t8 some account OF THE 



capsules. It is very pretty and sweet when in flower. The varieties of 

 Anabasis articulata, whose bracts wither a showy red and rich claret 

 colour, are common here. This species is quite abnormal at this season, 

 having shed all its more slender twigs, and having more the habit of a 

 Zygophyllum. It was not till I reached Widy 'Arabah that it occurred 

 in its natural form. 



Lepidopterous insects were more numerous in these cooler stations, 

 chiefly attracted by the tent lights at night. Of the earlier desert plants, 

 Reaumaria and Gymnocarpum are still abundant. 



Several grasses, Cucurbitaceae and Zygophyllaces belong to lower 

 districts, but Fagonia ranges everywhere so far. Ruta tuberculata, with 

 its disgusting smell, is still to be met with. 



At 'Ain Suweirtyeh, where we camped for the ascent of Mount Sinai, 

 there is a poor little garden containing pomegranates, palms, and nubk 

 (Zizyphus), apricots, and mallow. Gomphocarpus is abundant about this 

 well. It is one of the most remarkable species in Sinai. 



I made the ascent of Jebel Mtasa and Jebel Katharina on November So. 

 On the way to the convent of Mount Sinai occurred Centaurea scoparia, 

 Sieb. ; Celsia parviflora, Dene. ; and Alkanna orientalis, Boiss. At the 

 convent garden, where we dismissed our camels, are cypress, orange, figs, 

 olives, dates, and vines in cultivation. These I only saw over the garden 

 wall, for the delay in the convent was irksome since the whole thing was 

 to be done in a day. On the garden gate were suspended several dead 

 Egyptian vultures, which surprised me, as I thought the bird was too 

 much valued as a scavenger to be destroyed. Gomphocarpus occurred 

 again a little above the convent, which stands at 5,024 feet above sea- 

 level. The following were first met with here : Asperula sinaica, Dene. ; 

 Puliearia crispa, Forsk. ; Verbaseum. sinaiticum, Bth. ; Plantago arabica, 

 Boiss. ; Phlomis aurea. Dene. ; Nepeta sepiem-erenata, Ehr. ; Mentha 

 lavandulaeea, Boiss. ; Teucrium polium, Z.., var. sinaicum ; Origanum 

 maru, Linn., (3 sinaieum ; Fieus pseudosycomorus, Dene. ; and Adiantunt 

 capillus-veneris, Linn. A single tree stands near the spring, but I unfor- 

 tunately lost my leaves of it It was, I believe, Salix sufsaf, Forsk. 



At this height, about 5,500 feet, a couple of palms (across the valley). 

 Phoenix daetylifera, Linn., and a tall cypress, Cupressics sempervirens, 

 Linn., va.r. pyramidalis, occur. The latter,, which is not native, occurs a 

 little higher, in a conspicuous place familiar to all travellers. 



