492 EEPORT— 1895. 



abundance of water lying either in stagnant pools or procurable by sinking 

 .shallow wells. It is capable of producing almost anything : cocoanut palms 

 grow in clusters along its whole length ; cotton, indigo, tobacco, plantains, 

 jowari ; and in the gardens papyas, mulberries, lemons, oranges, and 

 chillis grow profusely. The inhabitants of the villages scattered along 

 the coast are for Arabia particularly prosperous ; they are governed by a 

 representative from the Sultan of Oman, who has of late years been 

 successful in establishing peace. Behind this rich plain is a range of 

 mountains, known as the Gara range, rising to about 3,000 feet above the 

 .sea level. In the valleys sloping towards the Indian Ocean on the south, 

 and towards the desert of Nejd on the north, are found the various 

 frankincense districts where the frankincense tree, Boswellia Carteri, is 

 still found, and which constitutes an industry for the inhabitants, as it has 

 done for thousands of years. There are three chief districts where the 

 shrub grows, and the export of the gum is now about 9,000 cwt. per 

 annum, which is sent to Bombay in dhows. Myrrh is also found in 

 proximity to the frankincense tree, and in ancient days the commerce 

 in these odoriferous drugs gained for this district a world-wide reputation. 



The Gara hills are rounded and undulating, except on the coast side, 

 where the approach is precipitous and rugged ; they are of limestone 

 formation, and retain a surprising amount of moisture, which is at the 

 same time the cause of their fertility and the fertility of the plain of 

 Dhofar, which is an alluvial deposit from them. The valleys running into 

 these hills from the coast are of great fertility, containing a dense mass 

 of tropical vegetation, huge sycamores block up the valley, with cacti, 

 acacias, and numerous creepers ; in several places lodgments of 

 water have formed themselves into little lakes or tarns, an altogether 

 unknown condition of atfairs in any other part of Arabia. The mountain 

 sides are honeycombed with caves, in which the inhabitants dwell with 

 their flocks and herds. Right up to the summits of the Gara mountains 

 the same condition of fertility is observable — they are covered with grass 

 all over, and clusters of sycamores grow right up at the summit, giving to 

 them quite a parklike appearance ; and the flora of this district is very 

 extensive. Although we were thereduring the dry season we collected 260 

 different specimens of plants, as against 150 collected during a much longer 

 period and more extended area in the Hadramut last year. These plants 

 have now been deposited at Kew, and though more numerous they do not 

 contain so many new varieties as those from the Hadramut ; they establish 

 an extension westwaids of tlie Indian and Beloochistan flora, whereas 

 those of the Hadramut are more African in their character, tending to 

 prove by their geograpliical distribution that the floral line of demarcation 

 between Asia and Africa takes place somewhere between the Hadramut 

 and Dhofar. 



From the summit of the Gara ransfe an interesting view over the 

 frankincense country is obtained. To the north the hills slope down 

 towards the desert of Nejcl, which gradually destroys the vegetation, and 

 ends in a long blue horizon like the sea. To the east and west the same 

 characteristics are observable, and to the south the view is bounded by 

 the sea. The district of Dhofar owes its peculiar fertility to the water- 

 retaining qualities of its geological composition, and to the regularity of 

 its rainfalls, which occur from July to September, when the valleys are 

 turned into torrents, and even the Bedouins find it difficult to get about. 



On proceeding up a valley to the east of the Gara range v/e came 



