B A R B A R Y. 



2J9 



Mineral. 



Animal. 



Quadru. 



pedj. 



J3arbarT. to a considerable size ; the argan tree, which bears a 

 fruit resembling the walnut, yielding an excellent oil ; 

 large forests or oak, and corkwood ; and a peculiar 

 tree called arar or sandrac, (supposed to be the arbor 

 K'itm of Theophrastus, ) remarkable for its property of 

 resisting the rot, and the worm. Honey and wax, 

 also, though not strictly speaking vegetable sub- 

 stances, may here be mentioned, as forming no despi- 

 cable part of Barbary produce. 



The prevailing mineral in this country is salt, which 

 seems to pervade the whole soil, and of which there 

 are innumerable pits, rocks, and springs. Salt-petre, 

 also, is extracted in great quantities, from the earth 

 of certain districts ; and many sulphureous fountains, 

 some temperately warm, and others intensely hot, are 

 found in different parts of the country. There is 

 very little stone of any kind fit for building ; and 

 though the Numidian marble is highly celebrated by 

 the ancients, (Plin. 1.5. c. 3.) none of it has been ob- 

 served in modern times. Several crystals and spars, 

 specimens of talc, mica, and pyrites, and a great variety 

 of petrefactions, have been noticed by trasellers. There 

 are mines of iron, lead, copper, silver, antimony, and 

 a mixed ore of antimony lead and gold, in the moun- 

 tainous districts ; but only the three first mentioned 

 metals are wrought to any great extent. 



Barbary is richly stored with all the various classes 

 of animated nature; and its domesticated animals 

 have long constituted the most valuable possessions of 

 the inhabitants. 



The horse, formerly the distinguishing glory of 

 Numidia, is now greatly degenerated. When the 

 Arabs found, that the best of their stud were gener- 

 ally seized and carried off by their Turkish despots, 

 they soon began to neglect the improvement of the 

 breed ; but those of West Barbary are still very much 

 renowned for .their fleetness and activity. They have, 

 in general, a stronger sinew than the European horses; 

 and, after a little training, become extremely manage- 

 able. They are taught to have only two paces, a 

 walk and a gallop ; to stop short suddenly, when 

 checked at full speed ; and to stand still, whenever 

 the rider may choose to quit them. Except among 

 the Shelluh tribes, the mares are kept for breeding, 

 and the stallions only used for riding. The ass and 

 mule of this country, though not equal in size and 

 beauty to those of Spain, are very hardy and service- 

 able creatures, requiring little attendance, and gene- 

 rally employed both in riding and bearing burdens. 

 The kumrah or jumar, a small animal, the offspring 

 ef the ass and the cow, has also been mentioned as a 

 native of Barbary ; and Dr Shaw has described one 

 which he saw at Algiers, and which, he remarks, was 

 not regarded there as an uncommon spectacle. But 

 Mr Jackson, in all his travels in the west of Barbary, 

 never 6aw such a creature, or found any person who 

 had seen it, though he was informed that it was some- 

 times seen in Biledulgerid ; and its existence is still 

 considered by many naturalists as very questionable. 

 The cow are small, and yield very little milk, seldom 

 more than a quart at a time ; but their flesh is tender 

 and well tasted. Sheep are to be found in all parts 

 of Barbary ; and, owing to the abundance of aroma- 

 tic herbs in the pasturage, the mutton possesses a pe- 

 culiarly fine flavour. There is a species of this ani- 



mal very common in the eastern districts, which have Barbary. 

 immense tails, containing a hard, solid fat, which is ' 

 greatly esteemed by the natives, and which bears a 

 near resemblance to marrow. On the confines of Sa- 

 hara is another species, similar in shape and size to 

 the fallow deer ; but their flesh is dry, and their wool 

 of a bad quality. The wool, indeed, of this country 

 varies considerably ; some of it is as coarse as hair, and 

 some again as soft and fine as silk. The goats of Bar- 

 bary are extremely prolific, and their exportation forms 

 a considerable article of commerce; but they are chief- 

 ly valued on account of the leather, which is prepa- 

 red from their skins. The camel is unquestionably 

 the most useful animal in this quarter of the globe, 

 on account of its well known capacity of enduring 

 the utmost fatigue, and at the same time requiring a 

 small proportion of nourishment. It can travel four 

 or five days without water ; can subsist for 2i hours 

 upon one half gallon of barley and beans, or a few- 

 balls of flour ; and can carry a load of seven or eight, 

 quintals, travelling 10 or 15 hours in the day, at the 

 rate of 1\ miles in the hour. Dromedaries are more 

 rare in Barbary than camels, and are generally brought 

 from Guinea or Arabia. They are remarkable for 

 the swiftness of their motion : and there is a particu- 

 lar species of this animal, which both Dr Shaw and 

 Mr Jackson assure us, will go over more ground in 

 one day than the fleetest horse can go in S or 10. It 

 is called the heirie or desert camel ; and of this ex- 

 traordinary animal the last mentioned gentleman has 

 given a most interesting description, to which we 

 must refer our readers. We may merely inform 

 them, that this creature is guided by a leathern thong, 

 attached to a ring, put through its upper lip ; that 

 it can travel, on an emergency, seven days without 

 water ; that there are three kinds varying in excellence 

 and value, the telatayee, that is, performing in one 

 day a journey which employs a horse three days, and 

 one of these is equivalent to the price of 30 camels, 

 the scbayee, which travels seven days journey in one, 

 and which are worth 100 camels, and the tasayee, 

 nine days journey in one, which are extremely rare, 

 and which are worth 200 camels. The desert horse, 

 called Sh'rubah Er'reeh, signifying ixindsucher, (be- 

 cause the animal, when in speed, hangs out his tongue 

 as if sucking the air,) bears the same relation to the 

 common horse, that the desert camel does to the ca- 

 mel of burden. His body is slender like that of a 

 greyhound, his legs small, and his chest very broad. 

 He is used chiefly in hunting the ostrich ; but is not 

 so well calculated for crossing the desert, as he lives 

 entirely on camels milk, and therefore needs to be ac- 

 companied by two she cameh in such long excursions. 

 Among the wild quadrupeds of Barbary may be 

 mentioned the large herds of horned cattle of the 

 neat and deer species, which abound in the moun- 

 tainous districts ; and of which one of the most re- 

 markable is the Fishtail or Lerwee, as it is called by 

 DrShaw,orthe^4oc/rf, according to Mr Jackson. It 

 resembles a young heifer of about a year old ; has a 

 long mane or beard from the lower part of its neck ; 

 resides in the most inaccessible places ; throws itself 

 headlong over lofty precipices when pursued, gene- 

 rally falling on its horns or shoulders ; is very seldom 

 caught, and is not to be approached without great 



