THE FRUITS AND FRUIT TREES OF MOROCCO. 



173 



light Las free access; also that success is 

 more certain in summer than in winter. The 

 perseverance of a gardener ought never to be 

 exhausted; he will be always discovermg 



something worth knowing, and the results to 

 which he arrives will recompense him for the 

 care and patience expended in his experi- 

 ments. 



THE FRUITS AND FRUIT TREES OF MOROCCO. 



BY T. H. HYATT, LATE U. S. CONSUL AT TANGIER. 



A. J. Downing, Esq, — Dear Sir: Know- 

 ing the deep interest you take in all horticul- 

 tural subjects, and particularly in that branch 

 which relates to Pomology, or the culture and 

 and production of fruit, and appreciating, in 

 some measure, the great pleasure and instruc- 

 tion, which, in common with thousands of my 

 countrymen, I have derived from the perusal 

 of your valuable works on these subjects, and 

 from your excellent JMagazine, I feel it a 

 pleasant duty to add my mite, small as it may 

 be, towards forwarding the laudable objects 

 of your publication, by communicating such 

 items of knowledge in relation to the Fruits 

 and Fruit Trees of this strange country, (about 

 which so little is known abroad,) as may be 

 pleasing to you, and interesting, if not in- 

 structive, to your readers. And I propose to 

 illustrate the size, form, &c., of some of the 

 kinds of fruit I shall describe, by such draw- 

 ings as I have taken, from time to time, and 

 which I happen to have at hand. 



The Empire of Morocco, from the Great 

 Desert to the Straits of Gibraltar, or the bor- 

 ders of the MediteiTanean, embraces a lati- 

 tude of about seven and a half degrees — ex- 

 tending from lat. 28=^ N. to 35° 48m. With- 

 in this territory the climate is mild, uniform, 

 and remarkably temperate. There is never 

 any snow, and seldom any ice or frost, except- 

 ing upon the summit of the Atlas Mountains, 

 or in their immediate vicinity ; and these per- 

 petually snow-clad mountains stand as an ev- 

 erlasting and effectual barrier to check the 

 dire sirocco of the desert, and to prevent the 



blasting winds from sweeping over and laying 

 desolate the fruitful regions of the Empire 

 which lies to the north of the mountains ; and 

 while the winds are thus disarmed of their 

 noxious and withering power, and made bland 

 and genial and invigorating, the waters which 

 flow from these perpetual fountains of irriga- 

 tion, replenish the streams and rivulets, and 

 distiltheir fructifying influences upon the plains 

 and vallies, far and near. Thus wnsely does 

 the God of Nature ordain all things. 



With such a climate, and with a soil natural- 

 ly rich, fertile and deep, and possessing the ele- 

 ments of indestructibility to such a remarkable 

 dcOTce as never to seem to wear out or deterio- 

 rate — what might not be produced by an en- 

 lightened system of culture ! And yet; with 

 the semi-barbarous modes of culture which pre- 

 vail, or rather in spite of them, some of the 

 finest kinds and qualities of fruit in the world, 

 are produced in this country. Most of the 

 tropical fruits, and many of the more hardy, 

 grow here, in perfection. The former suc- 

 ceed, however, better than the latter, and are 

 much finer. In the gardens and plantations 

 about Tangier, Tetuan, Lareche, and, I be- 

 lieve, nearly all the principal cities of the Em- 

 pire, the Orange and Lemon, the Olive. 

 Pomegranate and Fig, the Lime and Citron, 

 the Apple, Pear, Plum, Cherry, Peach, Apri- 

 cot, Quince, Almond, Mulberry, &c., as well 

 as the vine fruits, the Grape, Sti-awberry. 

 Blackberry, &c., are cultivated more or less 

 extensively. But let us treat of them more 

 in detail. 



