FURTHER NOTES FROM PALESTINE. : 137 
attractive in Palestine. The only case that came under my notice was 
that of the small Anthomyiid mentioned above; it must be borne 
in mind, however, that trees of any kind except eucalyptus, a recent 
importation, were very scarce, and another factor of some importance 
was the presence of numerous lizards. The eucalyptus is generally 
supposed to act as a deterrent to mosquitoes, but this was not the case 
with Oulew at any rate, nor did it affect the biting midges I have 
mentioned. I had good opportunities to test this theory, as from the 
middle of May to the end of June my quarters by day and night were 
situated in a belt of eucalyptus between the orange groves and the open 
plain. As the road on the belt towards the plain was in view as well 
within gun range of the Turks, it was desirable to keep well inside the 
eucalyptus belt, and a considerable number of the Diptera recorded 
above occurred on the leaves of these trees. On the 15th June I noticed 
what I took to be a case of honeydew attraction. There was a large 
mulberry-tree in one of the groves adjacent to an irrigation tank, and 
on that date the leaves—the fruit was barely ripe—were crowded with 
Diptera, mainly Musca domestica and a deep blue Anthomyiid fly, and 
hornets. I only noticed this once. The irrigation tank just mentioned 
seemed to have a great attraction for mole-crickets (Gryllotalpa 
vulgaris). We used to go to it vetween 5 and 6 a.m. for a bathe, and 
there were usually half a dozen or so swimming round and round the 
smooth concrete margins which gave them no foothold to get out. I 
do not know whether they were attracted by the moisture or if they 
were allured by the moonlight shining on the water. I was carrying 
one in a handkerchief one morning and was surprised at the strength 
it exerted in trying to get out. I had to keep my fingers tightly closed 
over the handkerchief to prevent it forcing its way between them. - 
On the 1st July the lattery left the Mulebbis gun lines and moved 
to a training centre on the plain. The ground was parched and few 
insects except grasshoppers were to be seen. In one spot I observed 
some rather large sandwasps (Anmnophila). We stayed bere for three 
weeks and then were ordered to proceed to the Jordan Valley to relieve 
some R.H.A. units. After two days’ trek we got to the hills and began 
the ascent to Jerusalem. On the western side these hills have a fair 
amount of vegetation and olive trees are numerous. As soon as we got 
into the hills butterflies appeared with more frequency and I saw 
Teracolus for the first time. Whites also were fairly common. Four 
days after leaving the plains we reached the top of the crest and 
passed through the suburbs of Jerusalem, catching tantalising elimpses 
of the Holy City en route. The next two nights—as day travelling 
was now inadvisable owing to enemy aeroplanes—we spent going down 
to Jericho. The eastern slope of the hills was a great contrast to the 
ascent from the west. The gradient was extremely steep (within 20 
miles the ground falls from 8000 feet above to 1300 feet below sea level) 
and although we went by the newly made motor road, hairpin curves 
were frequent and there was only a fragile stone parapet of about 8 
feet in height between the roadside and the deep rock-stewn ravines. 
Instead of the semi-cultivated ground with occasional hamlets there 
was nothing but arid sun-scorched rocks with one or two ruined 
buildings at long intervals, and the chalky dust that we stirred up in 
our passage reminded me of the windward side of a cement factory on 
the lower Thames. We got to Jericho on the 26th-27th July. The 
