TEMPERATURE. 21 



At the present time the culture of the olive as carried on at Gafsa 

 leaves much to be desired, and the jj^ardens are <j^enerall\' not well 

 cared for. The pomegranates of Gafsa are considered the best grown 

 in Tunis. 



CLIMATE. 



The climate of southern Tunis is essentiality that of a desert, al- 

 though modified by the nearness of the sea. This modification is, of 

 course, most marked at (iabes, on the coast, which has a more humid 

 atmosphere and lower summer temperatures than the other oasis 

 groups, and is consecpiently not Avell adapted to the culture of the 

 finest varieties of dates. At Gafsa the air is drier than at Gabes, 

 but the high altitude (1,000 feet) lowers the temperatures and shortens 

 the summer to a degree that renders this oasis unsuitable for the late- 

 ripening varieties. Only in the Jerid and the Xefzaoua oases do we 

 find the climatic conditions that are necessary for the perfect ripening 

 of the finest sorts of dates. 



TEMPERATI RE. 



In the following tables data are given for five localities in Tunis 

 where the date palm is the principal culture, viz, Tozer and Nefta 

 (Jerid), Kebili (Nefzaoua), Gabes, and Gafsa. The normals for the 

 different localities and for different months have been compiled from 

 records of observations covering periods of unequal length, being 

 from nine to thirteen years at Tozer. The monthly normals for Gabes 

 and Gafsa have been corrected so as to agree with the normals of 

 fifteen years for each seai-on (winter, spring, summer, and autumn)." 

 All temperatures are given in degrees Fahrenheit. 



a As given by G. Ginestous (Etude snr le Climat de la Tiinisie, Bui. Dir. Agr. 

 ft Com., Tunis, 1902, pp. (54, 210, 3:^>4, 413; 1903. p. 103). The discrepancy be- 

 tween the seasonal normals given by this author and the monthly normals 

 compiled from various sources is usually only a fraction of 1 degree Fahren- 

 heit for each month, although sometimes amounting to 3 or 4 degrees. The 

 monthly normals have been compiled from the records published in the Annales 

 du Bureau Central Meteorologique de France and in the quarterly Bulletin 

 de la Direction de I'Agriculture et du Commerce de Tunis. Those for Nefta 

 and Kebili, localities for which seasonal normals are not given by Ginestous, 

 are based upon short periods of observation, in no case exceeding six years, 

 and in some cases of only three years, although generally four or five years. 

 92 



