158 PARTING WITH EL GRAOUI. ch. vii. 



Jews' quarter, and went out by .the south-east gate of the ^ 

 city, having on our right the high wall that encloses the 

 vast gardens attached to the Sultan's residence. Having 

 entered the city through groves of the date-palm, the 

 foliage of which is too tough for the teeth of the locust, 

 we had scarcely noticed these pernicious creatures on that 

 occasion ; but in the well-irrigated tracts south and west 

 of the city which are devoted to tillage they had this year 

 been more than usually destructive. It is in their young 

 condition, while still active on the wing, that their vora- 

 city is greatest ; but in that stage it is practically impos- 

 sible to contend with them. When they have attained 

 their full growth they become unwieldy, and at length 

 nearly torpid ; and it is then that the natives endeavour to 

 exterminate them, with a view to prevent the females from 

 depositing their countless eggs and leaving to the district 

 a legacy of future devastation. 



It seemed that El Graoui, for his own reasons, wished 

 to give us a parting testimony of good-will and favour, 

 without at the same time committing himself too glar- 

 ingly for native ideas. It was not, doubtless, by mere 

 accident that about a mile outside the walls we found him 

 close to our track, with a train of mounted attendants, 

 superintending the process of locust slaughter, and were 

 informed that he wished to bid us farewell. Mounted on 

 a splendid black charger, the old man, in spite of his 

 unwieldy figure, had a commanding appearance. His 

 manner was quite friendly ; and, as the brief conversation 

 proceeded, he rode along with us for a couple of hundred 

 yards, and then shook hands with many good wishes for 

 our safety and success. 



The process of locust destruction which El Grraoui was 

 supposed to superintend was of the rudest description. 

 The bodies of the bloated sluggish insects are swept into 

 heaps with rough brooms, and a fire of twigs is then 

 lighted over each heap. On the way from Sektana to 

 Mogador, Maw afterwards saw another more expeditious 



