9$.— A feast in commemoration of the repeal of the decree by which the kings of Oreeee had forbidden the Jews to drenmcise their children, to observe the Sabbath, and 10 decline feraign worship {MegOX, TaaanHht et (Jemar. Tamith, a 9),— Calmet, AppmSi,
YE-ADAR.
IirmoALABT Moim.
1^%M (JU ynr eoneii^e o/ fMrtcen IiiiMir tnofii^fts, t%w j>Iaot Aert. hgweqfof interoalation^ the aeeond nunUh of Aaar^ or Ve-Adar. BeeYsAX.
II. Modem Mian Calendar of^ Temperature and Ayiaitwrtd Products o/PaletUnefor each Month of the r«ar.-.Thete were first careftilly collected hy J. G. Bnhle, in a prise essay presented to the Royal Society of Gottingen, printed in Latin among their transao* tbns onder the title CaUmdarmin Paleetinm (Economic ow (1785), and translated at large by Mr. Taylor in tbe Fragments added to his edition of Calmet's Dietum- ofy (nl, 698 sq.), of which the subjoined synopsis is an *lvidgmeQt. Much Tslnable information, similarly oUained from Oriental itineraries, combined with per-
sonal observation, may be found in Kitto's Phjft. BisL of Palest, voL ii, ch. vU. See also the art. Palestims.
JANUARY.
Wmther. — According to the seasons (q. v.) as divided among the Hebrews, this month is the second in winter, and the cold is more or leas severe In different idttwtions. There is fre- qoenUy a coosidenUe fall of snow, which, however. Is speed* ily dissolved In most places. In the plain of Jericho the cold is little felt (Josephua, War^ v, 4). Heavy rains now ikll, es- pecUUy in the night, which swell the rivers and lakes. Early in the day the thermometer is generallv between 40^ and 46^. and it does not rise above 8^ ot 4° in the afternoon. Toward the latter end of this month, when the sky is dear, it becomes BO hoi that travelers cannot, without some difficulty, prose- cute their Journey. The wind is generally north or east
iVodttcMofut.— AH kinds of grain or com are now sown. The beans are In blossom, and trees in leaf. Earliest appears the blossom of the almond here, even before it has leaves. If the winter be mild, the violet fig (of a longer shape than the summer fig, and gathered eariy m the spring) is still found on the trees, though they are stripped of their leaves. The mistle- toe and the cottoo-tree now flourish. Among the flowers and garden herbs of this month, the cauliflower, the blue and the white hyacinth, the gold-streaked daffodil, different violets, tulips in great variety, wormwood, the lentiso>tree. anemones, ranoneulnses, and oolchicae, a Undof IQy resembling the Per- sian when blown.
FEBRUARY.
FeofAcr.— This is much the same as during the last month, except that toward the close, in southeriy parts, the snow ana rain begin to cease. like the other features of the rainy sea- son, this month is clUefly remarkaUe for heavy showers of rain and sometimes falls of snow. The sky Is frequently cov- ered with clear light clouds; the atmosphere becmnes warm; the wind continu&g north or east, but latteriy changing west- ward. During the firet 14 days the mereury usually stands between 42» and 47o.
Productions,— The latter erope are now appearing above ground, and a ddightfril verdure begins to be seen on vwerj side. Bariey continues to be sown tHl the middle of the month ; beans acquire a husk, and are soon fit for use; canU- flowers and parsnips are now gathered ; the peach and eariy apple tree are blossoming, and a great variety of herbs are in flower, which, says a tnveller, ^^ render these parts so delight- ful that the beholder Is often charmed and transported at the sight" (see Thomson*s TraoeU^ i, 187).
MARCH.
Weather.— In Palestine this month is the ftnvmnner of spring, but rains, with thunder and hail, are not yet over (P». cocke*s TranelSy 11, llX The weather Is generally warm and temperate, except on the mountains, and sometimes extreme- ly hot, especially in the plain of Jericho (Thomson's Travels^ il. 27). In the middle <n the month, the mercury stands at m"*^ and nearer the close between 66° and &3<* (Russel, Aleppo^ p. 140, 160). Toward the end, the rivera are much swollen by rain and the thawing of snow upon the tops of mountains (^gmont and Heyman*8 Travels, i, 886). Earthquakes some- times take place, and they are accounted for by Shaw in his TVtuwb, p. 186.
/*/t)due£um«.~While the wheat is scarcely in ear, the bar- ley is now ripe in Jericho (Shaw*s Traoels^ p. 200, 291). Indian whwt, rice, and com of Damascus are now sown In Lower E^TPt CThomson's 7VtnM^ ii, 160). Several kinds of pulse, as beans, lentils, and chick-pease, become ripe (Itintr. VL Tu- dd. p. 1(H). Every tree is at this time in full leaf (Russel*s A leppOy p. 10). The fig, the palm, etc, together with many shmbs and herbs, are now in blossom. The Jericho plum be- gins to ripen. The vine, having yielded its first clusters, is pruned. Various aromatic garden herbs are becoming fit for naeu
AFBIL.
F«rt*«r.— The "latter rates" (ttjipi^, S^moO now fUl, as Eorte asserts (Reiss naeh dem gelobten Lande^ p. 480); and Shaw afiirms that none are observed after them until summer (7Vaiw2a,p.20O). The rain ceases about the close of the month, and the uty generally becomes serene. The sun's heat is ex- cessive in the plains of Jericho, but in other parts of Judssa the spring Is now most dellghtftil (Maufidreirs Jofir. p. 96). Concendng the meteoroloKy of Palestine, some interesting ob- servattona are made by Mariti (ViapgU i^i <^) "^^ ^- ^^^ (Travels^ p. 289X The mercury advances from 60° to 66°.