Prokesch, that this must be the site of Antipatris.” 1. ROBINSON'S Researches, vol. iii. pp. 45-47. PLAIN OF SHARON. SCRIPTURE NOTICES. 66 THE herds that fed in Sharon . . . and the herds that were in the valleys . . ."—1 Chron. xxvii. 29. "I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.” -Cant. ii. 1. "The earth mourneth and languisheth . . . Sharon is like a wilderness."-Isaiah xxxiii. 9. "The excellency of... Sharon."-Isaiah xxxv. 2. "And Sharon shall be a fold of flocks."-Isaiah lxv. 10. Mr. Paxton has the following observations upon the Plain of Sharon, as he passed over it from Jaffa to the hill country of Judea :-" The point of land," he writes, "on which Jaffa stands, a kind of sandy knoll, is higher than the country back of it. We, of course, made a small descent, and, for a considerable distance, passed through gardens, enclosed lots, and fields, many of them well filled with trees, as fig, orange, lemon, pomegranate, palm. The Indian fig was much used for forming enclosures, and generally planted on a ridge of sand. It makes a very good fence, as the prickles with which it abounds prevent man or beast from coming much in contact with it. Some of these gardens had wells, and water-wheels, many of which were at work ... raising water for the benefit of the trees and vegetables. There is much sand on the district that borders the 1 In the same neighbourhood, our lists contain the name of a village, Jiljûlah, corresponding to the ancient Galgula, which Eusebius and Jerome place at six Roman miles north of Antipatris. This was apparently the Gilgal in the region of Dor, whose king was subdued by Joshua. coast... It may be nine or ten miles from Jaffa to Ramleh. The road is good... but a small part of the plain, after leaving the gardens, was cultivated. From time to time, we passed portions that had been sown with grain; none of it, after leaving the gardens, was enclosed-all lay open. We passed several places where there were a few trees; they formed, however, but little green spots on the face of this wide spread and noble plain. The greater part was destitute of verdure, the burning heats of summer having burned up the grass; the crops, except an occasional cotton-field, being all gathered in... "The plain is highly fertile, and if under proper cultivation would yield largely. The soil is rich, deep, and very free from rock, at least sufficiently so for all purposes of cultivation. We do not, indeed, often meet with a finer district of land, but it is thinly inhabited. Ramleh . . . stands on a slight elevation, and commands a fine view of the plain, out of which it rises. It is surrounded by gardens. . . We left it on Monday morning for Jerusalem. Our course was still a little south of east. The general character and condition of the plain was much as the part of it already described, with the difference, that there was much less sand. Indeed, there was little, if any, to be seen; the soil was a fine, rich, black mould. The state of cultivation was rather better; but still only a small part was under the care of man. The country began more regularly to rise as we approached the hill country; the rise was, however, very gradual. Irregular and rounded hills became more numerous, but none of them were steep... they were rather pleasant swells, than hills. . . In truth, this part of the plain—that is, from Ramleh to the hills, forms one of the richest and most lovely districts that I have seen . . We passed no village worth naming. We did, indeed, pass a few huts at one or two places, but too few to deserve notice. We passed several places that appeared to have once been occupied, and saw several villages at a distance, but they appeared small. In short, the plain—the noble and celebrated plain of Sharon, appears to be almost deserted; and while it has a fertility and extent, were it occupied and properly cultivated, sufficient to sustain a nation, it is now roamed over by a few flocks, has small patches of it cultivated, and here and there a small poor village to sustain. With regard to trees, &c., the eastern part of the plain was on a par with the western. It was only on little spots, and at a great distance from each other, that a few olive and other trees were to be seen. They were mostly confined to the immediate vicinity of the villages, or where villages have once stood. "While passing over the plain of Sharon, it would have been out of all propriety not to have thought of the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valley. I did think of them, and was on the watch for them; and so eager was I to get one, that could I have met with any sort of a flower that would in any fair way have admitted the name, I would most willingly have reported it; but not one could I find ... "The Flocks of Sharon,' was a term which then expressed much; but now few flocks feed there, and those of an inferior kind of cattle.”—PAXTON's Letters, pp. 103-111. Travelling afterwards over the plain further to the north, past the ancient Lydda, Mr. Paxton writes, "The plain of Sharon on this road was very fertile, and more of it had been cultivated than is usual. The harvest was going on, and men, women, and children, were out in the fields; some reaping with the common reaphook-some pulling up the grain with their hands— some binding up the grain in bundles - some carrying it on their shoulders, or on donkeys, or mules or camels, to the threshing floor-and some threshing out the grain by driving the cattle over it. They use a threshing instrument not unlike a harrow. In its under side they have pieces of stone or iron fastened, which serve as teeth. These instruments are dragged by the oxen over the grain, and thus separate it from the straw."PAXTON'S Letters, pp. 226, 227. "Leaving the gardens of Jaffa behind us, we entered an extensive, fertile, and lovely plain-it was the plain of Sharon. Wherever the ground was cultivated, it brought forth fruit in abundance. We passed two small villages, which were entirely enclosed in olive groves. The nearer we approached Ramleh, the finer the country grew; countless olive-trees adorned the avenues. The rain had opened nature's flowery treasures; before us was spread a most magnificent carpet, wrought with divers colours of gold, crimson, red, and blue—a carpet made without hands, in comparison with which the most costly Persian in the Sultan's harem dwindles into utter insignificancy."-Missionary Labours in Jerusalem, p. 30. JAPHO, JOPPA. (JAFFA, YÂFA.) : SCRIPTURE NOTICES. "AND we will cut wood out of Lebanon, as much as thou shalt need and we will bring it to thee in floats by sea to Joppa; and thou shalt carry it up to Jerusalem."-2 Chronicles ii. 16. "Now the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me. But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord."-Jonah i. 1-4. "Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which by interpretation is called Dorcas : this woman was full of good works and alms deeds which she did. And it came to pass in those days, that she was sick and died . . . and forasmuch as Lydda was nigh to Joppa, and the disciples had heard that Peter was there, they sent unto him two men, desiring him that he would not delay to come to them. Then Peter arose and went with them. When he was come, they brought him into the upper chamber: and all the widows stood by him weeping . . . But Peter put them all forth, and kneeled down and prayed; and turning him to the body said, Tabitha, arise. And she opened her ... eyes and when she saw Peter, she sat up And it was known throughout all Joppa; and many believed in the Lord. And it came to pass, that he tarried many |