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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



flavor of this variety is the standard of 

 excellence in dates. 



No farmer's boy is more of a connois- 

 seur in the qualities of the different kinds 

 of apples in his father's orchard than are 

 the Jeridis with respect to dates. Each 

 of the best varieties has its pat'tisans, and 

 there is keen rivalry among'*the proprie- 

 tors of gardens in extolling the merits of 

 their favorite trees. The choicest fruits 

 are picked one by one as they ripen in 

 the clusters and are kept by the owner 

 for his own table and for gifts to his 

 friends. 



One of the finest of all dates, rivaling 

 the Deglet Noor in flavor and much 

 larger, is the ''Menakher," an extremely 

 rare variety peculiar to the Jerid. When 

 I sought to learn why a date which they 

 esteem so highly should be so nearly ex- 

 tinct, the natives told a story that is a 

 curious commentary on the state of 

 Tunis before the French occupation. 

 The Beys, it seems, were exceedingly 

 fond of Menakher dates, and no other 

 sort was served at their banquets. Each 

 year, at the time of harvest, their agents 

 visited the oases and took possession of 

 the entire crop, usually without paying 

 for it. The people wearied finally of this 

 extortion and ceased to plant Menakher 

 palms. They went even further, cutting 

 down many of the old trees in their gar- 

 dens. 



The towns of the Jerid are situated on 

 higher ground just outside the oases. 

 They thus escape to some extent the ma- 

 laria that lurks in the gardens, where fre- 

 quent irrigation keeps the soil constantly 

 moist. Even the gardeners dwell mostly 

 in the villages and trudge every morning 

 to the scene of their labors. Only dur- 

 ing the ripening season, when the fruit 

 of the choice varieties must be guarded 

 against thieves, men camp among the 

 trees in little palm-leaf tents, which are 

 sometimes elevated on posts at a corner 

 of the wall to afford a better lookout. 



The houses are of sun-baked brick, 

 similar to the Mexican adobe. In the fa- 

 cades of the more pretentious buildings 

 the bricks are arranged in curious geo- 

 metrical patterns, the only attempt at ex- 



terior ornamentation. The indispensable 

 date palm furnishes whatever wood is 

 needed in construction. The narrow 

 streets are frequently arched over, mak- 

 ing a deep shade that is very grateful at 

 noonday. Benevolent householders some- 

 times place benches outside their doors 

 in these arcades, where any passer-by is 

 welcome to repose himself. 



The population of the Jerid numbers 

 about 30,000 souls, whose livelihood de- 

 pends almost entirely upon the product 

 of their palms. The Jeridis are seden- 

 tary, seldom venturing far from the shel- 

 ter of the oases. They do not wander 

 over the plains with flocks and herds as 

 do the Bedouins farther north, nor are 

 they conductors of caravans like their 

 Algerian neighbors, the Soufis. They 

 are a peaceable folk, and ever preferred 

 paying tribute to making armed resistance 

 in the days when the Touaregs and other 

 warlike tribes of the Sahara were wont 

 to raid the oases. They have lived for 

 unnumbered centuries in the villages 

 where we find them today, desiring no 

 occupation but the care of their date 

 gardens. 



The beauty of their gardens was cele- 

 brated by the Arab geographers of the 

 Middle Ages. In yet earlier times, when 

 Tozer was the Roman Thusuros and 

 Nefta was called Nepte, the oases ex- 

 isted, although possibly the olive rather 

 than the date palm was then the prin- 

 cipal tree. 



Like nearly all successful agricultural 

 populations of the Barbary States, the 

 inhabitants of the Jerid are primarily of 

 Berber stock, belonging to the race that 

 peopled northern Africa before the com- 

 ing of the Phoenicians and the Romans. 

 But there is a large admixture of other 

 racial elements, notably of the Arab and 

 negro. The small tradesmen and handi- 

 craftsmen are mostly Jews. One even 

 sees occasional individuals who have fair 

 hair, blue eyes, and a h'ght complexion, 

 inherited perhaps from some Vandal 

 conqueror or Christian slave of a later 

 epoch. 



A charming little denizen of the vil- 

 lages is the sparrow that nests in the 



