The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-08
The Farms Of Palestine
BY FRANK G. CARPENTER.

of honey per hive is about 100 pounds and
 the product is delicious.
 As to the Palestine flowers, I cannot descripe them. There are said to be more than 5000 varieties. Crossing the upper plains of Sharon I rode through great fields of daisies as yellow as buttercups
 and as beautifully shaped as our daisies at home. There were greenish-white l flowers carpeting the roadside, and among them peoples, gladioluses and lilies.- In | the gardens here are geraniums as large as rose bushes and on the sides of the hills wild flowers of every description. There are yellow violets and pink and blue blossoms whose names I know not There is also a red flower called ''the
 blood drop of Christ" 1t is said to have sprung up on the spots where dropped the blood of our Savior as He carried
 the cross. I counted 35 different wild flowers in a single days travs over the mountains of Samaria. At one place I saw what looked like piles of Bermuda onions, pulled up, lining the roadside. There were bushels of them. and sup posed they had been spilled out by brokendown caravan. Those are lily bulbs which the farmers have dug out of the fields," said my guide, and farther on saw the man 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 cultivated patches on the mountains are those which have been cleared of stones They are often not bigger than bed quilts and sel- dom contain more tha three or four how cfo walls about them. Down in the valleys and on the plains of the Phlistines 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 cften referred to in the Bible. This is pulling the tares, the seeds of which, if left, will make the flour bitter 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. am told that enemies sometimes SOW tares in the wheat, as is described in the para ble of the wheat and the tares as uttered by Jesus.
 Speaking of wheat, it is said that Pal estine 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 diff fcrent parts of this country.
 How They PIow
 The blows of the Holy Land are about the same now as those used in te 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. Sometimes the yoke hangs at an angle of 15 degrees, reaching from the neck of camel to that of donkey. Donkeys and cows are also harnessed together and bullocks and camels. The share of the blow ends in a point like that of pickax. It scratches the soil, and nowhere goes very. deep. The furrows are narrow and many blows are required for large fields. The blow men wear long gowns, and on their heads are cloths bound round with rope. They wear rough shoes or go barefoot.
 Much of the land in the mountainous parts is so rough that blows are not used The soil is dug up with mattock or hoe and all the crops are cultivated by hand. Nevertheless the soil Is so rich that it will often produce several crops in one year, It will grow anything, and l figs, olives and other fruits flourish. There are olive orchards everywhere. They cover the sides of the hills and are near every farm village. I was hardly out of sight of them on my way from