The botany of Palestine is rich and varied, resembling that of Asia Minor. Among Its trees are the pine, oak, elder, and hawthorn in the northern and higher districts, ;mil the olive, fig, carob, and sycamore elsewhere. The cultivated fruits are the vine, apple. pear, apricot, quince, plum, orange, lime, banana, almond, and prickly pear. Wheat, barley, peas, potatoes, and European vegetables, cotton, millet, rice, maize, and sugar. cane are among its products. The date now ripens its fruit only in the s. and on the sea-board. The brilliant flowers which in spring enamel the surface and tinge the entire landscape, comprise the adonis, ranunculus, mallow, poppy, pink, anemone, and geranium. In the Jordan valley, 900 or 1000 ft. below the sea-level, the vegetation is tropical in its character, resembling that of Arabia; the nubk (spina christi), the oleander, and the small yellow "apples of Sodom" are conspicuous. The most valuable products of the vegetable kingdom are derived from the vine, fig, olive, and mulberry trees. Wine for home use is made in all the central and southern districts; the best is made at Hebron from the grapes of Eshcol. Olive-oil is a valuable export.
The wild animals of Palestine comprise the Syrian bear in Lebanon, the panther, jackal, fox, hyena, wolf, wild boar, gazelle, and fallow-deer; the lion is pow unknown. Plie domestic animals are the Arabian camel, ass, mule, horse, buffalo, ox, and broad tailed sheep. Among 'the birds are the eagle, vulture, kite, owl, nightingale, jay, and
kingfisher—the latter of brilliant plumage—the cuckoo, heron, stork, crow, partridge, and sparrow. Fish swarm in the sea of Galilee, and bats and lizards abound.
The divisions of Palestine in Old Testament times were into 94. tribes in the w., and 2 tribes in the e. of the Jordan. In New Testament times, on the w. of the Jordan, the provinces of Galilee in the n., Samaria in the middle, and Judea in the s.; on the e. of the Jordan, Perea and Decapolis. The boundaries of tribes and provinces are very uncertain. Its modern divisions have changed with every new race and dynasty of conquerors. Under Turkish rule, Palestine is comprised in the vilayet of Syria, and contains the two subpashalics of Acre and Jerusalem. The present population is very mixed, comprising Syrians, .Mohammedans, Maronites, Thames, Christians, Jews, and Turks. The Jews are all foreigners, almost exclusively inhabiting the four holy cities Jernsalem, Hebron, Tiberius, and Safed; their whole number was, in 1871, estimated at only 10,000. The country is oppressed by Turkish avarice, and overrlin by the preda tory Arabs. The Palestine exploration has done good work in the identification of Biblical and classical sites, etc. See SYRIA