The Denver Jewish news., 1919-03-05

of the desert. and the hides. without
the hair. are omniprcscnt aS containers
for the precious water supply of the
villages.
These villages are most depressing
They are sIualid and dirty. without
architectural beauty, and offer no OPP
pOrtunities for anything beyond the
, poorest kind of shelter. They are
usually constructed of mud-plastcr.
without windows and with n single en-
trance very narrow and so low that
the tall Arabs who occupy them are
compelled to box their heads In order
to enter their homes. The houses con-
sist usually of n single room with
an earthcn floor and ut one side II
raised earthen platform which forms
the family sleeping apartment at night.
when few dirty rugs are unrolled to
form the bedding. In the daytime the
bedding. unaired. is rolled in dingy
bundle and tossed into II dark cor
ncr of the rooms. There is neither
furniture nor table utensils; the fam
lily meal. SO much of it as Is cooked.
is prepared in the open air or perhaps
in shed outside by the women of the
household. suuatting close 10 the
ground or bending over low fires OF
| charcoal. The meal is served in IL
single large container from which the
entire family eats with its fingers. The
bread of the country consists of very
thin. large. round cakes. In its best
form it is very flexible and can he
rolled up like n napkin and. when well
prepared. is palatablc and nutritious.
The ordinary life of the village ap-
pears very limittsi to the ,supcrficia'
observer, and the educa tional facili-
ties in the great ma jority of the vii
lages are nil. tho in II number of
places. missionary organizations have
established elementary schools. These
reach only Il small fraction of the
population. One of the Imperative
needs of the country is II system of
common public education-acnd"mic
agricultural. manual and commercial.
% 1t was my good fortune to make II
tour of the southern Jndaenn Col
onies during the week of Sulikoth. the
ancient Biblical harvest festival. when
all the villages were in state of COM
parat tive relaxation becauSc of the end
of the inguthering of the harvest
which they were celebrating in vine
, tod tI,n ..f
their houses. in accordance with the
commandment. We were ovcrwhelm-
ed by their hospitality. Each village
served us with its wine and tea and
cake. and even with its honey. The
honey of Palestine is of many flavors.
An interesting fact in connection with
the honey culture is that IL settler from
Alsacc introduced the custom Of NOV
ing with his hives from place TO place.
so that, as each season brought its
change of fruit and blossom. the same
bees might produce honey of differ
cnt flavOrS in widely scattered places
At Gedcrah, a colony celebrated for
its large flociS of doves which are
the common properly ol tile Nhi"S'' INV
knowledge of the fact that one of
our company was the agricultural "N-
pert of the Zionist Commission brought
to the village inn. in the evening. II
group of some twelve or fifteen farm
ers who seated about the table. dis
cussed in scientific spirit and with II
knowledgd of the best scientific meth
DDS in way to suggest an aSrlcui-
tural college seminar rather than n
group of peasant farmers. the prom
lem of citrus Embarrassing. Nor were
they ordinary peasant farmers. These
men had, in their youth. all been UNI
versity or gymnasium students in Rus
sia and had foregonc opportunities Tor
/ !