Syria and the Holy Land : their scenery and their people : incidents of travel, &cfrom the best and most recent authorities . horse of themaster of the house, caparisoned and ready to be mounted : he is a partof the family, and seems interested in all that is said and done around the hour for refreshment arrives, the repast is spread in the open air,and whole families may be seen grouped round the primitive table, underthe shade of some nodding palm, or Sycamore oft musical with bees :Such tents the patriarchs loved. The white mulberry, so extensively cultivated both in the highlands
Syria and the Holy Land : their scenery and their people : incidents of travel, &cfrom the best and most recent authorities . horse of themaster of the house, caparisoned and ready to be mounted : he is a partof the family, and seems interested in all that is said and done around the hour for refreshment arrives, the repast is spread in the open air,and whole families may be seen grouped round the primitive table, underthe shade of some nodding palm, or Sycamore oft musical with bees :Such tents the patriarchs loved. The white mulberry, so extensively cultivated both in the highlands andthe plains, is destined principally for rearing silk-worms. The trees, whichare purposely kept low for the greater convenience in gathering the leaves,are planted in rows, and if they grow in open ground, the plough is passedamong them several times a year. Vegetables are sometimes grown betweenthe rows, but generally the ground is kept clear and carefully useful trees serve another purpose of some importance, though secondaryto the making of silk. The first crop of leaves is eaten off by the silk-worms,. Syrian Sheep. UTILITY OF THE WHITE MULBERRY. 51 and by the time these have begun to spin their cocoons, the trees are nearlybare : the branches are then all cut off close to the stem, and used for a few days new branches shoot out, which are soon covered with leaves ;this second crop is gathered in baskets and given to the sheep and cows, andappears, indeed, to be the chief food of these animals for many months inthe autumn and the beginning of winter. The entire absence of rain duringthe long hot summer burns up whatever grass may have been on the groundin the spring and the early part of summer; but the mulberry-trees, whichhave much care bestowed on them, and are watered by channels from astream, or by hand, retain their greenness in that mild climate to a very lateseason ; even in the month of December their leaves are as fresh and green asin midsum
Size: 1888px × 1324px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1840, bookpublisherlondonchapmanandha
