The Mosaic legislation presupposes a people given to agricultural pursuits. That is suffi- ciently attested by the laws anent the three annual festivals (Ex 23'^-'^), the septennial fallow (23"), the gleanings of the harvest held (Lv 19"- '°), the year of Jubilee (2o'»'f- 27""'-), and many others. Further attestation of the same fact is found in the blessings that were to attend the faithful observance of the Law, and the curses that would follow disobedience (Lv 26^-=- "=», Dt 28'-=- ''•").
2. The soil of Palestine.— The fertility of the soil of Palestine was remarkable, as is testified by Josephus (c. Apian, i. 22 ; BJ ii. 3) and others (Diod. xl. 3, 7 ; Tac. Hist. v. 6). The soil varies in character. In the Jordan Valley and the maritime plains it consists of a very rich alluvial deposit ; in the regions lying at a higher elevation it has been formed from decomposing basaltic rock and cretaceous limestone. This, however, was greatly enriched by the system of ' terracing,' low walls of ' shoulder-stones ' being built along the mountain slopes, and the ledges behind them tilled with the alluvial soil of tlie valleys. These walls gave protection against the heavy rains, and prevented the soil from being washed away. It was to this system that districts such as Lebanon, Carmel, and Gilboa owed the wonderful fertility that formerly characterized them.
All parts were not, of course, equally productive. Thus we find the Mishna {Gitti/i, v. 1) enumer- alin^j' several classes of soil according to their quality or the degree of moisture. Such a classi- fication is quite distinct from that of the parable
of the Sower, where the wayside, the rocky places, etc., are all within the limits of a sinele field (Mt 13=, Mk 4^ Lk S'l. It ,m;,.v l,e noted here that ground whicli Nirldra ili,,rns was considered specially good lor « ]„•■., \ -■^inwiw^, while that which was overrun with wcnls was assigned to barley. Tlie most productive fields were often marked by the presence of large stones, some of which were beyond a man's own strength to remove. Their presence was regarded as a token that the soil was fertile. Smaller stones, which were also plentiful, were often used for making rude walls along the side of the fields. In some districts they were so numerous that they had to be removed every year after ploughing had taken place.
3. Ar/rintltural operations, etc. — The work of preparing the land for cultivation was the first concern of the farmer. Where virgin soil had to be reclaimed, a beginning was made by clear- ing it of timber, brushwood, or stones (Jos 17'*, Is 5-). It was then ready to receive the plough (which see).
(a) Ploughing began immediately after the 'early rain' had softened the ground, i.e. towards the end of September or beginning of October, and went on right through the winter, provided the soil had not become too wet and, therefore, too heavy. Usually a single ploughing sufficed, but if the soil was very rough it was ploughed twice.
In some cases the hoe or mattock took the place of the plough. That is the common practice in modern times where there is a rocky bottom and only a sparse covering of earth. In ancient times the same course was followed where hillsides were brought under cultivation (Is 7^). The same im- plement was employed for breaking up large clods of earth (Is 2S=S Hos 10"), but whether the refer- ence includes the clods upturned by the plough, or merely those occurring in 'stony groimd,' is not quite certain.
(b) Dung was employed for increasing the pro- ductiveness of fruit trees (Lk l.S^), but not, as a rule, for grain fields. The ninst comuioii forms were house and farmyard n-fu-r mix. d with straw (Is 25"), withered leaves, Dil-Mimi, .-md wood- ashes. The blood of slaughtercil iniiniiils was also used for this purpose.
(c) The principal crops were wheat, barley, spelt, millet, beans, and lentils (see articles on the first two of these). Oats were little cultivated. From Jos 2" we learn that flax was grown. It was sometimes sown as an experiment for testing the quality of the soil, for a field which had yielded good nax was regarded as specially suitaole for wheat-growing.
(d) The sowing season began in the early days of October. A beginning was made with pulse varieties, barley came next, and wheat followed. Millet was sown in summer, the land being pre- pared for it by irrigation. When the winter set in cold and wet, liarley was not sown till the beginning of February.
The sower carries the seed in a basket or bag, from which he scatters it broadcast. Where a single ploughing suffices, the seed is sown first .and then ploughed in. When it is sown on plnnpjlied ground, the usual course is .-ilsn to plonuli il in, but sometimes a light harrow (not inlii'i|iiriil l\ ;i, thorn-bush) is used to cover it. Seed iIkiI hills on the footpath or ' wayside ' cannot Im; cu\ ered owing to the hardness of the ground, and is picked up by the birds (Mt 13-' and parallels).
(c) The crops thus sown were expo-sed, as they grew, to various clangers, such as the inroads of roaming cattle, the depredations of birds, or the visitation of locusts ; and also to such adverse