestine's soil. American techniques and equipment would continue to be utilized by PEC in Palestine, as illustrated by the Water Drilling Unit files, spanning the years 1931 to 1939.</p>"}