Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 184, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 August 1918 — Resources of the Jordan Valley [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Resources of the Jordan Valley

THE district of Palestine which contains the greatest possibility of rapid development under a settled government is the basin of the Jordan. Here, in this great and unique chasm and its tributary valleys, we have abundant water, a rich alluvial soil, and a semitropical climate, a_ combination which under scientific direction should produce astonishing results. For centuries the resources of this region have been neglected, writes Dr. E. W. G. Masterman in the Sphere.

In the north, the fertile plain of the Huleh, traversed by the four tributary streams of the Jordan, is capable with little engineering of receiving Irrigation in every part. In some districts, at the head of the valley where this has been done, very striking remits have been obtained. In this district “red” rice is now cultivated. At the further end of the plain lies the marsh and shallow lake of El Huleh. Here probably a good deal of land might be recovered for cultivation by drainage. This was done to some extent a few years ago by deepening the bed of the Jordan a mile or two below the lake, and much marsh land was recovered. To the south and west of the Huleh are splendid corn lands, hence the lake’s second name, Baheiret el Khalt, the “Lake of' the Wheat,” Ip the Huleh valley a- a whole, rice, maize, hemp, and probably cotton could all be profitably cultivated, while other parts might be planted with poplars for timber, apricot and peach orchards, as is done with similar lands around Damascus.

The district of rocky, volcanic hill slopes between the Huleh and the Lake of Galilee Is scarcely likely to afford scope for Irrigation, but in the great descent of the Jordan, 689 feet in nine miles, 'there exists an economical source of power sufficient to produce, If properly utilized, all the electrical energy needed for public and private use for many miles around. To the north of the Lake of Galilee lie the two fertile and easily irrigated plains, El Bataihah—the Jordan delta —and El Ghuwelr, or Gennesaret. Of this latter Josephus writes: “Extending along the Lake of Gennesaret, and bearing also its name, lies a tract of country admirable both for its natural properties and its beauty. Such is the fertility of the soil that it rejects no plant, and accordingly all are here cultivated by the husbandmen; for so genial is the air that It suits every variety. The walnut, which delights beyond other trees In a wintry climate, grows here luxuriantly, together with the palm, which is nourished by the heat; and near to these are figs and olives, to which a milder climate Is assigned.” Fish Supply of Gennesaret

Gennesaret is watered by several - streams, some Of which in the deep valleys through which they emerge support groves of lemons, oranges, and other trees. They also supply a number of mills. With a proper scheme the abundant water reaching this plain might be distributed to every part, and the district be thus restored to a condition at least" as fruitful as that, described by Josephus as existing in Roman times. Jewish colonists have already In parts of the district greatly added to its productiveness. All along the northern shore, where some of the springs feeding the lake are warm, the fishing Is specially good; but, Indeed, the waters of the Huleh, of the Lake of Galilee, and of the Jordan" itself abound in fish _of which the larger varieties are all wholesome and palatable. The fishing industry has not yet been exploited for the benefit of the public. Debouching upon the lake from both east and west are several valleys which in their lower reaches contain streams that can be utilized for Irrigation, and in their higher parts in many Instances contain rapidly descending torrents, even in some places waterfalls, suitable for supplying mechanical power. The greatest of these is the Yarmuk valley, up which the Haifa railway ascends toward Damascus. This is the Helromax of the Greeks, and here shortly before the valley opens into the main Jordan valley there is a group of hot sulphurous springs, amid which lie the ruins of the baths and theater of the Greek settlement of Amatha, a health resort for the great city, Gadara, whose abundant ruins crown the mountains im-

mediately to the south. These sulphur springs, as well as those south of Tiberias, also developed in Roman times, and of the ancient Callii'rhoe springs, visited by the dying Herod the Great in hope of cure, in the Wady Zerka Maan, are all undoubtedly valuable assets to the land and should be properly developed. They have, even under the primitive conditions obtaining today, proved of benefit to rheumatic affections, and are visited by the natives at certain seasons. The water of some of these springs reaches a temperature —independent of the season — of 143 degrees Fahrenheit, but all gradations of heat down to the merely pleasantly warm occur. , Immediately south of the .Lake of Galilee is a fairly level plain—once the bottom of the great lake which then filled this valley —which is a good corn land, while nearer the Jordan some of the lower ground can be easily irrigated. How far the whole 60 miles of the Jordan valley between the two lakes is capable of complete irrigation is a question for experts, but I gather from the views of one expert from India who visited Palestine when I was there, that water can he distributed over the greater part. It ■will need, however, a big scheme, which must deal with the valley as a whole. Certain spots are naturally well provided with springs and streams, and have in the past been very well watered, notably the district around Beisan and the Vale of Jezreel to its west, the Wady Fara, running from Nablus to the Jordan, the eastern side of the Jordan around the Wady Zerka (the Jabbok), and the Jericho district, watered at present in a very incomplete way, from Ain es Sultan (Elisha’s fountain) and Ain Duk.

Water Supply In Roman Times. In the Roman era the Jericho plain was also watered from the Wady Kelt by a series of aqueducts, the ruins of which exist today* and’the whole neighborhood must for miles around have been a mass of gardens, orchards, cornfields, and palm groves. In Crusading times sugar was cultivated here, and some ruins are now known as Tawahin es Sukkar, the sugar mills. Even today there are extensive fruit gardens of oranges, lemons, bananas, and dates, and a great deal of wheat and barley is grown on irrigated land in this neighborhood. In the various parts of the Jordan valley may be successfully grown, besides wheat, barley, and maize, dates, bananas, grapes, figs, oranges, lemons, apricots, vegetables, and In all probability rice, cotton, and sugar.

As the northern shore of the Dead sea is approached the soil becomes Increasingly impregnated with salt, and only supports tamarisks, reeds, and other salt-loving plants. The sea is itself a vast storehouse of salt, particularly at Jebel Usdum, where there is a solid mass of crystallized salt rising 100 feet to 150 feet above the Dead sea, of unknown width, and .running for seven miles along the shore. In considering the possibilities of development in the Jordan valley, there are drawbacks which must not be for* gotten. The whole valley is intensely malarious —in the lower, hotter parts all the year blackwater fever and orfental sore (the variety here known as the Jericho boil) are both common. Even apart from this the heat in many parts Is excessive for more than half the year. Both Tiberias and Jericho are delightful—though somewhat enervating—as winter resorts, but In both the heat Is too great to allow of white men undertaking heavy physical exertion there for the six or eight hot months, and It Is quite unfit for the rearing of European children. The only people who seem to stand long residence in the lower Jordan valley are negroes or half negroes (many of the Bedouins here have a negro admixture), and probably It will be necessary to import negro labor from Africa If any great development is to occur here. Those engaged in supervising and developing the land over almost the whole pf the Jordan valley should live in mosquitoproof huts, and their families should live on higher ground, 1,000 feet or more up in the mountains. It should be quite possible to run an electric tramway—with power generated from the Jordan —from the Haifa-Damascus railway station at Es Semakb, at the southern end of the Lake of Galilee, down to the Dead sea*

Lake of Galilee at Magdala.