quantity, partly because the animals are mostly on pasture, partly owing to its use as fuel. Artificial manures, which have been proved by experiment to be beneficial and remunerative, are beyond the reach of the fellah, whose tenure, moreover, is not commonly such as to encourage him to sink any savings in the improvement of his land. The result is progressive impoverishment of the soil. No great importance is attached to the removal of stones, which do not hamper the native plough and sickle. On the hill-slopes, especially in the Lebanon and in the neighbourhood of Jerusalem, terraces are often built to prevent the erosion of the thin layer of soil in the rainy season. This terrace-building descends from remote antiquity, and was much more highly elaborated in the past than now. Planting of trees is generally neglected, except in the immediate neighbourhood of towns and villages, and the more extensive plantations are generally owned by large proprietors or town capitalists. Here again development is hindered by poverty and the prevailing conditions of tenure. In the Lebanon, however, and about Damascus, tree culture is successfully carried on by small farmers, as also in the Jewish colonies.
The agricultural implements in common use are extremely primitive, though better adapted to local conditions than is often supposed. Ploughing must be completed as soon as possible after the first rains, and the light iron-tipped wooden plough does its work quickly, and is readily drawn by a pair of oxen, which are cheaper to keep than horses or mules; it penetrates only a few inches, but if the ground is to retain its moisture and to produce summer crops, this loosening of the upper layer is better than deep ploughing. Reaping with the sickle suits the stony soil, which in Syria is only too common. There is less to be said for the ox-drawn threshing sledge, which is wasteful. But it has the merit of cheapness, and is said to break up the hard straw well, while the time and labour involved in its use are of no great consequence to the native after his crops have been reaped. European machines and
