New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-04-25

The soil in tho valleys is suI i &old yvbere
nnthin0 irf their heads appeared above tho WAVING
wheat and myself rode along pain, th horss r.
i ia indeed a rood land land of brooks OF WnteI,
offountans and depths that spring OUT Va mss
and hills land Of wheat, and oaIey anu ~ ol;ys
| and hg-trees, ana pomegranateo' '"-
/ and honey.
In regard to the ancient population OF Palestine'
and the power of the country to maintain the num-
/ Der Of people, Dr. Thomson offers some interesting
/ remarks. He concludes that the entire terrltory
| amounted to 1900 square miles, but deducting
those parts Of the sea-coast held by Phllistlnes'
Phenicians, and other nations the utmost that can
DO claimed for the Hebrew inheritance west OF tne
Jordan is 1000 square miles. A considerable part
~ tbe country moreover on the south and the west
side of the Dead Sea must always have been compar
atiyely sterile and thus the question arises whether
| such n country could sustain two millions OF IN
habitants under the conditions implied in the Bib
| licsl accounts. To this question, Dr. thomson
gives an affirmative answer. The mode OF living, ne
maintains in ancient times, was much simpler than
now. and hence much less was required to support
| an individual than at present -
The essentials are food, clothing and shelter; and
there is good reason to believe that the average
Hebrew in the oden time, could anddid i've on lar
less than what is required for the average European
or American of the present day. they were an AZ
agricultural people and pastoral-a natl0n OF Slna
farmers lust MS tho inhabitants of Palestine now
are. The ordinary food of both was also substan,
TALLY the same-bregd, olives OIL Dnttetkf po anu
their orchards and gardens, and meat on rare oced
sions. The fertile plains furnished wheat IN ahnnd nd
| live by bread alone" yet it has been the main de-
pendcnce in this country and is so STILL On their
hills flourished the olive, the fig, and the vine, ana
over the rough mountains and waste places grazed
| their sheep and goats. Thus each mans lou tut
| nished the food for himself and his hopSehold'
Their clothing, also, was of the simplest klnd nome
| 40 eff long loose
to the person by girde OF cloth or ieathcr ana
woolen ABA or cloak to wear when not az W"L nd
/ their washing nothing Their habitations were
small cost little labor. and less money. They had
neither chairs tables bedstea t nor Stner
| lived and slept in the same room, on the hOor ana
with little change in their ordinary clothing. Many
Biblical incidents imply these and similar customs
In the course of his journey, DR.. Thomson was
struck with the remarkable fertility Of the country
in which the introduction of the steam plough
would almost work miracles Even with the pres
ent imperfect modes of cultivation the harvests are
abundant In formerly passing the road in the
month of june the author saw hundreds OF men,
women, and children, reaping aud carrying the
grain to their great threshing floors Long lines OF
camels bore on their backs burdens of unthreshed
wheat larger than themselves and the grain lay on
the threshing floor in heaps mountain high. Some
interesting incidents in Biblical history are asso-
ciated with threshng floors, of which DR.. Thomson
presents an admirable illustration in his pictur-
esque sketches:-
Tho common mode of threshing isswiththe ordinary
mowrej, which is drawn over the floor by yoke Of
oxen until not only the grain Is shelled ont but the
Itself fS Of roaR sG av are ened into the
bottom of the mOwrej and tho driver sits or stands
upon It Is rare sport for children and even our
own delight, to get out to the baidar as the hoor
Do You suppose that these floors which we see at
Yebna and elsewhere resemble those sO.celebrated
They have, perhaps, changed less than almostany
thing else in the country. Every agricultural VII;
them are more ancsnt than the places whose inhab-
| itants now use them. They have been just where
they are, and exactly as they WERE from PERIOD d
contrary" In very many cases the Typographical
conditions Of the sites necessarily decided the place
SIot h sos9 be SsGtso of the Village in place
posed to the prevailing wind, and sufficiently large
for one or more Of these floors. Generally There arc
o TAi sDsCs from & h GE y aR%s
0o aS "a a If dot Sssn 2p?S aS
not ningle with the grain In threshing. In time
the 9sR Ss4 sRsnS Ss pTes and
the only green plots about the village, and there
the traveller delights to pitch his tent Daniel calls
them Summer threshing floors and this Is the most
appropriate name for them, since they are only used
in that season of the, year. The entire harvest Is
brought TO theln ana there tnreSned ana Winnowea,
and The different products are then transferred to
their respective places. In large villages this work
Is prolonged for several months but ell Is nished
before the Autumn rains. and nom that time I'LL
but When the threshing is In full operation, the
is both r Sa syns rS
ers which revUye on the grain, and the driver has
seat upon it. which5is certainly more comfortable
| proved 6y having circular saws attached to the
rollers It is e this instrument ! suppose. that
e sf1s Fs1 BeSod iV wiz make thee sharp
1 tllreshing instrument having teeth: thou shalt
hresh the % ana peat them S ana Hss
| several illusions which residents In this country
can readily understand. .,.- . n.
corn Is this mode still practised by these farmers
On some floors here at Yebna, for example, there
| drove horses dOnkcys, and oxen; either separately
| or yoked together, round upon the grain and it
was this i'll part which made the scene so peculiar
Some ran from right to left and Others the reverse
and no one continued long in the same direction,
but changed every few minutes to keep the AMI !:
secure the Same result by fastening blinders over
the eyes Of the bewildeIed animals; and this prac
Tbe command Of Moses not to muzae the OK that
treadeth ont the corr is literally obeyed to this day
| from tho floor as they go round. There are mig
| gardly peasants. however, who do mnz5e tho OK
enough to show the need of the command :Eand Paul
intimates that there were some such In the Church
| In his day: q Doth God take care for oxen Or
saith no it altogether for sakesi For our sakes
| no doubt this is written: that he that pougheth
should plough in hope; and that he that thresheth
| I'm hope should be partalScr of his hope"
The Hebrew poets often allude to the whiriwind
/ that sweeps away the chat from the Summer
threslinoHOor5 Job also had witnessed the bolster
| ous behavior OF these winds in his native Hauran
| where both they and the chat they carry away
| aionnd and hence his threatening to the wicked
ulon whom Gcd distributeth lsOrTows IN his anger
| They arc US Subtle before the wind and as chat
| that the storm caTTieth away"
The territory of Phlstia, which is great centre
for the production of wheat, is beautiful, though
mouotonous Under the Mosem rule, most of the
i ~ Of AIn Hunt