OCR Text |
Show if . , . . . Syrian Landscape. THAT Syria has been unable to feed Its own Christian population popula-tion and at the same time satisfy sat-isfy the military authorities' extraordinary demands for supplies is not surprising to those familiar with the primitive agricultural methods of the Holy Land. Concerning the manner man-ner in which crops are raised in this section of the near East, where 50,000 people are reported to have perished already, John D. Whiting presents this graphic picture in a communication communica-tion to the National Geographic society so-ciety : in the mountain districts the farm land is usually owned by peasant proprietors, pro-prietors, each man's property being composed of various small pieces scattered scat-tered about near the village in which he lives. The raising of olives, grapes and many other fruits is the leading occupation, but almost every fanner grows some grain. Down on the plains larger fields exist ex-ist and cereals are largely planted. The land of n given village is frequently fre-quently owned in common by the villagers vil-lagers and a division of it takes place every alternate year, and is so arranged ar-ranged that every man gets portions of the good as well as of the- less desirable land. Fences, in the western sense of the word, are unknown. In the mountainous moun-tainous country lands are inclosed by loose stone walls, still called by the ancient Hebrew name "jedur," and on the plains by thorn hedges. When the open fields are owned by individuals, the boundary lines are Indicated by deep furrows, in which at intervals stones are laid as landmarks. It is therefore, readily seen how easily these boundaries could be changed by an avaricious neighbor, undeterred by the Mosaic warning, "Cursed be he that removeth liis neighbor's landmark." land-mark." Crude Methods of Farming. Rain begins to fall about November (average annual rainfall for 50 years about 2G inches), after a rainless summer, sum-mer, and as soon as the ground Is well moistened the fellah starts planting the winter cereals wheat, barley, lentils, beans, etc. The plow is a crude affair, made of oak, the bent parts being be-ing natural curves held together with iron bands ; these bands and a small plowshare, which only scratches the ground a few inches deep, are the only metal parts. Oxen are the favorite animals for yoking to a plow. Cows and donkeys nre employed by the poorer people. Horses, mules and camels (the last named only along the Mediterranean coast) are harnessed singly to plows, while sometimes one sees an ox and a camel yoked together. The fellah sows the grain on the bare ground and then plows it in. In rocky ground man or woman follows with a pick to loosen the earth that may have been skipped by the plow. The soil is not fertilized. The disintegration disin-tegration of the underlying limestone feeds the soil, so that for thousands of years It has continued yielding crops. The manure and rubbish, instead in-stead of being utilized, are allowed to accumulate in heaps outside the villages vil-lages until they surround it like small mountains. After the winter crops have all been planted the vineyards and olive groves are plowed a couple of times and also the fields reserved for the summer planting, these latter crops are not put into the ground until the rain3 have entirely ceased. Harvest Time Scenes. During harvest time the fields nre lively and picturesque; the entire family has a part In the work, the small children playing about among the sheaves and even the babies are brought into the fields. A large toothed sickle is employed em-ployed hy the reapers when the grain Is long, but if short a smaller one is used, the e.lge being quite drill ; so that it does not cut hut simply uproots up-roots the grain. Destitute women and girls are allowed al-lowed to follow the reapers and glean the fallen enrs, which they tie Into neat little bundles, dropping them on the ground as they go along, and these they gather up every evening and beat out the grain with a stick, just ns Ruth did of old in the fields of Bethlehem. Bethle-hem. During the reaping period what the Bible calls "parched corn," is made in almost every field Some wheat not fully ripe is cut down and set on fire, the straw only being consumed. con-sumed. The roasted heads are rubbed between the hands and the chaff winnowed win-nowed out In the wind. Without further fur-ther preparation, this roasted wheat forms one of the common articles of diet of the reapers. Undoubtedly such was the parched corn which Boaz gave to Ruth. Threshing by the primitive methods employed is the most tiresome task of all the fellah's round of toil. In many places It Is done entirely by treading out beneath the feet of the animals which are tied together abreast nnd driven round and round over the spread-out grain. The mules and horses are provided with flat sheet-iron sheet-iron shoes for all kinds of work, and the cattle, just as the threshing season sea-son begins, are specially shod. As soon as the grapes, figs and other oth-er fruits begin ripening the fellah, 'with his entire family, moves out of the village Into the vineyard. The grape season Is looked forward to as the best part of the year, and at this time the natives live for the most part on fruits and bread. Jokingly the fellaheen fel-laheen say that they get so fat from eating grapes that their fezzes burst. Olives nre harvested in the fall, but by a method so injurious to the trees that they yield a full crop but once in two years. Instead of picking them by hand, for time Is not money with these easy-going people, they beat the trees with sticks to knock off the fruit, which at the same time results in destroying the tender shoots which should bear the next year's fruit. The olives when salted or pickled in brine are valued food, for a peasant can make a meal of only bread and olives, with perhaps the addition of a raw onion. Sheep ns well as goats are milked by the women, and the milk turned into cheese and butter.' Butter is made in a goat skin like those used for carrying car-rying water. This is only half filled with milk which has previously been allowed to sour. The skin is blown full of air, the opening tied up, and it is hung on a tripod of sticks and shaken back and forth by one or two women until the butter is formed. Russian Business Methods. Illustrating Russian deliberation In business affairs, R. W. Child in Everybody's Ev-erybody's says that an American business busi-ness man went to Petrograd to sell war goods which were badly needed. Instead of orders he received Invitations Invita-tions to dinner, first from one high official, of-ficial, then another. After a week of this he said to the bureaucrat whose word was final, "Look here, this may be the Russian way ; I will indulge in It if you wish, but the American way is to charge the cost of production produc-tion and sales to the price. My expenses ex-penses are large. Each day from now on I will add these charges to the price." He was as good as his word, and charged $400 a day extra till the negotiations were completed, ten days later, when he got his contract. Paradise for Birds. Conyers Manor, the 2,500-acre farm of E. C. Converse near Greenwich, Conn., is looking Its best these days, and it is expected that the yield of peaches will be fully 8,000 baskets. The apple orchards are in the same thrifty condition, while the acres of strawberry straw-berry beds, raspberry and current bushes are loaded with fruit. Much work is being done on the estate to encourage bird life. In this connection the lake is being prepared so that water fowl will be safe, and a large number of snapping turtles, weighing from five to thirty pounds each, have been caught. This work will he continued until the lake is practically free of enemies of the water wa-ter fowl. Her Mistake. Edith Betty is such a talker I positively posi-tively couldn't get a word in edgewise. edge-wise. Ethel Oh, that's Decause you let her get the flrst start Boston Transcript. Tran-script. Reducing the Effort. "Is your boy Josh a student of efficiency effi-ciency and conservation of energy and that sort of thing?" "les," replied Farmer Corntossel; "he's learnin' to roll a cigarette with one hand." |