The farmer and mechanic., 1911-01-10

called '.the blood drop Of Christ. 1t
is said TO have sprung up on the spots
where droppei the blood Of our Savior
as He carried the cross. 1 counted
tnirty-five different wild mowers IN
single days travel over the mountain
Of Samaria At one place | saw what
looked like piles Of Bermuda onions,
pulled up. lining the roadside. There
were bushels of them, and | supposed
they had been spilled out by broken
down caravan ."rhose are lily bulbs
which the farmers have dug out Of
the fields" said my guide. and farther
on I saw the men digging. The lilies
are yellow and white, and they grow
wild. They toll not, neither do they
spin" but they cause the farmers to
toll and are one of the pests he
has to get rid Of.
On the Farms.
There are but few farms of large
size in the Holy Land. The chief cultI-
waited patches on the mountains are
those which have been cleared OF
stones They are often not bigger
than bed quilts and seldom contain
moro than three or four acres. Such
fields frequently have stone walls
about them Down in the valleys and
on the plains of the Philistines the
farms are not separated by fences and
they are Of much greater extent.
They are planted to wheat, beans and
barley and grow luxuriant crops. one
Of the interesting scenes of the wheat
fields is often referred to in the Bible.
This is pulling the tares, the seeds or
which if left will make the flour Bit
ter. Gangs Of girls are engaged in this
business all over Palestine. Each gang
works under an oVerseer, and the girls
bend half double as they pull the
weeds from the wheat. I am told
that enemies sometimes sow tares in
the wheat, as is described in the para
BILE Of the wheat and the tares as ut
tered by Jesus.
Speaking Of wheat, it is said that
Palestine is one Of the places in which
that grain originated. There is wild
wheat here today. and the agricultural
experts are investigating what can be
done with other wild grains which are
found in different parts Of this coun-
try.
HOW They PIow.
The plows Of the Holy Land are
about the same now as those used in
the days Of the Bible. They are rough
affairs, made Of wood tipped with iron.
to which oxen and bullocks are yoked.
with rough piece Of wood fastened
to the necks Of the animals. Some
times the yoke hangs at an angle Of
IS degrees. reaching from the neck of
camel to that of a donkey. Donkeys
and cows are also harnessed together.
and bullocks and camels. The share
of the plow ends in a point like that
Of a pickax. It scratches the soil, and
nowhere goes very deep. The burrows
are narrow. and many plows are re-
Quired for large fields. The plowm en-
wear long gowns, and on their heads
are cloths bound round with rope.
They wear rough shoes or go bare
foot.
Much OF the land in the mountain
Gus parts is SO rough that plows are
1of r, c0H to-, 1x,i% a
mattock or hoe and all the crops are
cultivated by hand. Nevertheless the
soil is so rich that it will often pro-
duce several crops in one year. It will
grow anything, and figs, olives and
other fruits flourish There are olive
sides Of the hills and are near every
farm village. I was hardly out Of
sight Of them on my way from
Shechem to Mount Carmel. and I am
told that a great quantity of oil is ex-
ported
Taxed by the Mohammedans
The chief trouble of the Palestine
farmer is the Mohanimedan tax gath
erer and assessor. These men have
squeezed the heart out OF every crop
OF the past and it is only now, when
Turkey has new constitution, that
the people have begun to hope that
they may make something out Of their
lands The tax assessors go over the
country when the olive trees are in
blossom and they then estimate the
money which each tree should yield
They assess this amount as cash
tax and the owner of the orchard
must pay it whether the yields turns
out Well or not. There is often a
failure Of crops. and the trees pro-
duce just enough for the taxes Some
times they fail entirely. AS result
people have grown discouraged, and
ards and sell both wood and roots.
This is forbidden by the new constitu-
ton.
The taxation is not confined to the
orchards. 1t is imposed upon every
crop the amount fixed being about