The Kansas City sun. (Kansas City, Mo.) 1908-1924, 1918-08-10

49,
contains the greatest posi-
bility of rapid development
under a settled government
Is the basin of the Jordan. Here, in
this great and unique chasm and its
tributary valleys, we have abundant
water, a rich alluvial soil, and a semi
tropical climate, a combination which
under scientific direction should pro-
duce astonishing results. For centu-
ries the of this region have
been neglected, writes DR.. Z. W. G.
Masterman in the Sphere.
In the north, the fertile plain of the
Huleh, traversed by the four tributary
streams of the Jordan. is capable with
little engineering o. receiving irriga-
ton in every part. In sOme districts,
at the head of the valley where this
has been done, very striking re suits
have been obtained. In this district
"red" rice is now cultivated. At the
further end of the plain lies the marsh
and shallow lake of Ell Huleh. Here
probably a good deal of land might be
recovered for cultivation by drainage.
This was done to some extent a few
years ago by deepening the bed of the
Jordan a mile or two below the lake,
and much marsh land was recovered.
To the south and west of the Huleh
lakes second name, Baheiret ell Khait,
the Lake of the Wheat"
In the Huleh valley a a whole, rice,
maize, hemp, and probably cotton could
all be profitably cultivated, while other
parts might be planted with poplars
for timber, and with apricot and peach
orchards, as is done with similar lands
around Damascus.
The district of rocky. volcanic hill
slopes between the Huleh and the Lake
of Galilee is scarcely likely to afford
scope for irrigation, but in the great
descent Of the Jordan, $50 feet in nine
miles, there exists an economical
source of power sufficient to produce
If properly utilized, all the electrical
energy needed for public and private
use for many miles around.
To the north of the Lake of Galilee
lie the two fertile and easily irrigated
plains, FL Bataihah-the Jordan delta
and Ell Ghuweir, or Gennesaret. Oh
this latter J~osephus writes: Extend
ing along the Lake of Gennesaret, and
bearing also its name, lies a tract OF
country admirable both for its natural
properties and its beauty. Such Is the
fertility of the soil that 1t rejects nc
plant, and accordingly all are here cul
tivated by the husbandmen; for 81
genial is the air that 1t suits every
variety. The walnut, which delights
beyond other trees in a wintry climate
grows here l~uxuriantly, together will
the palm, which is nourlshed by tn,
heat; and near to these are figs anC
olives, to which q milder climate is as
signed"
Fish Supply of Gennesaret.
Gennesaret is watered by severa
streams, some of which in the dec
valleys through which they emerg
support groves of lemons, oranges, an,
other trees. They also supply a mum
Der Of mills. With a proper schem
the abundant water reaching this plat
might De u"lSlTlDuleu 10 every pdTli an
the district be thus restored to a cor
dition at least as fruitful as that dc
scrlbed by J%osephus as existing in Re
mar times. Jewish ~colonists have al
ready in parts Of the district great
added to it's productiveness. All alon
the northern shore, where some of tn
springs feeding the lake are warm, tn
fishing is specially good; but, indeed
the waters of the Huleh, of the LAX
Of Galilee, and of the Jordan itseI
abound In fish of which the large
varieties are all wholesome and pals
table. The fishing industry has not yt
; been exploited for the benefit of tn
, public.
Debouching upon the lake froI
both east and west are several valley
, which in their lower reaches contai
streams that can be utilized for irrigi
!, ton. and in their higher parts in man