THE SUB-TROPICAL ZONE. 157 



they may be many years old, will, if placed in water, start, 

 as it were, from their slumbers, stretch out their arms, 

 straighten their leaves, and assume all the appearance of 

 plants suddenly raised from the dead." 



And now (to continue our journey) we still find, as we 

 follow the course of the Jordan, that the banks " are mantled 

 with a thick forest of reeds, willows, and various shrubs/' 

 and growing wild there, we meet with a little herbaceous 

 plant with a papilionaceous flower, called Indigofera, one 

 species of which produces the Indigo dye. It is as well to be 

 wary how we approach this kind of jungle, for ounces and 

 wild boars often lurk amongst the reeds and willows, which 

 are also a favourite hiding-place for jackals and hares. In 

 the plains we may catch a sight sometimes of the elegant 

 gazelle, with its twisted spiral horns and large eyes ; and in 

 the green pastures which clothe the valley through which 

 the river runs, there are buffaloes grazing, and camels too 

 sometimes, when they do not prefer browsing on the Thistles 

 and Nettles which grow on the more rocky parts around. 



In the autumn these pastures are arrayed in a golden 

 dress, being covered with flowers which are supposed, with 

 reason, to be " the Lilies of the field" from which our Lord 

 taught us a lesson of trust in God's providence. These are 



