Scientific Inteliigence— Botany. 187 
BOTANY. 
12. Flora of the Date Country and Sahara,—M. d’Escayrac de 
Lauture has announced to the Academy of Sciences of Paris, his re- 
turn from a journey to the date country and Sahara. He brings with 
him about 200 species of plants, forming the peculiar flora of the 
Great Desert, and of the region of the oases. Some of these plants, 
although already known, are interesting in respect to geographical 
botany ; and, in this point of view, the traveller mentions a fact 
worthy of observation, namely, the retardation of vegetation in the 
oasis, which is occasioned by the shade of the date trees, whose dense 
rampart affords future security to the botanical species, by arresting 
the hurricanes of sand which, in the Sahara, sometimes efface all 
marks of vegetation over a space of many days’ journey, and for a 
period of many ages. 
M. d’Eseayrac’s collection contains a pretty large number of 
species usually met with on the shores of the sea, and which find 
their way into the desert, either around the vast plains of moist salt, 
such as the Lake of Tazer (erroneously named by geographers the 
Lake El Oudeleh), or around the brackish springs containing sea salt, 
salts of lime, and magnesia. 
The oasis, according to the remark of M. d'Escayrac, following in 
general the course of a river without outlet, or of some ravine which 
the sand is not long in filling up, present, like the richest plains of 
Lombardy, the spectacle of many different cultures one above 
another. 
Below the palm Degle, planted in quincunx form, and surrounded 
at its base with a pedestal of earth into which its roots penetrate, 
are found orange trees covered with fruit almost the whole year, 
olives, figs, apricots, peaches ; the vine twines from one date tree to 
another ; and lower down we perceive pepper, beans, dourrak, barley, 
henné, and tobacco kept in constant humidity by the most. skilful 
irrigation. 
Besides the male date, Dokkar, M. d’Escayrac says, that he de- 
termined about thirty principal varieties of date trees ; among which, 
he particularly mentions the Menakher, which yields fruit the length 
of the finger, and whose rarity and price are such, that the Bey of 
Tunis is almost the only individual who can afford to eat it; the 
Degle, the tallest and most majestic, whose fruit is commonly brought 
to Europe, and eaten in the country by the wealthier classes ; the 
Halig which yields food to the poor and to slaves ; lastly, the Am- 
meri and Saroti, whose flowers rarely fruitful, often yield dates 
curved upon themselves owing to a decay of the kernel, and to which 
the Arabs give the name of Sich; it is from this that the fable has 
arisen of dates without kernels. ‘The dates of these two varieties 
which are fertile, are given to horses and beasts of burden in absence 
of B05 which they always prefer.—(From L’ Institute, No, 821, 
 p. 305. 
