an aqueduct to bring water from a source some 18 miles 

 away. Parts of the aqueduct still remain on the beach 

 nearby, burnished gold by the setting sun each evening 

 since Herod's reign. 



Tel Aviv is a "young" city, founded just 75 years ago. It 

 is mju-ked by high rise office buildings and resort hotels 

 along its Mediterranean beaches. On the city's southern 

 perimeter, stands the old city of Jaffa, the original part of 

 Tel Aviv dating back thousands of years. Jewish tradition 

 says that Noah's son Japheth founded the city after the 

 great flood. There are many other references to Jaffa in 

 both the Bible and in Greek mythology. The crest of the 

 highest hill in Jaffa offers a panoramic view of modern Tel 

 Aviv. 



The latter part of our stay in Israel brought us to 

 Jerusalem. Approaching the city from the northeast, we 

 viewed it for the first time from the Mount of Olives. The 

 city spread out before us, a sprawling sculpture of white 

 limestone, interrupted only by the golden Dome of the 

 Rock. A city ordinance ensures that the visual unity is 

 maintained by requiring that all new buildings be con- 

 structed of limestone. 



I was the target of the only violence our group en- 

 countered and that was of an agricultural nature. As we 

 were walking through the winding streets of old 

 Jerusalem, passing through the Moslem quarter, I came 

 upon and old Palestinian woman sitting on the cobbles- 

 tones selUng vegetables. Wearing traditional clothes and 

 with her lined and weathered face, I thought she would 

 make an interesting picture. I stopped about five feet 

 away, and was focussing my camera when she picked up 

 a Softball sized onion and threw it at me. Her aim was 

 true but I ducked in time to save myself and my camera. 

 Unfortunately I did not get the picture. 



While it is true that we did not see any real violence, 

 neither did we really enter the troubled areas. Tension 

 was felt only in Jerusalem where, due to the Moslem 

 strike, all shops in the Christian and Moslem quarters 

 were closed. Streets that should have been bustling 

 bazaars were deadly quiet. The army is omnipresent in 

 all parts of the country. 



Holland 



From Israel we moved on to spend a few days in 

 Holland. There we found the complete agricultural an- 

 tithesis of Israel. The land is extremely wet. Farmland is 

 bounded and bisected by narrow canals that catch the run 

 off from the soil. 



The city of Amsterdam has a network of canals that 

 serve many functions. They are a means of transportation 

 for goods and people, and they are home to those that live 

 in house boats moored along the sides of the canals. 



Land Use 



Open farmland is used for the grazing of dairy cows 

 and sheep, cheese a major product of the Netherlands, as 

 well as for orchards and some crops. Flowers, the 

 country's premier product, are grown primarily under 

 glass. 



Greenhouse growing is extensive in Holland. One 

 area, know as the "glass city", as acres of land covered by 

 greenhouses. The only open spaces are the streets and 

 the canals. The Dutch keep their greenhouses in near- 

 sterile condition. Spotlessly clean, they are sectioned off 

 so that visitors cannot enter growing areas, but only look 

 through the glass. 



Dutch growers also use drip irrigation, although not 

 as extensively as the Israelis, and almost exclusively in- 

 doors. They are also doing much experimentation in the 

 area of soilless growing. Crops are grown in a variety of 

 mediums including rock wool. 



Marketing 



One of the major vehicles for exporting the 

 Netherlands' large flower crop is the Aalsmere Flower 

 Auction. The auction building has a total floor area of 

 320,000 square meters. The auction is actually a growers 

 cooperative. Over 4,000 flower and plant growers are 

 members and joint owners of the auction building. Buyers 

 from all over the world including exporters, wholesalers, 

 retail florists and street vendors, participate in the auc- 

 tion. 



The Aalsmere building has six auditorium style auc- 

 tion rooms. At the from of the room are two "clocks" each 

 with a hand that rotates and stops on the bidding price 

 when a buyer pushes a button. Flowers move through the 

 front of the room on racks pulled by a track system. Only 

 fifteen minutes elapse between auctioning and delivery to 

 buyer. 



Holland has an identical auction for selling 

 vegetables, though not as large. Here the clock system is 

 also used. 



Conclusion 



All of the sixteen tour participants returned home 

 with and enhanced view of global agriculture, and each 

 will use the information in ways that is sure to benefit Bay 

 State farming. The Massachusetts Department of Food 

 and Agriculture is continuing an exchange of research 

 information with the Israel Ministry of Agriculture. 



NOTE: All participants of this tour travelled at their own 

 expense. 



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