The evening world., 1921-03-31
| Nature in The Bible
NO. 7.-AeRIcULTURE.
By Rev. Thomas b. Gregory
copyright, ia2i by The rrrs Publishing %
the New York ETsuing World.


The ancient Jew was a great farms
CT. He knew perfectly we'll what was
meant by the exhortation, speak TO
the earth, and it shall teach thee"
with the earth the Jew of Bible
times was upon the closest intimacy
He loved the soil. as the child loves
Its mother, and was never so happy
as when he was tickling it to make
It laugh in the golden harvest
To-day the Jew farmer is one OF
Mr. Chesterton's "paradoxes." To-
day the Jew is a trader. banker.
money lender-if he deals in real
estate 1t is largely on paper. Ho
dwells in the towns and cities, and
Is but seldom found in the county.
He seems to have lost the old love-
love for the soil.
The explanation is easy. Perse-
cuted, robbed, driven from place TO
place, the Jew was obliged to turn
his hand to whatever he could find
to do, and above everything else no
needed TO put his wealth into some
portable shape, something that he
could get away with quickly when
threatened with robbery at the hands
of his enemies.
1t was quite different in the olden
time when, in his own country he
sat under his vine and fig tree with
none to modest him or make him
afraid
We can see the rich fields Of Boar
through which he walked to meet
Ruth, and we know that Boaz was
only one OF multitude Of prosper
Gus farmers III Palestine
In the Bible Palestine is called tina
land Of milk and honey the land
OF "fatnoss," of plenty and prosperi-
~ and we may well believe that tie
/ description is true.
The present desOlatiOu Of the Holy
Land is the work of the Turk, who
{ curses and blasts everything that no
/ touches
1t was not always So In BHss
/ times the hills were heavily wooded,
and the valleys were veritablc gar
, dens In many cases the hillsdca
. were terraCed and the fiy, the grape
/ and the pomcgranate were cverg-
/ where in evidence.
| Palestinidn farmer were wheat, bar
/ ley and millet along with beanS,a
peas, melons, onions, cuvumbcrs and
I cabbage
The vine, the olive and the GS
+ were extensively cultivated and also
the nut bearing trees, including the
almond.
Beyond a doubt the land Of tho
/ Bible was indeed "goudly" land.
well worthy OF the deep and abiding
! love that it's people felt for it--a love
/ that is reflected in the Prophets and
in so many of the Psalms.
There was never aL.Jng any people
an intenser patrioti.u than thai
which was felt by the ancient He
brew for his country. Next to his
devotion to his faith came his love
for the land that jehovah had given
/ him, and in the cultivation Of its
fields he found an almost religious
. Sladncss.
can easily understand how IL IS
that so many Jews, scattered all over
/ the world, are well nigh deiiriOus
with joy over the subject OF Zion
ism. Gentle though / am, can
easily enter into their joy.
] believe that enough Jews will ~
/ turn to Palestine to redeem ii from
the curse Of the Turk. and 90 make
J it bloom again with the old time
/ beauty of hill and valley.
With tho early and the lajl-
/ rains, assisted by irrigation. with
just laws impartially administered,
and with the help Of modern science.
the Holy Land can easily he made 10
blossom as the rose" to flourish
like the tree planted by the river Of
water"