THE FRUITS AND FRUIT TREES OF MOROCCO. 



175 



den, redolent wirh the spicy perfumes of the va- 

 rious aromatic flowers and plants which embel- 

 lished this little rural clysium. With such 

 an enchanting outward view, little recked me 

 of the savoury viands or the rich plate of gold 

 which adorned the table before us. After our 

 repast, I took a stroll through these flowery 

 labyrinths, while my little daughter, {Jenny,) 

 was conducted into the harem, to have a glance 

 at those cloistered beauties, a view of whose 

 charms is contraband to all lords of the creation, 

 save their own royal master. IMuch as I am 

 devoted to the beauties of outward nature, I 

 must confess that my thoughts would occa- 

 sionally stray from the floral beauties around 

 me, to those languishing beauties within. And 

 if the glance of a sparkling black eye, and a 

 bewitching smile, and a look of ineffable 

 roguery, thrown obliquely from the barred 

 windows of those upper chambers, were con- 

 traband salutations, who would not be the 

 contrabandist to welcome them ? 



Pardon this digression. I did not intend 

 to reveal the secrets of the harem — nor could 

 I, if I desired, give a minute description of 

 those retreats around which so much marvel- 

 lous and romantic mystery is interwoven. 

 Those among our friends who have the curi- 

 osity to gain further particulars under this 

 head, are referred to the ^'^ Yarns ofonr spin- 

 ning Jenny" — they will speak more authen- 

 tically than can the writer of this. 



The Bashaw invited us to visit his gardens 

 and orange groves, of which he has a number 

 in the vicinity. They were better improved, 

 and in finer condition, than any other Moorish 

 gardens we have visited. The grounds and 

 walks were clean, and the trees thrifty and 

 fruitful. The oranges were larger than any I 

 had seen, and were sweet, and of a delicious 

 flavor. 



Orange and lemon trees arc usually planted 

 in rows, about twenty feet apart, each way : 

 and the branches often meet together. The 



largest and most forest-looking trees I remem- 

 ber to have seen, were in an old garden near 

 Argelia. The Moors seldom trim their trees 

 — they arc allowed to grow in all the wild 

 luxuriance of nature. While injurious in 

 some respects, this system is beneficial in 

 one, at least — it keeps the earth moist be- 

 neath them. 



These trees require a great quantity of wa- 

 ter; and as it never rains in this country 

 through the summer, they require to be wa- 

 tered by artificial means. The fruit may be 

 bought here, in its season, at twenty to twen- 

 ty-five cents a hundred — or much less by the 

 wholesale. 



The Lime and Citron grow here in per- 

 fection. Their culture, mode of treatment, 

 &c., are similar to that of the orange and 

 lemon. 



The Palm, or Date. — Although there 

 are several thriftily growing trees of the Palm 

 in Tangier and vicinity, they bear no Dates 



Fig. 52.—Dne'J Date. 



And I believe none upon the sea-coast ever 

 produce fruit ; it is said that the salt-water 

 air is prejudicial to the growth of the fruit. 

 But the dates that come from the interior of 

 the Empire, or from the borders of the De- 

 sert, are the finest I have ever seen from any 

 country. The above is a drawing of one se- 

 lected at random from a box I have purchased 

 to take to the States with me. The fruit is 



