MacNamara diary, 19 August 1916-29 May 1919 / John Patrick MacNamara - Page 117
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[Page 117]
It took 44 of them to pull one gun into its position whereas at ordinary times 12 could do it easily.
This position is in the middle of an orange grove flanked on one side by almond orchards extending to the right for some hundreds of acres & on the other side by a Eucalyptus grove. These tress had all been imported from Australia & were being laid out in groves.
In front of the guns, about a mile, is the Jewish colony & village of Mulebis [Mulebbis].
There are any amount of oranges to be had, just for the picking of them & we don't stint our selves either. All the orchards are irrigated during the summer months as it is so dry then & the soil retains no moisture so that the trees would soon die.
The water is stored in huge wells about 60' deep. The side of these have to be bricked to prevent them from falling in. The water is raised from these wells by means of pumping plants which are very numerous & it is distributed over the land by means