GEOGRAPHY OF THE JERID. 15 



The Jerid region was evidently occupied by the Romans, and frag- 

 ments of structures belonging to their epoch are frequently met with. 

 Both Nefta (Nepte) and Tozer (Thusuros) are situated on or near 

 the site of ancient Roman towns. Although frequently harried and 

 pillaged by the nomadic Arabs and by other wild tribes of the desert, 

 the oases of the Jerid have been, so far as we know, in a continuous 

 state of cultivation throughout the Christian era. An Arab author 

 of the eleventh century celebrated in glowing terms their fertility 

 of soil and the beauty of their dense forests of date palms. " No other 

 place in Africa," he wrote, " produces so many dates." 



Until the completion of the railway from Sfax, on the east coast 

 of Tunis, to the rich phosphate mines a few miles to the west of 

 Gafsa (see map, fig. 1), the main artery of communication of the 

 Jerid with the coast was the road, or rather trail, across the Shott 

 Jerid, through the oases of the Nefzaoua, and then along the southern 

 bank of the Shott-el-Fejej to Gabes, the total distance from Tozer 

 to Gabes being about 120 miles. All the dates at that time exported 

 from the Jerid to Europe had to be carried over this road by caravan. 

 Now, however, Tozer is only about 35 miles from the end of the rail- 

 way, and communication with the outside world is comparatively 

 easy. 



The total population of the Jerid oases is about 30,000, Tozer and 

 Nefta each counting about 9,000 inhabitants. Practically this entire 

 population is supported by date culture, as the other agricultural 

 products of the oases are of so little importance as to be almost 

 negligible and only a very small fraction of the population sup- 

 ports itself by manufacturing various fabrics. 



Nefta, the most western oasis of the Jerid, is said to occupy over 

 6,000 acres. The number of date palms it contains is variously esti- 

 mated at from 180,000 to 385,000, of which only 14,000 are said to be 

 of the Deglet Noor variety." The oasis consists of two distinct parts ; 

 on the north a deep basin, called by the French the " Corbeille " 

 (basket), in which arise the springs that water the gardens, and on 

 the south the fan-shaped larger portion, extending to the low salt 

 flats that fringe the Shott Jerid. The town of Nefta (PI. VI, fig. 3), 

 the holy city of southern Tunis, lies between the two segments of the 

 oasis and is itself separated into two parts by a deep'ravine (shown in 

 the foreground of PL VI, fig. 3). Through this ravine runs the 

 stream that carries the waters of the springs from the " basket " 

 to the lower part of the oasis. The palms that occupy the " basket " 

 are of unusual beauty. It is said that a few years ago an English 



But by the same authority the total number of all kinds is given as only 

 180,000. 



92 



