The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1851-05-31
JOB PRINTING.
sl'efa n IH Frsa aIs Baiios TyaaIsre1t--
JERusALEM, PABEsTTNE AND BfIt-
IA, IN 1881.
ny DH. ). v. @. SMITH


Hr
Having very reSenuy ViaiIed every section
Of the Holy Land which Is regarded worthy
Of examination by pilgrims or travellers'in
general, the result Of my examinations arc
TlAecd at your dispoSAl. IL would be quite
impossible to present detailed account Of all
that has been seen or experienced. while ex-
pl0ring region aboundng In objects Of in
tense interest % those who are DESTROYS OF un-
derstanding the geography Of country in
which Christianity Ind is origin, and where
our Lord and Savior frat appeared on earth
---completed his divine mission, and suffered
a painful death
In the FIRST plaee-P Palestine, although usu-
ally described As land flowing with milk
and honey, am quite disposed to regard as "A
poeticAl figure, II ia present aspect IL any cri-
teriou ofits former condition under the palmy
reigns oC David and Solomon.
IL is tho toughest, rockiest, and altogether
the hardest country for cultivation ,as whole
have ever seen in Europe, Asia, Africa, or
America Even the tumultuously thrown
about mountains OF Switzerland, steep and
rugged as they are, 10 me, present more hope
for the farmer than the central portions OF
Palestine. The valleys arc exceedingly beau
tifnl, fruitful and easy OF tillagc; but their
whole extent, compared with that which is
either good Tor nothiafI,oF - dilliealt 10 man
ago as 70 be wholly neglected, is not a CON-
penmtioh for the everlasting mountain Of un-
yiold:..sg FSsehsi --L--~ 49,. .-T- - - a.
fhe beavcns, and defy the puny efforts Of
man 20 pulvcrizc them into productive soil.
Most of the piAihs were exceedingly Wrs'
Mt the time Of my visitation, 80 that il was
YcFy -ifsYiruit W -saese 9+Rr- them on account
Of miring the horses. Such was the, condi-
ton of the great plain OF Esd@lon, in the
Dejahborhood Of Mount Tabor. A vast plain
nj the north of the Dead Sea, the centre Of
which was the site of Jericho-was not quite
90 adhesive. However, as soon as the winter
rains arc over, Il becomes intolerably hot
fberr, 90 that none but the Bcdouins can en-
dnrc the glare Of the suns rays from bald
mountain sides,--and they hurry out of the
ruach OF the pestifcrous influences of the val
ley OF. Jericho early in the season.
Agriculture is badly conducted,and il never
will be- any better in the hands of the prcsen
occupants. Barley, wheat, oats, peas, Snt
pulse arc the principal crops The seed i
strewn over the ground and -,pIoughed inc
The plough is nothing but few natura
crooks of limbs clumsily keyed together, de
Tended by fiat piece of iron for a coulter
Some have not particle of iron about them
Cows, steers and calves not more than yea
old drag about this scontrivance-and Of eours
tho soil Is hardly disturbed. Nothing is plant
cd in our manner of planting, except melons
There is,no hoeing--and nothing TO do tl
harvest, when the first process is over. Th
breed Of cattle is rniserahle--beihg small, SIR
ewy aud very much detericrated. Even thei
horns are sickly looking stumps, pitching a
ways, and seldom five inches long. hav
often seen a farmer carrying plough on h
;shoulder-and might just as easily have ca
.ried SIX at the same time, which shows wh'
HEseble things they are for breaking up hAr
stony surface, All the fields are strewn wit
fragments Of broken limestone-And often
such an extent, it seems quite Impossible
net the seed under them into the ground.
In scssle Jsarsa Of Palestine the mountain
ARE tbrraced from the base TO their summit
pby thousands of SECTIONS Of wall, running
tall directions 80 as TO hold up narrow striI
of earth, either for grain or trees or both,
which suTpass by Thousand fold both in /
sbor and ingeauity, the tcrraced vineyards {
the Rhine, or on the lake Of Geneva, whit
FUSED TO rupposc the most superior efforts
sIand economy in the world. The city Q
nethIehem,--the birthplace of the Savior,
lreuiarknhle for itz extensixe GYstem Of terra
iing.as we'll as the ncighboring hills, for mil
in all directions Only there, and in son
few. places at the north Jerusalem, on u
way 10 Damascus, are there any fences
land divisions Where there are fences,th'
ara Of STONE, commonly enormously thick ~
high, and we're designed quite as much for
general depOsite of the rsOne ciearsa from q
fields, as for the purposes OF division OF lou
There arc no hcdgea@ycf variety I
shrubs, every wherc abound, Which might
set for fSrscs, that would defy the entran
aof rhsnocer,s, with their sharp setsCf prize
ers. his peculiarly Of the trees and wi