Introduction xi. 



southern boundary of the Central region and the southern shores of 

 the Chotts DJerid and Rharsa, together with a zone of country extend- 

 ing along the south-east coast of the Regency as far as the Tripoli 

 frontier, this zone or belt reaching inland as far as the Matmata range 

 of mountains. The elevation of this region is considerably lower than 

 that of the Central one, there being a great dip in the land immediately 

 to the north of Gafsa. The Chotts or Sebkas cover a large extent of 

 country and form an important feature of this region. Although not 

 quite so low in level as the Chott Melghir in Algeria, they are in some 

 parts as low as, or lower than, the level of the sea. Mountains of a 

 certain altitude are to be found in different parts, but the general 

 character of the country is arid and more or less desert-like, being only 

 redeemed in some measure by the oases, of which the most important 

 are those of Gabes, Gafsa, Tozer, and Nefta. Rain falls but seldom 

 here, and some parts of the country may be said to be practically rain- 

 less. I have, however, known torrential rains fall at Gafsa, the streets 

 of that town being flooded for several hours. The flora, except in the 

 oases, is scanty and dwarfed, and is confined chiefly to the banks of 

 the oueds, or water-courses, which are dry, as a rule, above ground, but 

 contain sufficient moisture below the surface to sustain life in certain 

 plants, such as tamarisks and oleanders. In the oases, however, par- 

 ticularly those where water is plentiful, a rich and luxuriant vegeta- 

 tion may be found ; below the magnificent date-palms, fruit trees of 

 all descriptions flourish, and below these crops of corn and vegetables 

 are grown, not an inch of land being uncultivated, or a drop of the 

 precious life-giving water lost. The temperature of this region is high 

 during the summer months, but very pleasant in winter, and occa- 

 sionally even cold, falling as low as freezing point. 



(4) The Desert region, consisting of the inland country south of 

 the Chotts, is bounded on the east by the Matmata mountains, and a 

 continuation of that chain running to the Tripoli frontier. This 

 region is composed chiefly of sandy desert or sand-dunes formed by 

 blown sand, intermixed here and there with more solid ground, par- 

 ticularly on the east, in some parts of which the desert is distinctly 

 petraic or rocky, and the hills of a conical shape, with flat summits. 



As might be expected, the vegetation of this region is extremely 

 scanty and is limited to a few desert plants which eke out an existence 

 in spots where there may be a little moisture. Most of the country, 

 however, is practically rainless. Between the temperature of this and 



