of the Kingdom of Algiers. 429 



the natives eat them as we would eat an apple, without any con- 

 diment. 



A pot-herb much used in Barbary is the Hibiscus esculentus : 

 the tender seed-vessels are cut in small pieces and boiled, or 

 stewed with meat : it is a tasteless vegetable. Very different is 

 the Capsicum annuum, whose pods are used abundantly : the green 

 fruit of Capsicum grossum is eaten raw with oil and vinegar, and 

 forms a dish, either served alone or with slices of tomato or love- 

 apple : this last-mentioned plant is very extensively cultivated 

 both by natives and colonists. 



A great many plants are used by the Arabs to season their 

 dishes, amongst which we may mention coriander, whose green 

 leaves have a strong smell of bugs ; both leaves and seeds are 

 used. Parsley, basilic, sweet savory, chervil, fennel, mint, mar- 

 joram, are all in great demand. The Arabs who live in tents, and 

 have no gardens, procure their pot-herbs from the plains, which 

 furnish them with Cynara Cardunculus, Cynara acaulis, Atrac- 

 tylis gummifera (of this plant they eat the midribs of the 

 leaves), Ammi majus, Ferula communis, Borage, and a host of 

 other plants. 



I will now mention the principal fruits properly so called : 

 they are not so varied nor yet generally so delicious as in Europe. 

 The apricot must hold the first rank : the tree grows without any 

 care or even pruning, and ripens its fruit in June. There are 

 several kinds of apricot, of which the best is one called Chachi : 

 it is very juicy, and the flesh adheres to the stone. The kind 

 called Boreulbi is considered very inferior ; it resembles the one 

 commonly cultivated in England. The peach and nectarine are 

 less abundant, although with only the care of properly pruning, 

 and the proper choice of varieties, they would be as good as in 

 Eur one 



The fig-tree is a native of the country, and in certain districts 

 is cultivated to a great extent. The early figs, or bakhor, ripen 

 in June, and the second crop in August and September : it is 

 only this last kind which is dried, the bakhor being too watery 

 for the purpose. There are many varieties of fig, and they are all 

 good ; one kind which ripens in September and October, called 

 Verdarola by the Spaniards, is much esteemed, as well for its 

 luscious taste as for its late ripening. Fig-trees are propagated 

 from branches about a yard long, stuck in the ground : these, 

 if they live, bear fruit about the third year. Pomegranates are 

 abundant, and the tree, when covered with scarlet flowers, is a 

 most beautiful object : the fruit ripens in September, and may be 

 kept through the winter. When of a good kind, it is a most 

 delicious fruit ; otherwise it is very insipid. 



The jujube-tree^is very common, and the fruit ripens in Octo- 



