PALESTINE. 
“ The Holy Land (fays Dr. Shaw), were it as well peo¬ 
pled and cultivated as in former times, would ftill be more 
fruitful than the very belt part of the coaft of Syria and 
Phcenice ; for the foil is generally much richer, and, all 
things confidered, yields a preferable crop. Thus the 
cotton that is gathered in the plains of Ramah, Efdrae- 
lon, and Zabulun, is in greater efteem than what is cul¬ 
tivated near Sidon and Tripoli. Neither is it poflible for 
ptilfe, wheat, or any fort of grain, to be more excellent 
than what is fold at Jerufalem. The barrennefs, or fcar- 
city rather, which fome authors may, either ignorantly 
or maiicioufly, complain of, doth not proceed from the 
incapacity or natural unfruitfulnefs of the country, but 
from the want of inhabitants, and the great averJion there 
is to labour and induftry in thofe few who poflefs it. 
There are, befides, fuch perpetual difcords and depreda¬ 
tions among the petty princes who fltare this fine coun¬ 
try, that, allowing it was better peopled, yet there 
would be fmall encouragement to fow, when it was un¬ 
certain who fliould gather-in the harveft. Otherwife, the 
land is a good land, and ftill capable of affording its 
neighbours the like fupplies of corn and oil which it is 
known to have done in the time of Solomon.” 
Nothing can afford, even in the prefent day, a more 
agreeable change than the fertile valley of Paleftine, on 
quitting the parched fands of Arabia. The impreffion 
made on Ali Bey feems exa£Hy the fame as that which was 
experienced by the progenitors of the Jews, and in our 
own day by a very different defcription of combatants; 
we mean the French foldiers who marched in 1799 from 
Egypt under Bonaparte. To all thefe the land of Canaan 
appeared ftill to be the land flowing with milk and honey. 
“ All the country of Paleftine which I faw from Khan- 
younes to Jaffa (fays Ali Bey) is beautiful. Itiscompofed 
of round undulated hills, of a rich foil, fimilar totheflime 
of the Nile, and is covered with the richeft and fined: ve¬ 
getation ; but there is not a fingle river in all the diltriCl, 
not even a fpring ; all the torrents I crofted were dry, and 
the inhabitants have no other water to drink than that 
which they colleCt in the rainy feafon, nor any other 
means of irrigation than rain-water, and that of the wells, 
which is very good. Such was the caufe of the frequent 
famines which are recorded in hiftory to have happened 
in this country. A territory in which there is no fpring, 
and no river to bring to it the waters of other countries, 
and whofe fubfiftence depends abfolutely upon the local 
rains, is neceflarily expofed to a fcarcity, when this blef- 
fing from heaven fails, oris infufficient. 
“ It is worthy of remark, that all the inhabited places 
which I have feen in Arabia are fituated in valleys or hol¬ 
lows ; and, on the contrary, all the towns and villages in 
Paleftine are built upon hills or heights. This difference 
may be attributed to the fcarcity of the rains in Arabia, 
and their abundance in Paleftine. Game abounds in Pa¬ 
leftine; partridges are found in large coveys, fo fat and 
heavy, that no other weapon than a flick is requifite to 
take them. But, at the fame time, we meet with a num¬ 
ber of lizards, different kinds of ferpents, vipers, fcor- 
pions, and other venomous infeCls. The multitude of 
flies of every fpecies in this country is fuch, that the ca¬ 
mels, mules, and horfes, become almoft mad, and roll 
themfelves upon the ground, and among the bufhes, to 
get rid of them. But what fhall I fay of the ants ? Let 
the reader imagine an immenfe ant-hill, extending over 
the earth for three days’ journey, and he will have an idea 
of what I have abfolutely feen. The road is a continued 
ant-hill, entirely covered with the eggs and remains of 
thefe little animals, upon which are feen myriads of ants 
running in all directions, to complete their daily la¬ 
bours.” Travels of Ali Bey, 1803-7. 
Referring to our article Jerusalem, it is now proper 
to obferve, that the Church of the Sepulchre no longer 
exifts : it was deftroyed by fire after M. de Chateaubri¬ 
and’s return from Judea, which was in the year 1807. “I 
am (fays he) the laft traveller by whom it was vifited; 
4 - 
275 
and, for the fame reafon, I fhall' be its laft hiftorian.” Tra¬ 
vels in Greece, Paleftine, &c. 1806, 7, publifhed at Pa¬ 
ris, in 2 vols. 8vo. 1811—We may alfo add, as to the pre¬ 
fent Hate of Jerufalem, that it contains 9000 Mahometans, 
3000 Jew’s, 2000 Greek Chriftians, 600 Latins, 300 Ar¬ 
menians, 100 Jacobites or Syrians, and two or three fa¬ 
milies of Copts or Maronites. Profejfor Carlyle, in Wal¬ 
pole's Mem. relating to Turkey. 
About the year 1809, a fociety was formed, under the 
aufpices of Dr. Hamilton, the Earl of Aberdeen, and Mr. 
Spencer Smith, to be called the “ Paleftine Affociation.” 
Its object was to forward and aflift difcoveries in the in¬ 
terior of Syria and the Holy Land. Whether this fociety 
fubfifts at prefent we really do not know, as we have met 
with no report of its proceedings. Its plan was very lau¬ 
dable. The following are the various fubjeCts to which 
the attention of the travellers, feleCted by the committee, 
to be fent into Syria, and other regions of the Eaft, at the 
expenfe of the Affociation, were to be directed. 
1. Aftronomical obfervations, to afcertain the fixa¬ 
tions of the moft remarkable places. 
2. Ranges and heights of mountains. 
3. Breadth and depth of rivers, with their courfes, 
fords, and bridges ; wells and fountains 5 whether of 
fweet, fait, or brackifh, water. 
4. Times and extent of inundations. 
5. Every other obfervation relative to the geography 
and topography of Paleftine, which may be of ufe in the 
formation of a more accurate map of the country than has 
hitherto appeared. 
6 . Procefs of agriculture in all parts. 
7. To compofe a meteorological journal, according to 
a form prepared for the purpofe in England, and in which 
fhall be comprifed an accurate ftatement of the winds and 
temperature for the whole year, mentioning the place, 
time, and expofure. 
8. A lift of the natural productions of Paleftine, with 
a defcription of the foil and fixation of thofe that are 
more rare ; particular attention to be paid to the culture 
and ufe of the date and the palm tree. 
9. To obferve the ufes, of any kind whatever, to which 
the botanical productions of the country are applied; 
whether thefe ufes are publicly known, or kept fecret in 
particular families; and what is their medicinal or chemi¬ 
cal value. 
10. To deteCt the errors of former travellers. 
11. To make accurate drawings of the implements of 
mafonry, carpenters’ work, and other handicrafts. 
12. Subftance and quantity of food confumed in the 
families of the inhabitants in the different fixations in 
life. 
13. Whence the neighbourhood of Jerufalem is fup- 
plied with fuel and timber for building. 
14. To endeavour to trace the progrefs of the Ifraelites 
under Mofes and Joftiua, in their operations againft the 
pofleffors of tire Promifed Land, and the fubfequent dil- « 
tribution of the Tribes ; verifying charaCteriltic epithets 
given to the feveral countries mentioned in the Scriptures; 
and to continue the fame obfervations throughout the 
whole of Paleftine, with reference to the latter periods of 
the Jewilh hiftory. 
15. To write in Arabic and Englifti characters the name 
of every town, village, river, mountain, &c. by which 
the traveller may pafs ; and to obferve the greatelt accu¬ 
racy in marking down their refpeCtive bearings, and their 
diltances, in computed miles, and in hours. 
16. The ItriCteft attention muft be paid to the draughts, 
plans, and fketches, of the country; and drawings to 
be made of thofe buildings which appear to be of impor¬ 
tance, from their undoubted antiquity, or architectural 
peculiarities. 
17. It would be extremely definable to form an ample 
collection of infcriptions, manufcripts, and medals, and 
other valuable monuments of antiquity, whether Hebrew, 
Phoenician, Greek, or Roman. 
18. Eftimate 
