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

instances contain rapidly descending
torrents, even in some places water
falls, suitable for supplying mechanl-
cal power. The greatest of these Is
the Yarmuk valley, up which the Halfa
railway ascends toward Damascus.
This Is the Heiromax of the Greeks,
and hero shortly before the valley
opens into the main Jordan valley
there is a group of hot sulphurous
springs, amid which lie the ruins Of
the baths and theater of the Greek set
Element of Amatha, q health resort for
the great city, Gadara, whose abund-
ant ruins crown the mountains i'm
mediately to the south. These sulphur
springs, as well as those south Of
Liberals, also developed in Roman
times, and of the ancient Callirrhoe
springs, visited by the dying Herod the
Great in hope of cure, in the Wady
Zerka Maan,, are all undoubtedly valu-
able assets to the land and should be
properly developed. They have, even
under the primitive conditions obtain
ing today, proved of benefit to rheu-
lllullN uilCNllbllSs ullb are NloltNu Ny III
natives at certain seasons. The water
of some of these springs reaches a tenn
perature-independent of the season.
of 143 degrees Fahrenheit, but all
gradations of heat down to the merely
pleasantly warm occur.
Immediately south of the Lake of
Galilee is a fairly level plain-once
&Io Hok+ar, ap flN ~ront lnI.A yrhioh
then filed this valley-which Is a good
corn land, while nearer the Jordan
some of the lower ground can be easily
irrigated. How far the whole 60 miles
Of the Jordan valley between the two
lakes is capable of complete irrigation
Is a question for experts, but 1 gather
from the views of one expert from
was there, that water can be distribute
ed owe the greater part. 1t will need,
however. a big scheme, which must
deal with the valley as a whole. Ger
tain spots are naturally well provided
with springs and streams, and have in
the past been very well watered,
notably the district around Beisan and
lit Ndlt VI dtLlCCl " TO "NHlb ~
Wady Fara, running from Nnblus to
the Jordan. the eastern side of the JOr-
dan around the Wady Zerka (the Jab-
bok), and the Jericho district, watered
at present in a very incomplete way,
from Ain es Sultan (Elisha's fountain)
and Ain Duk.
Water Supply In Roman Times.
A. Nr,. .-A NA~ TArsahl ~1oIr
was also watered from the Wady Kelt
by a series of aqueducts, the ruins OF
which exist today, and the whole neigh
borhood must for miles around have
been a mass of gardens, orchards, corn'
fields, and palm groves. In Crusading
times sugar was cultivated here, and
some ruins are now known as Tawa'
hin es Sukkar, the sugar mills. Ever
today there are extensive fruit gar
dens of oranges, lemons, bananas, an6
dates, and a great deal of wheat anC
barley is grown on irrigated land II
this neighborhood. In the various
parts of the Jordan valley may be sue
cessfully grown, besides wheat, barley
/ and maize. dates, bananas, grapes, figs
| oranges, lemons, apricots, vegetables
and in all probability rice, cotton, anC
sugar.
= AS the northern shore of the DeaC
= sea is approached the soil becomes in
creasingly impregnated with salt, anC
only supports tamarisks, reeds, ant
other Swallowing plants. The sea Is II
self a vast storehouse of salt, particu
larly at Jebel Usdum, where there Il
. a solid mass Of crystallized salt rlsini
( 100 feet to $50 feet above the Deat
sea, Of unknown width, and running
: for seven miles along the shore.