30 RAMBLES OF A NATURALIST. 
The Arabs burn the bark off the trees, which is as valuable 
as our oak bark is to us in England, but this practice ruins 
the picturesque. Beneath many a stately monarch of the 
forest we passed, now scorched and blackened. I believe 
these great woods are chiefly composed of oak, ilex, and 
cork; seven sorts of oaks are enumerated in Piesse’s 
“Itineraire de l’Algerie.” They form a safe home for such 
woodland birds as Pica mauritanica, Lanius auriculatus, and 
Fringilla spodiogena, which nest here in perfect security. 
Perched on one scathed limb, a noble Eagle seemed to keep 
guard over all around him: he eyed us as we approached 
him, and it was not until we were almost within gunshot 
that he condescended to stretch his broad pinions. 
After a long drive, Boghari came in view, an Arab village, 
close to the town of Boghar, and the usual stopping place for 
travellers as there is an inn there, and to ascend to the town 
would be much further. Here the traveller may taste 
“couscous, an Arab preparation of barley, milk, meat, and 
fruits. It is variously called couscous and couscousoo, He 
will also see the black nomadic tents of camels’ hair, which 
he is afterwards destined to sleep in. They are very ill- 
constructed, and so low, that you can barely stand upright 
in the middle. A partition divides them into two chambers, 
one for the men, and one for the women where the cooking 
is done. They are generally made of camels’ hair, some- 
times of goats’ hair, interwoven with wool, black or in 
coloured stripes. They are propped up with sticks, and are 
grimy in the last degree. To sum up the description of 
them, they are the reverse of picturesque at a distance, and 
present a filthy appearance on closer inspection! Half a 
dozen surly dogs mount guard, and so obstreperous are 
they that I was several times on the point of shooting them, 
and only refrained from fear of offending their masters. . 
After inspecting the Jews’ quarter, which is worth a visit 
for the sake of seeing the Jewesses who dress very gaily, 
