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Show PALESTINE. ObsmatioOTor ElJtr Hint zc During Ills .Mission lo the Holy Land. Salt Lake City, May ltth, 1SOT. Correspondence of the Dcs-eket Dcs-eket Xirws. As many persons have questioned the respecting the climate and frultfulnesb of the land of Palestine, I have thought it well to reply through the columns of the Kcws, seeing that we, as a people, arc very much interested in the future of that land, "knowing more about its destiny than any other people. Those who will be favored to livo In Palestiuo will bo called "thepeople of the liord" and bo "the bride of tho Lamb of God." Hence it is no wonder that wc concern ourselves so much about the chauges that arc soon to taku place there. As for the climate, It is of the finest. Tho very air seems tilled with fertility. A heavy coat of dew falling upon the ground every night, In that way tho necessary neces-sary moisture is pruWJc-J fjr tho maturing of the crops. It seldom snows In Palestine, and if it docs frost is very rare. Th Is Is, however, not the case with Lebanon, which is high and covered with suoir almost I every winter. The climate of Judua I and Samaria is wml Iratilml. nm! I , these places aro most agreeable ami 1 pleasant for w Inter residence. Along tho coavts of the Mediterranean Mediter-ranean garden produce grons all the whiter, 10 that in March and April the new crops are realized. Oranges arc ripe in December, and contlnucgood for ill cor six months. In order loprescrre tliem they are allowed to remain on the trees until required, when they aro gathered and shipped. Those gathered late havegenerally a thick peel, but they are otherwise good. The orange orchards along the coast furnish a most delightful sight, as tlie trees bloom In March, while tho un-gathered un-gathered fruit yet remains on other trees. Thus, the air being filled witli a sweet perfume, and the orchards specke-Ied with Ilia jellow oranges, the lehoUcr has before him a picture not soon to be forgotten. Orange trees flourish all over Pales-line, Pales-line, but they are clilelly cultivated on the sea coast, as the Arabs do but little for their own benefit. Oranges are tho winter fruit of the country. Tho climate in the summer Is hot and dry. After the later rains in March no rain is expected until about Ortolier, when the e-arly raits begin to fall. Tho atmospheric changes are much like our awn here In Utah, windy, wet In winter asd dry and hot In ruamer. On the River Jordan. which is several hundred hun-dred feet below the level of the sea, Uieueathcrl txtrrnuly warm in tlie summer, but as the valley is well watered by tho Jordan, thu oppressive heat U considerably tempered. The ri er Jordan has a fall if about six hundred ft et from the Sea of Galileo to the Bead Sea, a distance of about Mxty-four miles, and if settled by a people who properly pro-perly uudcrsLxxl irrigation it could be made one of the most delightful spots on earth. The country is full of fevers in the summer time, that Is, the low land, ana particularly the swamps, but on the lillb It is, as a rule, healthy; hence tho plc usually seek thu high lands as a pbieeof residence during the summer sum-mer months. The summer fruits consist rlnclpally of figx, grapes, bananas, olives and locusts, and sometimes St. John's bread. Some say that this Is what John ate with his honey while In tlie wilderness. Small grain also grons well, such as wheat, oat, barley and corn; potatoes do not do so well, except when the seed is brought from foreign countries. Along the eastern part of Mount Carmel the country is lively. When we pawed through it It had just been raining, aad the fields being enve-red with a promising yield of grain, left a striking Init resaion on our minds of thu richness of the land, and tho blessing of heaven upon it. Besides tho green and well-laden fields, the hills wcro spangled with low oaks and olives, and (if I re-memler rightly) with wild applo trees. This Is the country coun-try Where Klug David sought refuge from Saul's reengcuil pursuits; pur-suits; here ho lived in exile and herded tlie sheep and cattle of the rich Xabal. Here also the Prophets Klijuh and Klislm performed many of their mighty works and often lived in exile and hiding from thu wicked kings of Israel. Round alout Samaria the country is hilly. In tho days of prosperity this country was noted frr its pleu-tltudeof pleu-tltudeof wine and oil. The Prophet Jeremiah says: "Thou shall yet plant vines ujon the hills of Samaria: Sam-aria: the planters shall plant, and shiU eat them as common things. For watchmen upon the mount .cpnraim snau cry: Arise ye, anu let us go up to Zion unto the Lord, ' our God." (Jir. 31: S, 0.) Around Samaria one can still see marks of a once- high state of cultivation as the country is still much terraced off. Tne country of Jerusalem does not look so inviting. Tho lulls are more rugged and barren, though there arc spots where grapes and olives do well. The country west of tho Holy City, that is toward the Mrdlteranean, is better than that which is found toward the cast, and in the direction of the Dead Sea and Jericho tho country appears forsaken. It is very much broken, cut up with deep raviuex. like the Castle Valley country in Utah, and is the very Ideal for a homo of the thieves and robbers who infest tho land. I do not know that there is a very marked change lu the fruitfulncss of the Holy Land, but some cilorts have been mado to better cultivate thu country by Kuropcaus, and as they become more familiar with our modern wajs of tilling tlie soil, they realize better returns. When the fruitfulncss cf ralestlne returns, re-turns, it will be something astonishing, astonish-ing, and of a magnitude which, will not be mistaken. Lrt us remember the report of tho twclvo spies sent out by moses to find tho wealth and strength of the laud of Canaan. They returned with a ruot glowing account of its fertility, and in proof brought a buuch of grapes which was carried on a poll "between two." This fruitfulncss will, perhaps, per-haps, not return at once, but when God's Saints shall receive their long-looked long-looked for inheritance in that land, tlie LerJ will bless it as promised through ills servants. F. K. Hitxc. |