GEOGKAPIIV OV THE JEHID. 15 



The Jcrid ivjrioii was evidently occiipiod by the Komans, and frag- 

 ments of structures l)eh)nirini!: to their epoch are frecpiently met with. 

 Both Nefta (Xei)te) and Tozer (Thusuros) are situated on or near 

 the site of ancient Roman towns. Ahhough frecinently harried and 

 jnUaged hy the nomadic Arabs and by other wihl tribes of the desert, 

 the oases of the Jcrid liave been, so far as we know, in a continuous 

 state of cuUivation throuiihout the Christian era. An Arab author 

 of the eleventh century celebrated in glowing terms their fertility 

 of soil anil the beauty of their dense forests of date i)alms. " No other 

 ])lace in Africa," he wrote, " produces so many ilates." 



Until the completion of the railway from Sfax, on the east coast 

 of Tunis, to the rich jjhosphate mines a few miles to the west of 

 (iafsa (see map, tig. 1), the main artery of comnnniication of the 

 Jcrid with the coast was the road, or rather trail, across the Shott 

 Jerid, through the oases of the Nefzaoua, and then along the southern 

 bank of the Shott-el-Fejej to Gabes, the total distance from Tozer 

 to Gabes being about I'JO miles. All the dates at that time exported 

 from the Jerid to Europe had to be carried over this road by caravan. 

 Now, however, Tozer is only about 85 miles from the end of the rail- 

 way, and communication with the outside world is comparatively 

 easy. 



The total population of the Jcrid oases is about :50,000, Tozer and 

 Nefta each counting about i),000 inhabitants. Practically this entire 

 ])opulation is supported by date culture, as the other agricultural 

 products of the oases are of so little importance as to be almost 

 neo-lio-ible and onlv a verv small fraction of the population sup- 

 jiorts itself by manufacturing various fabrics. 



Nefta, the most western oasis of the Jerid, is said to occnpy over 

 6,000 acres. The number of date palms it contains is varionsly esti- 

 mated at from 180,000 to 385,000, of which only 14,000 are said to be 

 of the Deglet Xoor variety." The oasis consists of two distinct parts; 

 on the north a deep basin, called by the French the " Corbeille " 

 (basket), in which arise the springs that water the gardens, and on 

 the south the fan-shaped larger portion, extending to the low salt 

 flats that fringe the Shott Jerid. The town of Nefta (PL VI, fig. 3) , 

 the holy city of southern Tunis, lies between the two segments of the 

 oasis and is itself separated into two parts by a deep ravine (shown in 

 the foreground of PI. VI, fig. 3). Through this ravine runs the 

 stream that carries the waters of the springs from the '' basket " 

 to the lower part of the oasis. The palms that occupy the " basket " 

 are of unusual beauty. It is said that a few years ago an English 



«- But by the same authority the total number of all kinds is given as only 

 180,000. 

 92 



