The Products and Industries of Palestine
QUALITY, not quantity; morality and education, and not a numerous population, therein we find the reason for the existence of the Jewish race. And such, likewise, is the boast of the Holy Land. Its area is not extensive, being only 100 miles long and 50 miles wide; yet it is a “good and capacious land . . . with pools and waters springing from the valleys and hills.” (Deut. 8:7.) Nature is not at fault in that the inhabitants of the land complain of lack of water, for a little energy on their part, a little self-help would provide them with whatever they lack. But so indifferent are they, that up to now the abundant subterranean water supply from the pools of Solomon have been utterly neglected.
Palestine is rich in minerals. "A land the stones whereof are iron and out of whose hills thou mayest hew copper." (Deut. 8:9.) The asphalt mines in the vicinity of Hasbaya, not counting one in the valley of the Dead Sea, were until recently producing over one thousand tons annually. The bituminous chalk springs of Nebi Musa contain from 30 to 40 per cent of asphalt. There are also coal mines waiting for better facilities and industrial enterprise. The possibilities of the salt deposits of the Dead Sea, given energy and modern industrial applications, give hope for the future. And more important, perhaps, are the deposits of phosphates on either side of the Jordan. Provide safe transportation, the extension of the Jaffa-Jerusalem railway to the Jordan, and steamers plying the Dead Sea, and there will be a revival of industrial life which can give employment to thousands in the Holy Land.
Fishing could be cultivated more extensively and an attempt might be made to revive angling for the Halazon worms which the ancient rabbis report to contain the best purple dye in the world. These worms are to be found about the cape of Haifa. An effort could also be made to revive the making of the ancient Phoenician glass ware, which was manufactured out of the sand found fringing the Mediterranean Sea around Sidon.
The ideal pursuit for the Palestinean would be to cover the rugged mountains with forests, terrace the hill sides with myriads of olive trees, plant the uplands and the valleys with vines, de-
vote the plains to the growth of wheat and barley, surround the fountains and springs with vegetable gardens and orchards of the more delicate fruits — and thus reproduce Judea in its palmiest days.
But it is needless to speculate in "futures." It is my purpose to deal with the facts of the present day and be guided in all I say by authority, in the form of consular reports and my own observations made in Palestine in the year 1899.
“A land of wheat, barley, vines, figs, pomegranates, olives and dates” (Ibid); “A land flowing with milk and honey” (Ex. 3:8). For the most part it is now a barren desert, which is due principally to the lack of industry and the incapacity of the husbandmen. Yet it can become the flourishing country it was in ancient times. East of the Jordan, in the Hauran district, are still found fine fields for the growth of wheat, and between Jaffa and Gaza on the Me- di'erranean coast there are barley fields that cover 30 to 40 miles.
After the cessation of the later rains, which occurs about the first week in April, the wheat and barley fields receive no moisture. The harvest of these cereals takes place the last week in May, ofttimes in June. Barley ripens shortly before wheat. The crops are not gathered at once, but left to stand in the field for four or six weeks, thereby losing a certain percentage of the grain. This wait is caused directly by the Government, according to whose rules all grain must be appraised before it may be reaped. The officials seldom take into consideration the season of the year, whether the grain has ripened earlier than usual or not. After the grain is threshed, which takes four to six weeks, it is piled on the ground and again it must await the pleasure of the Turkish officials who come to inspect once more. Finally, camels and donkeys transport the harvested grain to Gaza, where it lies heaped on the shore awaiting the arrival of English ships to carry it to Liverpool or London. Fortunately, as there are no rains in Palestine while the grain is being harvested, no injury is done the crops by these tedious waits for governmental inspection.
It cannot be denied that the wheat and barley