On the borders of this lake is found much sulphur, in pieces as large as walnuts, and even la,rger. There is also a black shining stone, which will partly burn in the fire, and which then emits a bituminous smell: this is the 'stink-stone' of Burckhardt. At Jerusalein it is made into rosaries and toys, of which great quantities are sold to the pilgrims who visit the sacred places. An other remarkable production found here, from which, indeed, the lake takes one of its names, is asphaltum, or bitumen. Josephus says, that 'the sea In many places sends up black masses of asphaltum, which float upon the surface, having the size and shape of headless oxen' (De Bell. Ind. iv. 8, 4). From recent information it ap pears that large masses are rarely found, and then generally after earthquakes. The substance is doubtless produced front the bottom of the sea, in which it coagulates, and rises to the surface; or possibly thecoagulation may have been ancient, and the substance adheres to the bottom until detached by earthquakes and other convulsions, when its buoyancy brings it to the surface. We know that 'the vale of Siddim' (Gen. xiv :to) was anciently 'full of slime pits' or sources of bitumen ; and these, now under the water, proba bly supply the asphaltum which is found on such occasions. It has just been stated (June, 1901) that a marked rise in the level of the Dead Sea has been noted. A broad lagoon has been formed on the north side of the Jordan delta. The water does not sink as usual and it is surmised that the whole bottom of the sea has been raised by vol canic action (Nau, pp. 577, 578; Morison, ch. xxx ; Shaw, ii. 157, 158; Hasselquist, pp. 13o, 131. 284; Irby and Mangles. pp. 351-356; 346-359; Hardy, PP. 201, 204; Monro, 145-148; Elliot, ii. 479 486; Wilde, ii.; Lindsay, ii. 64-66; Stephens, ii. ch. 15 ; Paxton, pp. 159-163; Robinson, ii. 2o4-239. 6o1-608; 661-677; Schubert, iii. 84-92; Olin, ii. 234-245). (See DEAD SEA, THE.) 11. Climate and Seasons. The varia tions of sunshine and rain, which with us ex tend throughout the year, are in Palestine con fined chiefly to the latter part of autumn and the winter. During all the rest of the year the sky is almost uninterruptedly cloudless, and rain very rarely falls.
The autumnal rains usually commence at the latter end of October, or beginning of November, not suddenly, but by degrees; which gives oppor tunity to the husbandman to sow his wheat and barley. The rains come mostly from the west (Luke xii :54) and southwest, and continue for two or three days at a time, falling chiefly in the night ; the wind then changes to the north or cast, and several days of fine weather succeed. During the months of November and December the rains continue to fall heavily; afterwards they return at longer intervals, and are not so heavy; but at no period during the winter do they entirely cease to occur. Rain continues to fall more or less during the month of March, but is afterwards very rare. Morning mists occur as late as May, but rain almost never. Rain in the time of har vest was as incomprehensible to an ancient Jew as snow in summer (Prov. xxvi :t ; I Sam. xii:
17; Amos iv :7). The 'early' and the 'latter' rains, for which the Jewish husbandmen waited with longing (Prov. xvi :15 ; James v :7), seem to have been the first showers of autumn, which revived ihe parched and thirsty soil, and prepared it for the seed; and the later showers of spring, which continued to refresh and forward the ripening crops and the vernal products of the fields.
The cold of winter is not severe,and the ground is never frozen. Snow falls more or less. In the low-lying plains but little falls, and it disappears early in the day ; in the higher lands, as at Jeru salem, it often falls, chiefly in January and Feb ruary, to the depth of a foot or more ; but even there it does not lie long on the ground. Thunder and lightning are frequent in the winter.
In the plains and valleys the heat of summer is oppressive, but not in the more elevated tracts, as at Jerusalem, except when the south wind, sirocco, blows (Luke xii :55). In such high grounds the nights are cool, often with heavy dew. The total absence of rain in summer soon destroys the verdure of the fields, and gives to the general landscape, even in the high country, an aspect of drought and barrenness. No green thing remains but the foliage of the scattered fruit-trees, and occasional vineyards and fields of millet. In autumn the whole land becomes dry and parched ; the cisterns are nearly empty, and all nature, animate and inanimate, looks forward with longing for the return of the rainy season.
ln the hill country the season of harvest is later than in the plains of the Jordan and of the seacoast. The barley harvest is about a fort night earlier than that of wheat. In the plain of the Jordan the wheat harvest is early in May ; in the plains of the coast and of Esdraelon it is towards the latter end of that month ; and in the hills, not until June. The general vintage is in September, but the first grapes ripen in July, and from that time the towns are well supplied with this fruit.
In the Biblical narrative only two seasons of the year, summer and winter, are directly men tioned. Among many Oriental nations, as the Hindus and Arabians, the year has six seasons. The Talmud (Bava Mezia, p. To6. 2) exhibits a similar arrangement, which in this case appears to have been founded on Gen. viii :22, 'While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, shall not cease.' This is the only passage of Scripture which can be construed to have reference to any such di vision of the seasons, and in this it is not very clear. But if such a distribution of the seasons ever existed, the following would seem to have been its arrangement : (1) Seedtime; T5th October to istli December.
(2) Winter; T5th December to T5th February.
(3) Cold; T5th February to r5th April.
(4) Harvest; 15th April to T5th June.
(5) Heat; r5th June to 15th August.
(6) Summer; T5th August to T5th October. The climate of Palestine has always been con sidered healthy, and the inhabitants have for the most part lived to a good old age (Tacit. Hist.