P R E F A C E
F the shortcomings o f neither o f my volumes on
^ Morocco am I more painfully aware than of those
of the present one, the more so since it will lie within
the power of any casual reader on each spot described
to find faults which it has been impossible to avoid in
a first edition, the correction o f which can only be effected
by much kind co-operation on their part. My only consolation
is that those who know the most will be the
least exacting,- and I am content to leave my work in
their hands.
The mass of material here collected for the first time
can be but imperfect, in spite o f every care, and its
crudity of form could only be removed by re-writing the
whole, a task which I would willingly have undertaken
could I have added sufficient time to the years which it
has already occupied. Another year at least could profitably
have been spent in further travel and investigation
o f native sources, to say nothing o f a closer attention to
the natural and physical description o f the country. I
can only hope that by the time an increased interest in
the subject calls for a second edition the unavoidable
gaps may have been filled by the collaboration o f my
readers.
It had formed part o f my original programme, drawn
up twelve years ago, to include in this volume lists o f
Moorish flora, fauna, minerals, etc., collected from the
various writers on these subjects, supplemented by personal