niiikes ir,s holes, wliicli ure iiseil for iiestiii;; by (^enantlie Q^ Suxicola'") moenta, 

 and are sometimes iuliabited lij' the dreaded, deadly Asp (Cf/risd'x cnrnvtiDi), the 

 Lefa of the Arabs, and a beautiful harmless snake, Zammiix ilhiiliiint. In these 

 hillocks one sees disaj)[)earinj^ the jiretty lizard, .\r((iit/toiliir/)/lii,s sciiti-Udtnx. and 

 in them hides the Mocturn;iI Gecko, Steinx/'irti/lux ijnttittus. Also the beetles, the 

 common Anth/K scxmacuiita and (xraphiptel'iia, and the rai'e and gi.i;'antic Antliin 

 rciiufor, as well as same 'I'fiwlirionidne, disappear among these hillocks, the former 

 with wonderful swiftness. In this sandy plain also stony patches occur, like 

 little islands in the sea of sand, and on these is found the ))ale (xale.rida. fhc/tlne 

 (leichli'ri. Along the roads and on the sand we see (ialeriiln. cristntd arcnirohi, 

 which it is alnmst impossible to miss, while the other form is easily 

 overlooked when due does not know e.Kactly wluM'e to search for it; this was 



UUii L'AMF AT UoKU.i CHEtiliA. 



the reason why we only discovered its real home on our way back. Ammomfini's 

 plioeniriird (irenicnior (A. cinctm-n anctorum, errore) is found all over the stony 

 ground, and it is jnet with almost immediately south of Bordj Saada. 



From Kef el Dor, where there is a heliographic telegraph station of the 

 Governmeut, one descends into a vast jilain of hard soil saturated with salt and 

 saltpetre, very tedious and with very little bird-life, dry enough at that time, but 

 covered with water after heavy rains and dangerous for camels, which easily sliji 

 on the greasy surface. Tliis district lies, like the whole Chott Melrhir, below the 

 level of the sea. In dry times the salt crystallises on the surface, and glitters 

 in places like snow. No vegetation is visible, with the exception of isolated, thick, 

 roundish tufts of halo[)hilous plants of a greyish green colour, all of two species, 

 llalocitemoii Ktrohiluceiim and Limoriiiixtntm giii/onidiinm. 



This is the country of the "mirage" or ''fata morgana." There appears constantly 

 in the distance what seems to be a vast lake, dotted with islands and towering 

 clusters of trees, and on pushing onwards nothing but the same eternal grey- 

 green clumps of bushes or some kind of stipa meets the eye. 



In spite of this wonderful spectacle one is cpiite (ileased when at last 



