equally productive (we should rather say equally capable of being
made so) with that which we have mentioned to the eastward. A
small part of this only, however, is cultivated, and we may observe
generally, of the region of the Cinyphus, that by far the greater
portion of that beautiful tract of country, from the eastern limit of
the Syrtis at Mesurata, to the edge of the sandy desert at Wad’m’-
Seid, is now left in its natural state.
The following short account of the objects most worthy of notice
which presented themselves to Captain Smyth in the course of his
journey to Lebida in the year 1816, and the succeeding one, have
been extracted from his private journal, and obligingly placed at our
disposal by the author ; and as we think they will not be unacceptable
to our readers, we submit them, without further comment, to
their notice.
The first principal point to the eastward of Tripoly is Kas al Amra,
a projecting low sand, with rocks close in, but possessing a small
boaUcove on its east side, resembling an ancient cothon : near it are
the ruins of several baths with tesselated pavements.
Beyond Ras al Amra there is another small port, formed by a point
of land between the wadies of Ben z barra and Abdellata, whence
the produce of the country is shipped off in summer, The mouth
of the Abdellata forms a picturesque cove, and on its left bank, a
little inland, is a village consisting of troglodytic caverns, excavated
in the sandstone rock, and many of which being furnished with
doors, are used, instead of the usual matamores, as granaries.
Here begins the tract generally called Zibbi, and the land, rising
gradually, exhibits a better, though still neglected, appearance, being
thinly planted with olive-trees, and here and there a vineyard.
In the vicinity of the Ganema river frequent vestiges of antiquity
announce the approach to a place once more prosperous; and in the
valley of Seyd-n-alli are the remains of some Boman fortifications,
called by the Moors, the Seven Towers, which from several local
indications I think must stand on the site of Quintiliana.
Leptis Magna is situated on a fine level district, of a light and
loamy soil, bounded by gentle hills. A great part of this plain is
laid out in fields of corn, pulse, carrots, Sec., interspersed with groves
of olivé, pomegranate, and date-trees, among which are a few vineyards
; but it is by no means cultivated with the attention due to its
susceptibility of improvement; and a great portion of the produce
is annually destroyed by the gundy rat, and a species of jerboa,
(probably the pjj ritmu; represented on the Cyrenian coins) which
greatly infest all the grounds, yet no means are used to destroy
them. The want of enclosures is also greatly felt, the young
shoots of the seed being protected from the wind only by thinly-
planted rows of the Scilla Maritima: however, notwithstanding every
disadvantage, the harvests are generally satisfactory to the moderate
expectations of these rude peasants.
Towards the higher grounds there is a good deal of pasturage,
where camels, horses, oxen, sheep, and goats are reared; but the
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