UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 189 



the dialect of Amboyna. Mr. Lumley said that, 

 as these trees grow about ten feet asunder, an 

 English acre could contain four hundred and 

 thirty-five of them; and, supposing their average 

 produce to be only one third of what my uncle 

 mentioned, it would amount to eight thousand 

 seven hundred pounds yearly of meal, from each 

 acre. This, he said, was three times as much as 

 would be considered a good crop of corn in this 

 country. Sago is collected from five different 

 palms, but not in the same abundance as from 

 the real sago-tree. 



We then examined some fine specimens of 

 the date-tree, so famous in all our Eastern tales, 

 and so delightful to all travellers. Mr. Lumley 

 has often seen it near Lisbon, where it grows 

 well; but the fruit never ripens perfectly in 

 Europe. It is found in great abundance in 

 Africa, and particularly on the borders of the 

 vast desert of Sahara, where the parched sandy 

 soil is so unfit for the production of corn. But 

 the date-tree supplies the deficiency, and fur- 

 nishes the inhabitants with almost the whole of 

 their subsistence. Forests of this most useful 

 palm may be seen there, of several leagues in 

 circumference : their extent, however, depends 

 on the quantity of water that can be procured, 

 as they require constant moisture. The Arabs 

 say these trees are very long lived ; and there is 

 scarcely any part of them which they do not 



