Show al ng ak ok 1 fa ta r ar modern farming in palestine prepared by national society washington D G Q service HE lat last decade has shown greater changes in balestine than have occurred since the beginning of the christian Cli ristian era the holy land formerly the outpost of the east and the In inspiration on of the west has become the meeting place of both nowadays modern tractors drawing a dozen plowshares at once are becu beside the came camel and the ass drag dragging ing the primitive nail plow of bili biblical aleal times bet beneath beath the fhe cavern where king saul sought the witch of endor runs the pipe line will carry the mineral oil of iraq miles across desert and mountain to the mediterranean shore across the plain of dothan whence the elie ishmaelite caravan carried joseph into egypt speed high powered poi vered automobiles long lines of steel pylons nylons carrying electric energy generated by the rhe oiiver r jordan bring light across the plain of sharon to illuminate countless homes formerly dimly lit by oll lamps modern machinery deliver delivering Ilig thou sands of tons of soap annually challenges the output of the soap bollers of shechem now who ply their ancient calling beneath the frowning froning scarp of Geri zim where in accordance with ancient religious rites the few sunil ving samaritans samaritana Samar itans still celebrate their sunset sacrifice to meet growing needs a new port has recently been constructed at haifa at the toot foot of mount carmel in the only natural bay along the palestine coast there are speed boats on the dead sea and seaplanes sea planes on the sea of galilee Gal the creameries crea meries of a countrywide country wide jewish operative cooperative co replace the lordly dish in which jacl wife of heber the kenite brought forth her butter farming in palestine for centuries the arab c cultivator has carried on the primitive methods traditional throughout the east yoking his feeble oxen his camel or his ass to a roughhewn rough hewn wooden plow he be cultivates his wheat and barley millet and sesame in season he beats the fruit ost off his gnarled olive trees and his animals stamp out the grain on the threshing floor Pat clies ot of unfenced land scattered around the milage lage compose his farm large tracts are still held in common kind and are subject to periodical distribution while ancient custom releases herds of cattle to graze freely on the fields after harvest thus rendering dilli difficult cult the introduction of any but conventional crops impressed by the development created by jewish and german agricultural methods and aided by government agricultural inspectors the people are beginning to stir under turkish rule tile the cultivator paid his dues in kind and often money did not pass through his hands for months stoney money Is now universal and the arab while learning its use may be trained in thrift initiative by the individual Is rare it Is easier to get a number of villagers to adopt a new idea by discussing it with thew them together in the village meeting house than by arguing singly with each man by the creation of arab co societies distribution of improved seed the establishment of government experiment stations deni deal on plots and stud farms it Is hoped to better the hie lot of the farmer fanner palestine has been a highway on the caravan route between egypt syria and asia minor and the east for so ninny many centuries that public security has always been of major importance the romans homans recognized this and to protect their frontiers they flung their outposts the other side of jordan country will well policed today 11 alestIne has a modern civil police force composed of british and palestinian personnel constables mounted on arab horses tor for service to in the hills or on traffic duty in the towns vie for smartness with the camel corps recruited from the red onto tribes of beersheba in the rhe south most of their work Is behind scenes but the traveler who happens to be in jerusalem in the autumn and attends the annual police sports has opportunity of seeing them hem at work and play from demonstrations of first aid to tent pegging from a tug of war to a musical ride by camels followed by a display of camel jumping today reasonable security exists and the peasant Is able to take his goods to market without the constant fear of being robbed on the way however occasionally the old time bandit ap pears in the hills and gives elves trouble to administration police and people he be fore he Is wiped out before the war there were no ronda la in palestine suitable for motor traffic indeed there was nu no tur tor bliem for palestine boasted only one automobile instead of rough tracks and stony mountain paths a network of modern roads now covers the country from syria to the egyptian frontier from the mediterranean to the river jordan and beyond into the gaunt steeps of trans jordan desert routes to both the sinai peninsula and to baghdad are practicable able for motor transport among some motor vehicles registered the ubiquitous bus built on to a truck chassis has ousted the horse drawn native cart and Is seen everywhere crowded with diverse passengers from eastern prelates pr elates to office clerks from inquiring travelers to veiled moslem ladles piled around with suitcases and farm produce railways and planes twenty years ago a french line from jaffa to jerusalem and a narrow gauge line from haifa going eastward across the river jordan to join the pilgrim railway from damascus to the holy city of medina in the hegaz were Pale stines only railways war operations necessitated a line from the suez canal across sinal sinai along the maritime plain by way of the ancient towns of gazza and lydda the home of st george to haifa passengers may now travel in comfortable sleep ing and restaurant cars across the desert which moses took 40 years to traverse and cross the width of sinai and the holy land between breakfast and tea recently fishermen on the sea of galilee plying their age old craft were startled by the appearance of a flying boat which dropping from the skies cleared the waters of tills this sacred in n land freshwater fresh water lake which nest nestles es below sea gea level in a cup of the north nor b ern hills galilee had become the in meeting t place of land and sea planes on the airway between europe and eastern asia in 1914 the only means of long iong dis badee communication was by shepherd boy to herdsman shouting across mountain crag to hilltop from highland to valley today not only do networks 0 of f rel rele e graph and telephone wires embrace the country maling making it literally possible to speak from dan to beersheba from jordan valley to mediterranean terran e an coast but by land wire and wireless people may talk from jerusalem or jericho to europe or america palestine birthplace of religious as soc lations but hitherto solely an agri cultural country Is beginning to stir with industrial life so tar far neither coal nor oil has been found in com mercial quantities so for the creation of power the waters of the jordan and have been harnessed electric light an old sheik will tell you that the end of the war found the towns and villages of palestine places of darkness without a single street light most of us were asleep soon after sunset as the flickering light from an olive oil lamp was of little use the country Is now being surrounded by a network of pylons nylons cov conveying eying electrical energy generated by the waters of jordan south of the sea of galilee were erected regulating sluices and darns dams across both the jordan river and its tributary the these two sources are connected with a mile long canal and the lowing flowing waters are diverted into turbines generating horsepower each the energy is transmitted across palestine at volts jerusalem Is supplied iab with light from diesel engines operated by another company A striking change in palestine Is the modern method of building new types haie hae largely superseded the esque vaulted and homes of 0 the arabs whose domed rooms necessitate essl walls a yard thick with immensely solid corners to withstand the weight of stone on the roof the cost Is 13 now no prohibitive and iron girders formerly unavailable are cheaper supports for flat bat roofs with the main towns doubling their population in ten years and the rhe all jewish town of tel aviv ably which has sprung up beside old jaffa to a flourishing city of people town to wn plan nei shaie been active owing to the cosmopolitan origin of their builders every form of arch architecture liec Is portrayed in the new homes types of central and eastern europe predominating restrictions ort on their erected height present lofty buildings 68 being abeln country settlements are also adopt ing up to date practices rIces and vinny ninny a village now possesses charming vil villas 1 as jerusalem Te has a fine new hotel aptly al y culled called the king bilig david |