THE PALM-TREE. 157 



his fate. That broad belt of burning sand, 

 which stretches across Africa, from the At- 

 lantic to the Indian Seas, is edged with such 

 an abundance of this grateful tree, that the 

 country, especially that part which lies be- 

 tween Barbary and the Desert, is called Bile- 

 dulgeridy or the Land of Dates. The date 

 palm-trees, and the tents of the wandering 

 Arabs, are the only objects that catch the eye 

 on the borders of the vast ocean of sand. 



There is hardly any part of this tree 

 which is not serviceable to man, either as a 

 necessary or a luxury. It is by no means 

 confined to the margins of deserts, but is 

 widely dispersed in the warmer climates. The 

 palm-trees mentioned in the Scriptures, and 

 in other ancient writings, are always the date- 

 palms of which we have been speaking. 



When a traveller espies a clump of palm- 



