A dictionary of the . ly absorbed. The seed, beingscattered broadcast upon the soil, wasordinarily ploughed in, as is still thecustom. Light harrowing, often withthorn-bushes, completed the wet ground the seed was trampled inby cattle. Isa. 32 : 20. After its plant-ing there was commonly little furtherlabor bestowed upon the crop till it wasready for the harvest. Weeds were re-moved by hand when it was safe to doso. Matt. 13 : 28, 29. Irrigation wassometimes necessary. As the ingather-ing drew near, the fields must be pro-tected by the watchman in his lodgefrom the wild boar
A dictionary of the . ly absorbed. The seed, beingscattered broadcast upon the soil, wasordinarily ploughed in, as is still thecustom. Light harrowing, often withthorn-bushes, completed the wet ground the seed was trampled inby cattle. Isa. 32 : 20. After its plant-ing there was commonly little furtherlabor bestowed upon the crop till it wasready for the harvest. Weeds were re-moved by hand when it was safe to doso. Matt. 13 : 28, 29. Irrigation wassometimes necessary. As the ingather-ing drew near, the fields must be pro-tected by the watchman in his lodgefrom the wild boar and other beasts, andfrom human marauders. The newly-scattered seed and the ripening crop alsorequired to be defended against greatflocks of birds. Matt. 13 : 4. Grain when ripe was, in more ancienttimes, plucked up by the roots. Later,it was reaped by a sickle resembling ourown, either the ears alone being cut offor the whole stalk. The sheaves werenever made into shocks; but this wordin Scripture use denotes merely a loose. An Egyptian Threshin neap of them. Laborers, animals, orcarts bore the harvest to the threshing-floor, where, as elsewhere described, thegrain was separated from the ears andwinnowed. More delicate seeds werebeaten out with a stick. Isa. 28 : —Agriculture was recog-30 -Floor. (From Eiehm.) nized and regulated by the Mosaic lawas the chief national occupation. Inalien-able ownership—under God—of the soilwas a fundamental provision, and rent-ing the ground till the year of jubilee wasalone possible. The land shall not besold for ever: for the land is mine; for AGR AHA ye are strangers and sojourners withme. Lev. 25 : 8-16, 23-35. The en-couragement such a provision gave toagricultural improvements cannot beexaggerated. That the land must rest one year inseven was another remarkable and mostbeneficent requirement. Lev. 25 : Jews were forbidden to sow a fieldwith divers seeds. Deut. 22 : 9. Forexample, wheat and lentiles must no
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