84 



ARliORlCULTURE 



trade with Opliir in the Indian Ocean. — I 

 Kings IX-26. 



The Temple was called by Solomon 

 "The house of the forest of Lebanon." be- 

 cause it was chiefly constructed of cedar. 

 Darius, also, in rebuilding' the temple, 

 sent to the Sidonians for cedar trees from 

 Lebanon. Lzra III-7. The fame of 

 the Sidonians as timber dealers had thus 

 continued six centuries. 



So long as the mountains retained their 

 forest covering, and forest influences 

 prevailed, the clouds were attracted, 

 rains were frequent, and percolating 

 through the soft soil Inirst out in numer- 

 ous springs to water the fields below, 

 while the soil remained fertile, producing 

 food in abundance. As a rich agricul- 

 tural region, the large population well 

 fed, were strong in spirit and fully able to 

 protect themselves from incursions of 

 neighboring tribes. We may readily 

 trace the gradual change which took 

 place in climatic conditions as the forests 

 were removed from the mountain slopes 

 all along the Mediterranean coast as 

 Avell as the Libanus and Taurus AToun- 

 tains, resulting in agricultural disturb- 

 ances, droughts, famines, pestilence and 

 ultimately in total barrenness, from ces- 

 sation of rainfall ; then the dispersion 

 of its people became a necessity. As the 

 lands increased in aridity, the soil re- 

 fused its harvest. Judah and Israel were 

 diminisherl in numbers, impaired in 

 spirit and were easily subdued by one 

 after another of the nations which had 

 long desired this historic land. 



HISTORIC DROUGHTS. 



Ten hundred and twenty-one B. C, 

 there was a famine in the days of David, 

 three vears, vear after year. 2 Samuel 

 XXI-i'. 



Nine hundred and ten years B. C, 

 Menander describes a disastrous famine 

 throughout Judea. 



More than a year had passed without 

 rain or dew. This was the same drought 

 in which Elijah was fed by the ravens, 

 and when the brook Cherith had become 

 dry, increased the supply of the widow's 

 meal. 



Five hundred and eighty-eight years 

 B. C, 'another famine occurred, and with 

 it pestilence, which greatly reduced the 



poj)ulation and power of the nation, so 

 ihat when the l>abylonians besieged Jeru- 

 salem, the stronghold fell, and the people 

 were carried away into captivity. 



While the immediate reason for the 

 fall of Jerusalem may have been on ac- 

 .count of the wars and dissenlions among 

 the Jewish tribes ; and while the idolatry 

 of the rulers and populace is given in 

 scrijnure as the occasion for their punish- 

 ment, yd the real caiisi' it-'us the decline 

 of ai^ricultiirc through the loss of forest 

 intluencc, impairing the stamina of the 

 inhabitants and resultijig in national de- 

 cadence. 



What is fre(|uently considered mir- 

 aculous in the Almighty's direction of 

 afTairs, is in reality His adoption of nat- 

 ural laws to achieve desired results. 



The Persians coming into power B. C. 

 444, Darius restored Jerusalem, and re- 

 built the temple. l)ut the country was 

 overrun by various tribal bands, agricul- 

 tural pursuits having been abandotied, 

 and the Jews were ever after under for- 

 eign dominion. 



Josephus mentions that when Pompey 

 pitched his camp at Jericho, he found 

 palm and balsam trees, this fact being 

 of sufificicnt importance to be made of 

 record, since trees had become so scarce 

 in the land. 



Under the procurators, Tiberus Alex- 

 ander and Cuspius Fadus, A. D. 65 to 

 75, there was a drought continuing sev- 

 eral years, and many people died from 

 starvation. Queen Helena, who sympa- 

 thized with the Jews, sent into Egypt 

 and brought large cjuantities of com for 

 the suffering multitudes in Jerusalem, 

 and also procured a cargo of dried figs 

 from Cyprus. 



During the thirteenth year of Herod's 

 reign, 1). C. 24 years, very great calam- 

 ities came upon the country ; there were 

 perpetual droughts, and for that reason 

 the groimd was barren, and did not bring 

 forth the same quantity of fruits, after 

 which want of food caused pestilential 

 di.sorders. This drought lasted several 

 years, corn being brought from Egypt 

 to supply their food. 



-Another famine occurred during the 

 fifth, sixth and seventh years of Claudius, 

 A. D. 54. This drought was foretold by 

 Agabus f.\cts XI-28). 



