terrupted shade impenetrable to the rays o f the sun ; the same may be said o f the plantations o f the almond, which also abound in this province. O f corn they sow sufficient only for their own annual consumption; and although the whole country might be made one continued v in eya rd , y e t they plant but few v in e s ; for wine being prohibited, they require no more grapes than they can consume themselves, or dispose o f in the natural state. T h e Jews, however, make a little wine and brandy from the grape, as well as from the raisin. The date, w hich here begins to produce a luxurious fruit, is found in perfection on the confines o f the Desert in L ow er Suse. A t A kka and Tatta the palm or date-tree is v e ry small, but extremely p ro d u c tiv e ; and although the fruit be not made an article o f trade, as at T afile lt, it is exquisitely flavoured, and possesses various qualities. T h e most esteemed kind o f date is the Butube, the next is the Buskrie. Suse produces more almonds and oil o f olives than all the other provinces co llectiv ely . (Gum Amarad) a red gum partaking o f the intermediate q u a lity between the (tolh gum) gum arabic and the Aurwa r, or A ik Soudan Senegal gum, is first found in this province. W a x is produced in great abundance; also gum euphorbium, gum sandrac, wild thyme, worm-seed, orriss root, orchillo weed, and coloquinth. A n t imony, salt-petre o f a superior quality, copper, and silver, are found h e re ; the two latter in abundance about Elala, and in Shtuka. DBAIIA AND TAFII/ELT. Drah a and T afile lt produce a superior breed o f goats, and a great abundance o f d a te s : the countries situated near the banks o f the rivers o f Draha and T afile lt have several plantations o f Indian corn, rice, and indigo. There are upwards o f thirty sorts o f dates in this part o f B led -el-je rred e ;* the best and most esteemed is that called Butube, w hich is seldom brought to Europe, as it w ill not keep so long as the A dmoh date, the kind imported into England, but considered by the natives o f Tafile lt so inferior, that it is given only to the cattle;- it is o f a ve ry indigestive q u a lity : when a F i le l ly t Arab has eaten too many dates, and finds them oppressive, he has recourse to dried fish, which, it is said, counteracts their ill effects. T h is fruit forms the principal food o f the inhabitants o f Bled-el- jerrSde, o f which Tafile lt is a p a r t; the produce o f one plantation near the imperial p lace ? at T a file lt sold some few-years past for five thousand dollars, although they are so abundant there that a camel load, or three quintals, is sold for two dollars. T h e face of the country from the Ruins o f Pharoah to the palace o f Tafile lt is as follows : T afile lt is eight (erhellat § de lowd) days jou rn e y on horseback from the Ruins o f Ph a ro ah ; proceeding eastward from these ruins, the tra ve ller immediately ascends the lo fty Atlas, and on the third day, about sun-set, reaches the plains on the other s id e ; the remaining five days jo u rn e y is through a wide extended plain to ta lly destitute o f vegetation, and on which * Bled-el-jerr6de is the country situated between the maritime states of Barbary and Sahara, or the Desert. f Filelly is the term given to the natives of Tafilelt, as Drahawie is to those of Draha. £ The father of the present Sultaun Soliman built a magnificent palace on the banks of the river of Tafilelt, which bounds his dominions to the eastward ; the pillars are of marble, and were many of them transported across the Atlas, having been collected from the (Ukser Farawan) Ruins of Pharoah, near to the sanctuary of Muley Dris Zerone, west of Allas. § A horse erhelia (or day’s journey) is thirty-five miles English.
27f 39
To see the actual publication please follow the link above