Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIII.djvu/17

 PALESTINE stern and sombre. " Above all other countries in the world," says Dean Stanley, " it is a land of ruins. In Judea it is hardly an exaggera- tion to say that, while for miles and miles there is no appearance of present life or habi- tation, except the occasional goatherd on the hillside or gathering of women at the wells, there is hardly a hilltop of the many within sight which is not covered with the vestiges of some fortress or city of former ages. The ruins we now see are of the most distant ages : Sara- cenic, crusading, Koman, Grecian, Jewish, ex- tending perhaps even to the old Canaanitish remains before the arrival of Joshua." (See BASHAN.) Palestine has a mild and steady cli- mate, with a rainy season in the latter part of autumn, winter and a dry and almost rainless season constituting the rest of the year. The heat of summer is oppressive in the low lands, especially in the deep depression of the Jordan valley, but not among the hills ; and the cold of winter is not sufficient to freeze the ground, though snow sometimes falls to the depth of a foot at Jerusalem. Though the mountains have an exceedingly barren appearance, the plains and valleys are remarkably fertile. The valley S. of Bethlehem is irrigated and culti- vated with care, and has a rich and beauti- ful appearance. The hill country of the south is dryer and less productive than that of the north. In ancient times even the mountains were cultivated by means of terraces ; but in consequence of wars and the depopulation of the country, the terraces have been neglected and broken down, and the soil of the mountains swept by rains and torrents into the valleys. On some of the hills, however, the terraces have been rebuilt, and planted with olives, figs, and the vine ; but the greater part are either bare or covered with a rough growth of stunted oak. There are now no forests, and most of the trees of the country are small. The olive, fig, and pomegranate are largely cultivated, and are the most common trees. Besides these are the terebinth or turpentine tree, the oak, sycamore, mulberry, pine, pis- tachio, laurel, cypress, myrtle, almond, apri- cot, walnut, apple, pear, orange, and lemon. The number of shrubs and wild flowers is very great, and always attracts the attention of travellers; and there is such a prevalence of anemones, wild tulips, poppies, and other red flowers, as to give a scarlet color to the land- scape. Palestine has always been famous for its grapes, which are remarkable alike for size and flavor. The chief agricultural productions are wheat, barley, maize, and rye. Eice is grown on the marshy borders of the Jordan and some of the lakes. Peas, beans, and pota- toes are cultivated, and also tobacco, cotton, and sugar cane. The agriculture is of a rude and negligent character ; the fields are seldom fenced, the few divisions being by dilapidated stone walls, or by irregular hedges of the prickly pear. More attention is paid to pas- toral pursuits, and flocks of sheep and goats are very numerous. Cattle are few and poor. The roads being impracticable for wheeled vehicles, camels are the principal beasts of burden. Asses and mules are much used for riding, and fine Arabian horses are sometimes met with. The chief wild animals are bears, wild boars, panthers, hyaenas, jackals, wolves, foxes, and gazelles. Lions, which were found here in ancient times, are now extinct. Birds are few in number, though there are many dis- tinct species, among which may be mentioned the eagle, vulture, osprey, kite, hawk, crow, owl, cuckoo, kingfisher, woodpecker, wood- cock, partridge, quail, stork, heron, pelican, swan, goose, and duck. Venomous serpents are unknown, and the most noxious animals are scorpions. Mosquitoes are very common, and bees are extremely plentiful, depositing their honey in hollow trees and holes in the rocks. Locusts occasionally appear in vast swarms and devour every species of vegeta- tion. The present inhabitants of Palestine are a mixed race of very varied origin. The Mohammedans are the dominant and most nu- merous sect, and are composed of a few Turks who occupy the higher government situations, and of the great body of the common people, who are descended from mixed Arab, Greek, and ancient Syrian ancestors, the last element greatly preponderating. They are noble-look- ing, graceful, and courteous, but illiterate, fanatical, and indolent. The Christians are almost entirely of Syrian race, descendants of those who occupied the country when it was conquered by the Saracens. They belong mostly to the Greek church, of which there is a patriarch at Jerusalem, who has ecclesi- astical jurisdiction over the whole of Syria. Under him are eight bishops, whose sees are Nazareth, Acre, Lydda, Gaza, Sebaste, Nablus, Philadelphia, and Petra. There are also a few Maronites and Koman Catholics in the large towns, and in Jerusalem about 200 Ar- menians under a patriarch of their own faith. The Jews, mostly from Spain, with a few from Poland and Germany, are about 10,000 in number, and live almost exclusively in the towns of Jerusalem, Hebron, Tiberias, and Safet. The population is less than one tenth of what it was in ancient times. Palestine was first known as Canaan. But this name was confined to the country between the Medi- terranean and the Jordan, the principal region E. of that river being called the land of Gilead. Palestine was subsequently called the land of promise, the land of Israel, Judah, Judea, and the Holy Land. The term Judea, though in later periods of Jewish history frequently ap- plied to the whole country, belonged, strictly speaking, only to the southern portion of it. In the earliest times in which Palestine or Canaan becomes known to us, it was divided among various tribes, whom the Jews called collectively Canaanites. The precise locality of these nations is not in every case distinctly known. The Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kad-