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The lake of Mahadie is well stocked with fish: there 
are a number of boats employed upon it, which have 
only a small sail, and never proceed farther than the 
mouth, which extends to the bottom of the bay of 
Aboukir. Having visited this mouth in the month of 
July, I found the water of the lake was several degrees 
warmer than that of the sea, as well at the mouth as 
along the nich of land which separates the two waters; 
which land may be about eighteen or twenty feet broad 
only. 
The situation of Alexandria, between two lakes and 
the sea, is a dull desert of moving sand, which has no 
other vegetation than some large tufts of grass. But at 
a small depth, under the bed of sand, is a sheet of wa- 
ter; so that wherever they dig they find water more or 
less briny, and sometimes nearly drinkable. It is on 
this account that plantations of fig and palm trees, as 
also some melons, may be discovered on the side of 
Aboukir, where it would be thought impossible for any 
thing to thrive. The horses bury themselves in the 
moving sand up to their bellies, to enjoy the moisture. 
The way in which they plant their melons is as fol- 
lows: they dig large ditches of forty-five or sixty feet in 
length, and eight or ten in depth, that costs little trouble 
on account of the sand; which they prevent from falling 
in, by giving an inclination to the sides of the ditches, 
which are by these means very wide at the upper part, 
and have only a foot in width at the bottom; where they 
sow a row of melon seeds throughout the whole length. 
The plants spring up, and run over the sides of the 
ditch. As the roots find plenty of water easily, the 
plants grow very vigorously. Every plantation consists 
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