36 DATE VARIETIES AND DATE CULTURE IN TUNIS. 



ALKALI. 



^Aliere the gardens are well cared for and receive frequent irriga- 

 tions, the soils contain very little readily soluble salts, and no trace of 

 saline efflorescence is to be seen. But in neglected parts of the oasis, 

 and especially in the low-lying lands situated near the Shott Jerid, the 

 ground is often covered with a glistening white crust of salt, often to a 

 depth of half an inch or more. Throughout the oasis one sees pieces of 

 land that have been left for several years without irrigation, although 

 surrounded on all sides by well-cared-for gardens. While the soil of 

 the gardens only a few rods distant does not contain a large amount 

 of readily soluble salts, the surface of the abandoned tract is usually 

 covered with a white efflorescence, and bears a scattered vegetation of 

 fleshy-stemmed *' pickle weeds " or other salt-loving plants and an 

 occasional small, stunted date palm. (PL II, fig. 1.) 



Obviously all that is needed to rid the soil of such tracts of its 

 excess of salts and to render it in all respects suitable for cultivation 

 is the construction of drains, coupled with abundant irrigation. The 

 soils are light enough and their slope is sufficient to render it an easy 

 matter to wash out the salt in a short time. This the natives thor- 

 oughly apiDreciate. The writer saw several long-neglected gardens 

 at Tozer that were in process of reclamation. In commencijig opera- 

 tions the ground is worked over to a depth of 3 feet (PL II, fig. 2), 

 and in case a heavy crust of salt has accumulated this is frequently 

 scraped off and carted away. The latter operation is unnecessary, 

 although doubtless helping to shorten the period of reclamation. 

 Xowhere in the Jerid does there appear to be the least difficulty in 

 reclaiming salt land if this method of flooding is followed. At 

 Nefta, especially in the part of the oasis nearest the shott, new gar- 

 dens of date palms are being established in land that is white with salt 

 (PL VII, fig. 2). The natives agi'ee that this can be removed very 

 rapidly and completely if proper methods are used. 



In the following table are presented the results of chemical analy- 

 ses of soil samples taken in different parts of the oasis of Tozer, 

 the first six numbers being identical with those in the table of mechan- 

 ical analyses on page 34. 



92 



