ProduetionM.— The time of harvest depends upon the dura- tion of the rainy season. After the rains cease, the com soon arrives at maturity, according to the situation. Wheat, sea or spelt, and barley, now ripen (Korte*s Reiee^ p. 187; Itiner, Hiernsolym. p. 98). The spring fig is still hard (Shaw, p. 290). The almond and orange trees now produce frait (Maundrell, n. 62), and the terebinth-tree (''oak,'^Cel8ii HifrohoK p. 84) Is hi blossom (Sandys, p. 176X A new shoot, bearing frmlt, springs from that branch of the vine that was left in the former menu, which must now be lopped (Brocard, De*er(pt. T, 8. p. 882). Syria and Palestine produce canes frvm which they obtain su- gar (Ignatius voo RheinfiBlden, Hierowlym. Pitger/ahrt, p. 46, 47X Tulips, ranunculuses, anemones, ete., ete., an now in
CALENDAR
24
CALENDAR
flower at Aleppo and Tripoli jfTherenot, Ul, M; Raawolf, t, 58). The gnus ia now very high, and the Araba lead out their horaea to pasture (Maritl« ii, 26, 28). The same ia likewiae done in Penia (Chardln, iii, 12).
MAY.
IFeatAer.-4n thia month the eununer aeaaon oommenoei, when the exceaaive heat of the ann renders the earth barren (Kcffte, p. 257). A few ahowers are obaenred about Aleppo, ioroetimea aocompanied with hail and thunder (Ruaael, p. 151). At the beginning of the month the mercury reachea 70^; then It risea gradually from Td** to 80<>, being greatly aiSBCted by the direction of the variable winda. The anowa on Lebanon thaw rapidly now, bat the oold ia atiU rery aharp on the anm- mita (Maundrell, p. 286).
FroduetUma.— The harrest is eomnleted during this month. Wheat ia now eut in Galilee (HaaacAqulst, p. 84). About the beginning of the month bariey la generally ripe (Egmont and Heyman'a TraveUy ii, 27X Rice, however, ia not quite ripe (SchweigKer, p. 817). The earty applea in Paleatine now come to maturiW, at leaat toward the end of this month (Pococke, U, 126). The common eariy applea may now be gathered In the warmer aituatlona, but the better varietiea ripen later (Shaw*a TraoeU, p. 129). Gotton ia aaid to be aown in the Holy Land at thia period (Uaaaelquiat, p. 176). The eariy shoota of the vine, which had beoi lopped, now poduee the latter grapea (Brocard, Z>0ser. Ter. SaneL p. 882, 888). They stUl continue, after the harvest, to aow varioua garden herbs, part of which are unknown to ue; and many of them, aa en- cnmba«, caulfflowera, and others, come to maturity twice In the same year, in apring and autumn (Korte, p. 187). In Pal- eatine the graaa and herba have grown to auch a he^t this month, that when Thevenot waa riding from Nazareth to Acre, on the 8th of Mav, they reached the girth of his saddle iVoy- ages au Lwoml^ ii, 671).
JL*NR
IFM^Aer.— During thia month the aky ia generally dear, and the weather beoomee extremely hot (RadsiviTa piereffrin. Hitrotolynu p. 27). Aa the month advances, the mercury gradually riaea in the morning from 76^ to 80^; in the after- noon it atanda between 84^ and 92<> (Thevenot, ill, 102). The inhabltanta paaa their nights in summer upon tlie roofii of their houses, wliich are not rendered damp by any dew (Rusad, p. 152). The snmmitB of the mountains of Palestine are not, however, jret free from snow (Pooocke. ii, 158).
Produetiima.—Ai Aleppo the com is sometimes not all cut before the beginning of June; although Russel's teetfanony differs from this assertion of Tbevenot*s, yet Shaw eays that In Africa the harvest sometimes lasts till the end of June (7Vav- <{«, p. 128). The eariyflgs, black and white, now ripen and Immediately <aU off. When they do not come to thefar proper iise and maturity, tbey are called D*^JlD, Skwiot^ which names are used for nnripe fruit in genenil. The process of oapriflcatlon is now performed (Shaw, p. 296). Apples (a few of the eariiest of the better sorts), plums, mulberries, cherries, etc, are also ripe in this month, but of the last there are very few trees In Palestine. The cedar gum, or cfdrhtm. a clear white resin, which Is said to have great medicinal virtue when hardened, distils apontaneouely In the summer time, and without any incision being made, from the bark of the eoniferoua cedar. In extracting a greater quantity, they cut the bark (Arvleut, Mem, 11, 413, 414). Of the ahmba and herba, the balm-tree ia worthy of notice, which growa chiefly about Jericha From this the Arabe, by making an incision, get the ** Balm of GOead** daring this and two following months (Sandvs, TVmr, p. 197). The Arabs, as the summer advances, lead their flocks to the hills northward (De la Boque, Voyogf^ p. 174; Radxlvil, p. 45). --» j^ i
JULY.
Weather.^AU travellers who have been exposed to the open air this month affirm that the heat Is now extremdy Intense. Radxivn foand the brooka of the *^ valley of the terebinths'* dried up on the 9th. At Jemaalem the heat ia much less than aboat Jericho {Pfngrin. HiertMoL p. 97, 9Si. The snow on the tope of mountains, thawing gradually during the summer, yields a large supply of water to the brooka below. It cannot, however, be afilrmed that the snows on the summits of I^b- anon are entirely dissolved every year (Korte, p. 419). The winds generally blow fh>m the west, but, when they fail, the heat is excessive. The mercury usually stands, in the begin- nhig of the month, at 80<*, and toward the end at 65<> or 86<* (Rnssel, p. 152, 163).