CONTENTS. 
XV 
on the Summit of the Lower Range — Beauty of the Route continues — Arrive at the 
Plain of Merge — Character and Position of the Plain — Our Camel-Drivers refuse to pro- 
ceed — Artful Conduct of Abou-Bukra — Appeal to Bey Halil — Projected Mission to Derna 
— Abou-Bukra comes to Terms, and brings his Camels for the Journey — Pools of Fresh 
Water collected in the Plain of Merge — Use made of them by the Arabs — Prevalence 
of a Virulent Cutaneous Disease among the Arab Tribes of Merge and its Neighbourhood 
— Remains of a Town at one extremity of the Plain — Remarks on the District and City 
of Barca — Testimonies of Strabo, Pliny, Ptolemy, and Scylax, respecting the Port of 
Barca — Remarks on the Position of the City of that Name — Arab Accounts of Barca — 
Edrisi, Abulfeda, &c, — Unsatisfactory Nature of the Accounts in Question — Mode of recon- 
ciling the Arab Accounts of Barca with those of Scylax — Suggested Position of the Ancient 
City — Peculiarity of Soil attributed to Barca — Observations on its Produce and Resources — 
State of Barca under the Arabs — Decay of the Ancient City after the building of Ptolemais 
on the Site of its Port — ^The Barcaeans remarkable for their Skill in the Management of 
Horses and Chariots — Their Country formerly celebrated for its excellent Breed of Horses — 
Degeneracy of the present Breed — Account of Barca by Herodotus — Other Accounts of its 
Origin — Siege and Plunder of the City by the Persians under Amasis — Subsequent state of 
the City till the building of Ptolemais - - - - 386 
CHAPTER XV. 
JOURNEY FROM MERGE TO CYRENE. 
Departure from Merge — Deep Marks of Chariot-wheels on the Stony Road indicative of an 
ancient Track — Valley of Bograta— Ancient Wells observed there — Valley of Hareebe — 
Beauty and Luxuriance of the Country continue — Roses of the Cyrenaica mentioned by 
Athenaeus as celebrated for the excellence of their Perfume — Oil (or Ointment) of Roses 
made at Cyrene in the time of Berenice (probably the Daughter of Magas) — Difficulty and 
Danger of some Parts of the Road — Apprehensions of our Arab Conductors — They appear to 
have been groundless — Arrive at Margkd — Bad State of the Road continues — Quarrel 
between Abou-Bukra and one of our Servants — Consequences of the Quarrel — Departure of 
Abou-Bukra — Continue our Route alone and succeed in finding the right Track — Return of 
Abou-Bukra and his people — Satisfactory Termination of the Disturbance — Oppressive 
Sirocco Wind — Nature of the Country on approaching Cyrene — First Appearance of a Plant 
resembling the Daucus, or Wild Carrot — Resemblance of this Plant to the Silphium, as 
expressed on ancient Coins — Points in which it differs from it — Remarks on the Silphium as 
mentioned by ancient Writers — Testimony of Herodotus, Arrian, Theophrastus, Pliny, Athe- 
nseus— Bill of Fare of the Kings of Persia, stated by Poly genus to have been discovered in the 
royal Palace by Alexander the Great — Silphium mentioned in this among other articles of 
hood — Description of the Plant by Theophrastus and Pliny — Celebrity and Scarcity of the 
