MISSIONAEY ACTIVITY 533 



But with all her zeal the agricultural missionary had only 

 one convert to work under her, with his son. Their tenure 

 of the land was quite patriarchal ; Hooker ' witnessed ' the 

 drawing of lots between owner and tenant for the upper and 

 lower half of the property. 



The conclusion drawn from all these activities is : ' more 

 money spent on Jerusalem in charity than any other place of 

 size no proportionate good done, especially to Jews.' 



The plain of Jericho and the Moab Hills left an impression 

 of great beauty ; the Dead Sea was * very grand ' with shores 

 much bolder and promontories more rocky than he expected 

 and no visible white incrustation at the end. In camp on the 

 supposed site of Jericho, ' At night the village Arabs, a scoun- 

 drelly set, came and performed an Arab war dance. Three 

 Sheiks attitudinised with swords, and a dozen or two men 

 crouched and grunted like camels and sang before them 

 utter barbarity.' Keascending the heights on the way back, 

 he notes the ' curious effect of rising to level of plants of level 

 of Mediterranean.' 



At Hebron, 



turned off road to visit Abraham's Oak, about one mile 

 out of town ; a very fine tree, acorns larger than of the 

 usual surrounding stunted Oaks, probably not 300 years 

 old, no dead twigs 24 ft. girth. 



As to the reverence with which this tree was regarded he 

 notes later : 



Dragoman says that he bought fallen limb of Abraham's 

 Oak at Hebron for 1 from Mr. Firm [the consul], but that 

 superstition so strong that any one cutting it would lose 

 his first-born son that no one would cut it for a long time : 

 it was load for 7 camels and cost 10 in all to transport. 



To Charles Darwin 



December 2 [?], 1860. 



I paid particular attention to your query about the 

 sudden appearance of plants on ascending Lebanon and 

 made a good many observations to the effect that the more 



VOL. I 2 M 



