502 RAPID EVAPORATION. [1848. 



sively bitter and offensive to the taste. It likewise possesses 

 petrifying qualities, and the stunted trees and bushes that 

 grow upon its banks and die, and the drift wood brought 

 down by the Jordan, are preserved for a long time from decay 

 by the salts with which they become saturated. 



" My friend and fellow-traveller, Mr. Erskine," says Mr. 

 Fisk, "bathed in the Dead Sea, and found the water ex- 

 tremely buoyant. I could not quite make up my mind to 

 the experiment ; but I tasted the water. It is impossible to 

 express the intensity of its nauseousness, when taken in 

 sufficient quantity, and retained long enough to act upon the 

 palate. It has two distinct flavors when first tasted, which 

 soon unite and make a most loathsome compound. The 

 first is of extremely pungent saltness, and capable of excoria- 

 ting the palate. The other is sheer bitterness — and so bitter, 

 that it seems to penetrate the skin of the mouth. Though 

 I took no more than about half a wine glass full in my 

 mouth, and did not swallow any, yet my palate was saturated 

 with it, and the sensation remained during the day."* 



As there is no outlet through which the waters accumu- 

 lating in this reservoir can be discharged, the evaporation that 

 takes place must be very rapid; for, in addition to the Jor- 

 dan, it receives the contents of several other tributary 

 streams, and there are a number of springs along its shores, 

 some of which pour their waters into the sea, though others 

 are absorbed by the sand. According to the estimate of Dr. 

 Shaw, the Jordan alone discharges daily, upon an average, 

 6,090,000 tons of water. Lieutenant Lynch also made an 

 estimate ; but his figures appear to have startled him, and he 

 has therefore withheld them from the public. " The streams," 

 says he, " from the fountains of Turabeh, Ain Jidy, and the 

 salt spring near Muhariwat, were almost wholly absorbed in 

 the plains, as well as those running down the ravines of 

 Sudeir, Seyal, Mubtighghik, and Humeir, and the torrent 

 between the Arnon and the Callirohoe. Taking the mean 



* Memorial of the Holy Land. 



