scattered ranks of rosy-winged flamingoes. In 1892, and earlier, vessels of any 

 tonnage were compelled to stand out to anchor in the gulf at some distance 

 from the coast ; very much as was formerly the case with ocean-going liners 

 at Largs Bay. In those times one landed at Goletta, erstwhile the Port 

 Adelaide or Pyraeus of Tunis, and thence proceeded to the capital by wa v 

 of a railway line skirting the shores of the lake. All this, however, has been 

 changed now ; between the sea and the city of Tunis, the French have dug 

 out a fairway through the lagoon ; and to-day for all purposes of vessels 

 that visit it, Tunis is a seaport and Goletta a living ruin. 



We set foot on the wharfs of Tunis in the early morning of the 12th, exactly 

 18J years since the time I left Africa for Australia ; and great, in the mean- 

 time, had been the changes that had swept over this white eastern city. 

 The European quarter of the town has changed almost beyond recognition ; 

 it has extended its boundaries, and encroached considerably on what was 

 formerly country land ; streets have been widened or diverted ; an electric 

 tramway service has superseded the old horse cars, and the heart of the city 

 is now connected with its numerous country and suburban residences ; 

 avenues of trees have been planted or grown beyond my recollections ; in 

 brief, I found myself at first quite at sea in a city with which I was at one 

 time thoroughly familiar. Alone, the Arab quarter, emblematic of the East 

 in its contemptuous defiance of the bustling energy of Western civilisation, 

 stands immovably the same. One notable innovation, however, could not 

 escape my notice here ; native shopkeepers have seen the advantage of 

 acquiring the language of their conquerors, and to-day an European can make 

 himself more readily understood in the bazaars of Tunis than in those of 

 Cairo. 



I had originally intended visiting Tunis in April or May, the late spring of 

 the year in this part of the world, when the standing crops would have shown 

 to best advantage ; circumstances, unfortunately, compelled me to change 

 my plans ; and I now found myself in Tunis at the dead time of the year, 

 with not a vestige of verdure to be seen anywhere. Weather conditions 

 at the time were distinctly droughty, and seeding operations were impeded 

 accordingly. I was not able to spend more than a fortnight in Tunisia, 

 and although portion of this time was given to the country, for the bulk of 

 the information collected I am indebted mainly to the Office of the Director 

 of Agriculture, and particularly to M. R. Schilling, an old fellow student 

 of mine. 



TUNISIAN CLIMATE. 



I have always thought that the North African coast, and particularly 

 Tunisia and Algeria, presented far more points in common with the climate 

 of South Australia than is the case with Southern Europe. And hence I 

 take it that so long as economic conditions place no difficulties in the way, 



