from tracts of land, round which men were building low rough stone walls. New hedges of prickly pears were being planted round gardens and orchards, thus: a stone wall about a quarter of a yard high is made, and then quite covered with earth. Along the top of the bank thus formed portions of the cactus stems are planted, about a foot apart. These stems are green and broad, and so flat and jointed that they look like large rounded leaves joined together. In some places the rain had washed away the earth, and I could see the roots shooting out from the edges of the stems. The growth of the species of the cactus—Opuntia—is so rapid that a bank thus planted becomes, in the course of one season, a very formidable hedge. Its blossom is yellow, and it yields the pleasant, cooling fruit called "prickly pear," or "Indian fig." The Arabs call it "subber"—that is, "patience"—on account of the care and patience required in gathering and peeling it; for it is covered with spines and fine stinging hairs, and the plant is armed every-where with large sharp thorns. In spite of this the camel feeds on it freely. Even in the driest seasons the stems are juicy, and, when pierced, moisture oozes out plentifully. It is the natural home of the cochineal insect; but the cultivation of this valuable article of commerce is unfortunately neglected in Palestine.
The blossoming arum, the blue iris, squills, and daffodils were growing so abundantly in the burial-ground, that the sides of the tombs were quite concealed. On the unplowed land of the plain, and on the hill-sides, I found anemones, ranunculuses, marigolds, ground-ivy, cyclamen, and many other wild flowers.
The thorn-bushes,which during the Summer and Autumn had been so dark and bare, were clothed with delicate green sprays of finely-serrated leaves, which almost hid the sharp, cruel-looking thorns. They were sprinkled with little round buds—when they opened, they threw out silky tufts of crimson, crowned with golden-colored powder. The seed
