222 BOTANICAL INFOKMATION. 



without reaching the hills, from the plentiful harvest I collected before 

 reaching them. I reached them today (March 17th), but here my 

 flowery land terminated, beyond them was nothing but the wild Libyan 

 desert ; but even here I found some old acquaintances from the deserts 

 of Egypt, a HeliantJiemum^ Linaria Mgyptiaca^ Gymnocarpum decan- 

 drum^ etc., and I shall still find several others as the season advances, 

 which I recognized in leaf 5 altogether our harvest from Gabes will be 

 satisfactory. 



It is time now to tell you, that since I have been here, I have learnt 

 that the troops sent to collect tribute in the Djerid (as I passed I saw 

 them encamped under the walls of Souza) had been very ill received by 

 the tribes, who are suffering both from the deficient harvest of last 

 year, and the liurricanes of the winter, which have immensely dimi- 

 nished their crop of dates. In addition to this the two tribes of the 

 Beni Zid and the Hamema are at war; the Beni Zid camp westward of 

 Gabes, the Hamema to the east of the Gofsa, the Capsa of the Eomans. 

 The Beni Zid have made a razzia amongst the mapalia of the Hamema : 

 the conflict was bloody ] the conquerors themselves lost fifty men, and 

 the Hamema, they say, thrice that number: these latter are now pre- 

 paring for vengeance. Thus the Djerid and the interior of the Eegency 

 are at this moment inaccessible. Caravans have already been plundered ; 

 my plans must therefore be changed : first I shall see what there is 

 behind our line of Palm-trees, then I shall try if possible to get to 

 Hamma; if not, I must limit myself in the east to Gabes and the Lo- 

 tophagitis. 



You will like to hear how we fare in these wild regions. Our carte is 

 simple enough, — fowls and mutton, mutton and fowls. The Jew is our 

 cook and butler : not that we have wine, but in its place the Lagrai, or 

 milk of Palms. The sap of the tree is obtained by means of a circular 

 wound made by cutting off the crown of the leaves, sparing only the 

 heart ; the wound is kept open daily by fresh scarifications. A palm- 

 tree thus treated will yield eight or ten litres of juice in the twenty-four 

 hours, and this during three or four months. This operation does not 

 kill the tree, but it will not bear fruit the year it has been tapped, and 

 in two years it may be tapped again. I have seen trees that had been 

 tapped three tunes : they are easily distinguished by the narrowing of 

 the stem at the place operated upon, and its smoothness, from the ab- 

 sence of the projecting petioles. 



