84 
THE WORM OF THE NATRON LAKES. 
mud, with nine or ten smaller towns, all tolerably- 
populous. 
Sockna is situated midway between Mourzuk 
and Tripoli, and is about fourteen days from the 
former. The inhabitants are Moors, and, besides 
Arabic, speak a Berber dialect. Sockna is cele- 
brated for its fine sweet dates, called kothraee ; and 
there is abundance of every kind of this fruit. 
A considerable quantity of grain is sown — wheat 
and barley — and the gardens abound with ]3eaches. 
The town of Honn, distant about two hours from 
this place, is nearly as large, and also surrounded 
with gardens. 
Wady Gharby, and Es-Shaty, have already 
been described. In the sands between these two 
places are situated the celebrated natron lakes, in 
which that miraculous dud worm") spontaneously 
appears at certain seasons of the year, and is eaten 
as people in Europe eat sardines — to sharpen the 
appetite. The natron is also a source of profitable 
exportation. Wady Sharky almost exactly resem- 
bles Wady Gharby, in population and natural 
features. 
Sharkeeah, besides some insignificant places, 
includes the interesting ancient capital called 
Zoueelali, whence the name of Zoilah is given by the 
Tibboos to all Fezzan. Half the population of this 
place consists of Shereefs, and there are indeed great 
and increasing numbers of this class of persons 
throughout the whole country. 
