Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1910-08-03
JEWS BACK TO PALESTINE.
Efforts are Being Made to Get Them
to Till the Soil,


Dr.. Aaron Aaronsohn, who recent
~ LETT Washington, D. c., for Pales-
tine. where he will assume charge Of
the Jewish Agricultural Experiment
Station at Haifas announces that this
station VIII cooperate with the Dry
Farming Congress in the assembling
| and dissemination Of agricultural in
! formation of educational value and
In encouraging the Introduction Of
dry farming methods in Palestine.
1T Is expected that report on the
preliminary work for the establish
ment of this station will be presented
at the fifth Dry Farming Congress in
Spokane the first week in October.
Dr.. Aaronsohn,, who Is interna-
tional vice presif and correspond
ing secretary Of the Dry Farming.
Congress for the division Of Turkey,
passed the greater part Of the last
year in the United States studying
agricultural conditions and methods.
He attended the fourth Dry Farm
Ing Congress at Billings, Montana,
last October, when he made the first
public announcement of his discov-
! cry OF the prototype Of our modern
wheats in the wild wheat of Pales-
tine.
This discovery is regarded by
! scientists and plant breeding experts
as one of the most important Of the
century resulting from agricultural
research. He explained his plans
! Tor proposed experiment station in
PaleStlne. and as a result Of the
strong endorsement given he was
enable to announce the formation of
an American company pledged to the
establishment and support Of the
proposed station
The Jewish Agricultural Expert
ment station was incorporated under
the laws OF the State of New York
with julius Rosenwald, Chicago, pres
ident; Prof Norris Loeb, New York,
vice president; Paul Warburg, New
York, treasurer; Miss Henrietta
Sold, New York, secretary; DR.. G.
Adler, Philadelphia, S. S. Fels, Phil
adelphia, Louis Marshal, New York,
and Judge Julian W. Mack, Chicago,
directors. Jacob II. Chiff and J. Ros-
cnwald contributed $4,000 for ini-
tial equipment, and together with
Paul NJ. Warburg, |. \. Seligman,
iSador Straus and others, guarantee
minimum budget Of $4,000 for
maintenace. DR.. Aaronsohn was
made managing director.
y site has been secured seven
miles from Haifa, where tract of
! 20 acres has been obtained Sta
ton buildings will be erected at once.
: The equipment secured in America
includes the latest scientific instru-
ments for soil Investigations and me-
teorolOgical observations, and rec
ords will be made in the same man
ner as in the United States weather
bureau, this being the first introduce
ton of these methods in Asia Minor.
The station will be under the
general management Of board Of
trustees, mostly residents of this
country.
Dr.. Aaronsohn, the director, is a
graduate Of the agricultural school at
! Grignon, and has been conducting in
vestigations, mainly under the pa
tronage of the Turkish government,
in Palestine, and the surrounding re-
gions for number of years.
Both research and practical DEM
onstration work are contemplated,
and the general object being the i'm
provement Of agriculture among the
Jewish colonists and farmers of the
region. A special line Of investiga-
tons is to be the following up Of DR..
Aaronsohn's discovery of wild Droto-
tyres Of cereals.
DR.. Aaronsohn found the wild
prototype Of wheat on the slopes of
mount Hebron, and has discovered
other grains in the dry regions Of
Palestine, which lead him to believe
that this region produces the original
plants from which our modern cereals
have been developed
Agriculture has been carried on in
Palestine since the earliest times OF
which history gives any record. The
conditions are essentially suited for
dry farming. Irrigation is practiced
to limited extent along the streams,
but the topography of the country
prohibits extensive irrigation pro-
jects. The soil Is fertile and the cli-
mate peculiarly favorable to agricul-
tural developments.