NOTES ON EGYPTIAN YEGEIATION. 
237 
At the time of our visit the trees were only commencing to bloom. 
Artificial fertilisation is very generally practised. Such is the rapidity 
of the growth of the leaves, that frequently all the old fronds are 
removed before the growing season commences, and yet in a compara- 
tively short time the trees have fine heads again. 
Oranges were of course very plentiful, both the ordinary variety and 
the Tangerine, and the quality was excellent. Lemons also were 
numerous, the fruit being much smaller than those wt see in this 
country and very juicy. Pomegranates were not in leaf, whilst of Figs 
we saw an abundance of trees but no fruit. 
Strawberries grown in the neighbourhood were being offered for sale 
in Cairo. 
The principal streets of Cairo have some fine avenues of trees, that 
most used being the Lebbek [Alhizzia Lebbek), an evergreen leguminous 
tree, allied to the Acacia. It grows very rapidly, some of the trees we 
noticed being between sixty and seventy feet in height ; their spreading 
heads and dense foliage making a delightful shade from the very bright 
and powerful sun. This tree is replacing the White Mulberry and other 
deciduous trees formerly planted, as well as one or two kinds of Acacias. 
Other trees used for avenues are Ficus elastica ; the Sunt {Acacia 
nilotica) ; the Sycamore ; the Carob, or Locust tree {Ceratonia Siliqua) ; 
and the Tamarix. 
A common hedge plant is the Orange, which is cut and pruned as we 
treat our Quickthorn hedges. 
As regards the Gardens of Egypt, there is no dOubt that the most 
numerous and, with a few exceptions, the prettiest are at Alexandria. 
At Cairo three only need very special mention : the beautiful Garden 
of Prince Hussein, the uncle of the Khedive, who is evidently a thorough 
enthusiast ; 
The Garden of the Gezireh Palace Hotel ; 
And the Ezbekiyah Public Gardens, which were formed in 1870 
under the superintendence of the famous French landscape gardener, 
the late M. Barillet. 
Other Gardens might of course be mentioned, such as that of the 
Zoological Society, &c., but they did not appear to me to possess any 
very distinctive feature. 
I was very sorry to miss the Exhibition of the Horticultural Society, 
which was held during my absence up the Nile. I was told that the 
exhibits were in many instances most interesting and creditable, and 
that the influence of the Society was doing much good. This may, I 
think, be traced in a great measure to the love of flowers of the English 
residents at Cairo. 
About an hour's railway ride from Cairo, or perhaps fifteen miles, is 
the Nile Barrage, the largest weir in the world, formed to retain the 
water of the river for the purposes of irrigation during the dry season. 
Here there is a very interesting Garden under the able management of 
Mr. Walter Draper, a' former Kewite. So pleased was I with this spot 
that I was glad to have the opportunity of visiting it more than once. 
Eeverting now to the Gardens in Cairo. 
The charm of Prince Hussein's Garden Hes not so much in its 
