p.

original in this process - but the thing is that they have
had the energy & initiative to make the necessary machinery
for themselves & get the thing done. Necessity is the mother
of invention - & war even more so.
Another of their troubles was that their seed potatoes all came
from Ireland, & that is no longer possible - & the Palestine
climate is too hot. So, they have built themselves a large
refrigerator - 100 ft x 40 ft - made of their cheap wood,
two layers & with an insulating layer of straw in
between, & cool air, cooled on a simple ammonia
system, is circulated by electric fans - & in this building
they keep their seed potatoes. Nothing very original or brilliant
again, but they have done the thing. And all their seeds
in general come from Europe - & now they cultivate their
own. It would seem that those particular markets are
lost for ever to us.
This settlement, by the way, is of 250 men, women & children.
They also keep bees, & this year have had 18 tons of honey.
They grow enough corn & crops for their own use & their animals
- also vegetables , also cows - also poultry, all of which is done
on the incubation system.
We had the usual good tea when we arrived, of bread, &
butter, & jam, & fruit. And after our look round, we had an
excellent dinner, the same meal as everybody else. Fish &
fresh salad - meat & pototoes & carrots - & then soup at the
end instead of at the beginning - & fresh fruit & coffee.
What more could you want? The people really seem to be
very happy & contented - they all lead a hard & healthy
life - there is no synagogue & no religion - they all go to school
in their own place until they are about 10 or 12, & then they
go to the central school, for all the communal settlements
at Mishmar [ E ?], until they are 17, & then they begin