THE DATE GARDENS OF THE JERID 



551 



the clear beryl green of the eastern sky 

 the feathery leaf crowns were silhouet- 

 ted. Overhead a star or two began to 

 glisten in the azure that was fast chang- 

 ing to dusky violet. 



Day after day of the delightful Saha- 

 ran autumn was spent in these explora- 

 tions, so that I soon became familiar with 

 the topography of the region. The Jerid 

 oases are four in number. Tozer and 

 Nefta, which comprise about 6,000 acres 

 each, are the largest. They are sepa- 

 rated one from another by a few miles of 

 sandy desert, where stunted gray bushes 

 are the only vegetation during the 

 greater part of the year. Immediately 

 behind the oases rises a steep bluff, which 

 here forms the northern boundary of the 

 Sahara. The date gardens occupy a 

 gently sloping shelf about one mile wide 

 between this and the Shott el Jerid, a 

 great shallow pond, usually covered with 

 a glittering crust of salt and containing 

 water for only a brief time after the in- 

 frequent winter rains. It is one of a 

 chain of such dry lakes that stretches 

 from near the eastern coast of Tunis to 

 the Oued Rir country a few miles south 

 of Biskra, in Algeria. 



There are said to be nearly one million 

 date trees in the Jerid. Each oasis is a 

 dense forest, of which the ownership is 

 much divided. The individual holdings 

 range in size from a few square rods to 

 several acres and are separated by "ta- 

 bias," walls of dried mud surmounted by 

 a palisade of the thorny palm leaves. 



Numerous springs, gushing forth at 

 the base of the escarpment that shelters 

 the oases from the north winds, furnish 

 an abundant and constant supply of 

 water for irrigation. At Nefta the 

 springs are situated in a deep basin, of 

 which the sides are much higher than 

 the tallest palm in the beautiful grove 

 that covers its floor. This is the **Ras 

 el Am" (Head of the Spring), which the 

 French call the "Corbeille" or basket. 



At Tozer and at Nefta the water of 

 the springs is gathered into one large 

 canal. It is then diverted by means of 

 dams situated at convenient points into 

 the irrigating ditches that penetrate 



every corner of the oasis. Long, shallow 

 notches are cut in the palm log that 

 forms the weir, and the number, length, 

 and depth of these notches determines 

 the amount of water received by the sev- 

 eral divisions of the canal. Two guards 

 are stationed day and night at each weir 

 to regulate any dispute that may arise 

 over water rights. To facilitate irriga- 

 tion, the gardens are divided into little 

 plots or basins, separated by low mud 

 dikes. 



More than one hundred distinct varie- 

 ties of dates are grown in these four 

 small oases. There is a bewildering 

 amount of diversity in the shape, color, 

 and flavor of the fruits. Some are round 

 as apples, others egg-shaped, others fin- 

 ger-shaped. They range in size from 

 that of a small hazel nut to the bigness 

 of a man's thumb. When ripe they are 

 of every imaginable hue, from golden 

 brown to prune purple, and even jet 

 black. 



Very fanciful are the Arab names of 

 many of the varieties : "bride's finger," 

 "father of the cucumber," "ox brain," 

 "pigeon egg," "gazelle's horn," are literal 

 translations. 



Some kinds are hard and dry, only 

 moderately sweet, and have a nutlike 

 flavor. These "dry dates," which can 

 easily be kept for a year or more, are a 

 staple article of food throughout north- 

 ern Africa and southwestern Asia. They 

 form a compact and nutritious ration, es- 

 pecially suitable for carrying on the long 

 caravan journeys. 



Other kinds, soft as butter and drip- 

 ping with syrupy juice, must be eaten the 

 moment they ripen. The excessively rich 

 and sweet sorts are used only as a des- 

 sert. 



The Deglet Noor — the name is some- 

 times translated "Date of the Eight" — is 

 the only variety exported in large quan- 

 tity from Tunis to Europe and America. 

 It is neither an extremely dry nor a very 

 soft fruit, but has a firm, clean flesh, 

 translucent as cloudy amber, and can be 

 kept in good condition for several months 

 after it is harvested. The inimitable 



