ECONOMIC PLANTS WORTHY OF INTRODUCTION. 21 



through a vertical range of nearly 6,500 feet. They grow under irri- 

 gation at Abedieh and Jericho, in the valley of the Jordan, at 650 to 

 850 feet below sea level. They are commonly cultivated at Hermon 

 and at Lebanon, 4,000 to 5,000 feet in altitude, where the winters are 

 long and relatively severe. In upper Galilee — in the region of Safed, 

 for instance — at an altitude of 2,000 to 2,500 feet, it is claimed that 

 low winter temperatures increase the olive crop ; for it is stated that 

 whenever the winters are cold (that is, the temperature reaches 14° 

 to 18° F.) the crop is always abundant. If this generally accepted 

 opinion is true the increased production is to be attributed, according 

 to my opinion, not to any beneficial effects of cold upon the tree but to 

 the fact that such low temperatures probably kill most of the parasites, 

 particularly the olive scale (Lecanium oleae). This is very prevalent 

 and the people know no way of combating it. 



Though the fig is not cultivated to so great an extent in Palestine 

 as in Smyrna, it is, nevertheless, a very important crop, particularly 

 in upper Galilee, where the population is very dense and labor is 

 cheap. There are a great number of varieties there — some with black 

 fruit, others with green, and still others with pink. Some of these 

 figs can be used only while fresh. These are not very extensively 

 cultivated, there being practically no shipping facilities. Other 

 varieties are dried and pressed and, to some extent, shipped abroad. 

 They are, however, chiefly consumed by the Bedouins, whose liking 

 for "kutteins" (dried figs) is proverbial. These people are not at 

 all critical, so that no effort has been made to improve the methods 

 of preparing this product or to study the best varieties for cultivation. 



It is our wild figs, however, rather than our cultivated varieties, 

 that will probably prove of the greatest value in the United States. 



Ficus carica. — This species and its numerous varieties grow wild 

 abundantly in the crevices of rocks. The openings of the numerous 

 mountain caves are generally shaded by these wild trees. In the 

 valley of the Jordan, in the neighborhood of Fusail, there are 

 patches of humid soil, of a black color generally, characteristic of 

 the injurious carbonates. The wild figs nevertheless grow there, 

 showing that they are particularly resistant to alkali. This fact 

 should make them a valuable stock in California. The Smyrna fig 

 has been established in California, but this variety does not show a 

 great degree of resistance to alkali. I firmly believe that the local 

 races growing in Palestine on alkaline soils will be of great value 

 as stocks to the fig growers of California. I say " races " rather than 

 " varieties " because the use of this latter word has been so much 

 abused by some authors. 



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