GEOGEAPHICAL PROGRESS AND DISCOVERY. 



325 



of the fertility of the country east of the Jor- 

 dan. The Gilead hills are well wooded, and 1 

 occasionally covered with dense and ancient 

 forests. The wadis Yabis and Ajlun are in a 

 fine state of cultivation, and rich in orchards of 

 walnut, olive, and fruit of all kinds. Wadi 

 Ajlun, the larger valley, contains four flourish- 

 ing villages, and is sprinkled in every direction 

 with flour-mills. He saw, also, a great number 

 of deserted mills, many of which were aban- 

 doned on account of the depredations of the 

 Arabs. The wide plateau stretching eastward 

 from the Lake of Tiberias to the Lejah, and 

 southward to .Gerash, is a natural wheat-field. 

 The country south of Bozrah and east of Ge- 

 rash is full of ruined towns; into this fertile 

 but dangerous neighborhood numerous settlers 

 have recently migrated. The deserted plains 

 in this region could produce vast quantities of 

 the finest wheat. Along the course of the 

 Zerka are the remains of an elaborate system 

 of irrigation ; this valley is under cultivation to 

 a considerable extent. The whole east valley 

 of the Jordan is capable of irrigation from the 

 river: somewhat over half of the valley, 

 which contains as much as 180 square miles of 

 rich arable land, is now reached by irrigating 

 canals ; though portions of it are uncultivated, 

 and covered by a luxuriant growth of thistles 

 and weeds. The plains of Ccele-Syria, along 

 the Leontea, and those in the valley of the 

 Orontes, could also, without great difficulty, be 

 transformed from deserts into gardens. Some 

 of the tribes in the upper Jordan valley till 

 their own land, but the more aristocratic Bed- 

 ouins employ fellahin laborers for all work. 

 Large numbers of Christians go from Es Salt to 

 the Zerka every year to cultivate the land on 

 shares, receiving each a pair of shoes and the 

 seed, while they furnish their labor and all the 

 cattle, tools, and men, and their maintenance ; 

 the share received is only one-quarter of the 

 produce. The labors of the American Palestine 

 Exploring Expedition were discontinued at the 

 close of the season of 1877, and its members 

 have left the field. 



The British survey of Palestine was con- 

 tinued during the year, under the direction of 

 Lieutenant Kitchener. The war did not inter- 

 fere with their operations, although they were 

 kept under constant military surveillance by 

 the jealous Turkish Government. They com- 

 menced at Haifa, completing the chart of the 

 Acca plain, and filling in the line of levels be- 

 tween the Mediterranean and the Sea of Galilee 

 as far east as Mejdel. From Haifa they changed 

 their base to Tiberias, Safed, Meiron, and Taiyi- 

 beh, successively. The levels determined ex- 

 tended over 351 miles. The depression of the Sea 

 of Galilee is found to be 682.544 faet below the 

 Mediterranean, which is 40 or 50 fret lower 

 than has been supposed. The plane of the 

 Dead Sea is over 600 feet lower, being 1,292 

 feet below the level of the Mediterranean. This 

 fall of 600 feet is nearly even throughout the 

 length of the Jordan, which has, however, two 



rapids. The deepest depression of the Jordan 

 valley is some 1,300 feet below the plane of 

 the Mediterranean. 



The popular topographical names are care- 

 fully recorded, and studied with the view of 

 detecting their etymological descent from the 

 Biblical names ; and where a modern name re- 

 sembles a name mentioned in the Scriptures, 

 while the location and description of the site 

 also correspond, the identity is considered - 

 established, the double induction furnishing a 

 strong and clinching proof. The modern names 

 are noted by an Arab secretary, from the lips 

 of the peasants and guides, and up to the be- 

 ginning of this year 6,000 were collected and 

 translated. In all, 150 identifications are pro- 

 posed by Lieutenant Conder for Biblical sites 

 not previously identified. The relics of Egyptian, 

 Samaritan, early Christian, Talmudic, and Cru- 

 sader's geographical names also are thought to 

 have been, or have been, detected ; for instance, 

 Koloniyeh for Colonia, Burjmus for Pergamos, 

 Kustul for Castellum, Sinjil for St. Gilles, JBar- 

 dawil for Baldwin, Dastrey for district. In 

 Philistia there is found a Hatteh, and, in the 

 centre of the country, also the Kefr Hatteh, 

 which may have their names from the Hittites, 

 whose dominion once stretched to the borders 

 of Egypt. The Avim, who dwelt in walled 

 towns, may have left their name to BeitAvma, 

 on the borders of Philistia, where the ruins of 

 great flint walls are still seen. 



Colonel Macgregor and Captain Lockwood, 

 in a journey across Khuzistan and Baluchistan 

 to India, made the following interesting dis- 

 coveries. They passed within 40 miles of an 

 active, snow-capped volcano, lying south of 

 Sistan. It is the Kuh Taftan, mentioned from 

 hearsay by Major Lovett, which is situated in 

 the unexplored Sarhad Mountains, north of 

 Bampur and extending to the Afghan boundary. 

 Their report confirms the existence of a great 

 mountain range running westward of Lake Sis- 

 tan, and observed three lesser ranges parallel 

 with the southern bend of the Helmnnd. The 

 strange fact was noticed that the three rivers, 

 the Mashkid, Lura, and Budur, become lost in 

 depressions in the desert, called hamuns, and do 

 not unite with one another, nor have any con- 

 nection with the great Sistan swamp. 



The Russian Governor-General of Turkistnn 

 dispatched a military force, in the summer of 

 1876, into the mountains south of Khoknnd, for 

 the purpose of bringing into subjection the 

 troublesome Kara Kirghiz. This expedition 

 was accompanied by a scientific corps, which 

 had an opportunity of surveying and studying 

 the plateau of the Alai, which extends along 

 the course of the Kizyl-Su, affluent of the 

 Amu-Daria, and which is the principal resort 

 of the Kara Kirghiz. Colonel Kostenko col- 

 lected the geographical notes, and Messrs. Bons- 

 dorf and Oshonin were intrusted with the 

 astronomical and barometrical labor and with 

 the natural history department respectively. 

 Their route was along the Gulsha River, on 



