174 



THE FRUITS AND FRUIT TREES OF MOROCCO. 



The Orange and Lemon. — These are 

 exceedingly fine and grow to great perfection. 

 The fruit is usually above the medium as to 

 size, and sometimes it is quite large, as will be 

 seen by the above drawing of a lemon raised 

 in a Moorish garden on the eastern slope of 

 Mount Washington, some two miles west of 

 Tangier. The trees are in blossom nearly or 

 quite every month in the year, and the fruit 

 of the various kinds is fit for use from Sep- 

 tember to June, and will remain upon the 

 trees nearly that length of time, if left un- 

 plucked. The same trees have on them fresh 

 blossoms and ripe fruit at the same time — and 

 thus produce a succession or continuation of 

 fruit for nearly three-fourths of the year. The 

 trees, although slow of growth, grow to a large 

 size — I have seen some with bodies over a foot 

 in diameter, and from twenty to twenty-five 

 feet high, with tops large and branching in 

 proportion. In cultivating, the Moors graft the 

 young seedling, when two or three years old, 

 as they stand in the nursery, by cutting off the 

 stock near the ground, and inserting the graft 

 in a manner similar to our " whip grafting." 

 The best age for transplanting the young trees 

 is at two or three years from the graft. The 

 transplanting may be done at any time during 

 the winter, u-hen the trees are vol only in 

 lloovi, hut in friiit. This is quite the reverse 

 of the theory and practice we have in the 

 States, on this point. But I have tested the 

 the truth of it. In January, 1849, I procur- 

 ed about fifty young orange and lemon trees 

 from the garden or nursery of the Moor at 

 IMount Washington, (above alluded to,) of from 

 three to six years growth from the graft. 

 When taken up, nearly all of them were in 

 blossom, and several had on them full-grown 

 fruit — and, with the exception of two or three 

 which were too old to be transplanted success- 

 fully, they all lived and grew thriftily ; some 

 which had fruit on when they were taken up, 

 bore also the following season. These trees, 



like all others, are planted very deep. At 

 first, on seeing what a deep pit my Moorish 

 gardener was digging for them, (some three 

 feet,) I said to him that he was digging their 

 graves. '■'■No, mazian"' — very good, replied 

 he. And I found this deep planting to be ne- 

 cessary, in order to have the advantage of the 

 moisture which could not be obtained near the 

 surface of the earth. And as there is no hard 

 pan in the soil, the roots penetrate to a great 

 depth in the light, porous earth. 



There are a number of large Orangeries in 

 the neighborhood of Tangier. The Bashaw 

 of Tangier has a very fine one, embracing, I 

 shovild judge, eight or ten acres, and some 500 

 thrifty trees. He has also a still larger one at 

 Lareche, his summer residence, some 60 miles 

 from this, on the Atlantic coast — which I vi- 

 sited in November last. This plantation eon- 

 tains about fifty acres, and perhaps 1000 trees 

 in full bearing — many of them quite large. 

 There is a fine stream of water running 

 through the plantation, with reservoirs, foun- 

 tains, and conduits, for irrigation, that impart 

 to the whole an appearance of freshness and 

 fertility'. In the midst of these Elysian bowers, 

 with pretty summer houses hard by, the Bashaw 

 has luxurious bathing fountains, where he at 

 times regales himself, and where, occasional- 

 ly, the dark-eyed houris of his harem are per- 

 mitted to indulge in their favorite luxury, 

 with all the voluptuousness of oriental life. 



Some of the finest orange groves that we 

 have seen, belong to the Bashaw of Tetuan. 

 On a visit to Tetuan, in December, we were 

 invited to breakfast with His Excellency of 

 " many tailed honors," at his castle. The ta- 

 ble was spread in a beautifully arched alcove 

 of the palace, with a trellised, vine-covered 

 arbor connecting it with a lovely marble fount, 

 with its sparkling, chrystal waters swimming 

 with gold and silver fish, and these of many a 

 variegated and brilliant hue. Spread out be- 

 yond and around these, was a pretty flower gar- 



