220 BOTANICAL INFORMATION. 



BOTANICAL INFOEMATION 



Letter from M. Kralik*, on his Journey in the Regency of Tunis, ad- 

 dressed to and communicated hy P. B. Webb, Esq. 



Gabes, March 10, 1854. 



I wrote to you from Tunisf , and now I address you again " prope 

 barbaras Syrtes, ubi Maura semper sestuat unda," I told you I was to 

 make the journey with M. Andrea Mattel, a merchant of Sfax, whose 

 brother Toramaso accompanied M. Pelissier throughout his long pere- 

 grinations. Our caravan was insignificant, consisting, besides M. 

 Mattei, myself, and my Negro, of a Jewish merchant and three Sisters of 

 Charity, who were going to establish schools at Souza, and yet an escort 

 was never thought of. We were joined, as we proceeded, by a few other 

 travellers. You may judge, therefore, with how much security the 

 coasts of this Eegency can now be visited. The interior would be 

 equally safe, were it not for circumstances which I shall presently allude 

 to. At any rate, I would never advise a naturalist to join a caravan : 

 in a caravan he is no more his own master than in a diligence or on a 

 railroad, unless indeed he is thoroughly versed in the vegetation of the 

 country, and will only stop the party now and then for some object 

 which will compensate for the delay. 



The very first day, as soon as we reached the eastern coast, the rains, 

 so continual at Tunis, ceased altogether. We slept near Hamamet, in 

 a large foudouk (caravanserai of the Turks). On the following day we 

 reached Sfax, and remained there an entire day, beneath the hospitable 

 roof of the French ConsuL 



Our route from Hamamet was most monotonous, running between 

 the sand-hills of the coast and a long lake, which probably M. Pelissier 

 saw only in summer, as he scarcely marks it on his map, though it 

 extends from Hamamet to beyond Herglea. Even now it was begin- 

 ning to shrink, but the land left dry was perfectly naked. During our 

 halt at Sfax I made two herborizations, and gathered a Nonnea in great 

 abundance (N,puUa ?), a Euphorbia^ perhaps nothing more than Nias- 

 ensis^ Fumaria agraria, Fagonia Creiica, two or three LinariaSy etc. 



Leaving Sfax, we turned aside from the coast, and struck right across 



♦ Now coQecting ia Tunis, as mentiooed at p. 94. 

 t This letter ucvcr came to hand. — P. B. W, 



