The Maccabaean

Our company followed him to the “goren” or threshing floor, which was situated at some distance from Katra. Long before reaching the goren, huge walls of sheaves were visible, appearing like a series of white pyramids from a distance. The threshing place, as a rule, is the common property of the colony. Each colonist has a place reserved for his crops there, which consists mainly of wheat, barley, sesame, lentils, and peas. Every colonist is represented there by a family of five, two large stacks of wheat and barley, and three or four little ones, the less important crops. The goren occupies the most elevated position of the colony in order to get the most breeze when winnowing. The ground of the threshing floor is made hard by artifisial means and is usually covered with clay and made smooth by passing a heavy roller over it.

As rain is almost unknown between May and September, it is perfectly safe tu do the threshing in the open air. The threshing in Chedera, as elsewhere in the Jewish settlements, is effectel by modern implements. Usuwally, one or two threshing machines are owned by the colony as common property. The one that brings his crops first is served first. Notwithstanding the fact that the soil is very seldom manured, I have counted about thirteen or fourteen grains of wheat to the ear and nearly twice as many to the ear of barley, of the crops belonging to S—— B——, the most prosperous farmer in Katra. In some parts of Palestine, in Houran (Bashan), for example, or in the Valley of Yizrael, it is not uncommon to find single grains of wheat to produce as many as twelve ears, each containing twenty or twenty-five grains and nearly twice as many in tarley.

(Concluded)

Palestine was the home of wheat and barley from time immemorial. Berman and Aaronson, two Palestinian agricultural experts, have a few years ago discovered near Tiberias, wild wheat, which signifies that Palestine was the home of wheat in early times. Among the products of the soil, the Bible enumerates wheat and barley as the most important. Even after thousands of years of devastation, decay and neglect, the soil produces fair results with modern and improved methods of fertilization and cultivation.

The native fellah, however, is very primitive in his method of farming. He has made little progress in the last thousands of years. He still uses the wooden plough, which he makes himself, not effective for good and deep ploughing, and he still uses the old Mawrej for threshing. Both implements are drawn by a yoke of oxen 01 by an ox and ass together. The most comical combination is to see a donkey and a camel yoked together. (It is reported that in some isolated places to save the expense of hiring another animal, the Arab hitches his wife together with the donkey to the plough or mawrej. I, however, did not see it.) -

On some threshing floors no threshing implement is seen at all, and the threshing is effected by boys driving oxen, mules or donkeys over the grain in a circular manner until it is shelled. The animals are often muzzled with sacking when threshing. Oats are very little cultivated in Palestine and hay is almost unknown among the Arabs. They raise a peculiar kind of millets, “dhurrah,” in its stead for their cattle.e The goren has always been the publie forum of the village, the place where the old and young gather for publie functions anıl for entertainment, such as sing-