south. The people derive their subsistence from dates which may almost be said to be the only support of the Country, and from the small quantity of grain and vegetables, which thèy raise With so much toil in the gardens : they occasionally treat themselves with a little camels’ flesh. Sheep and goats are too expensive for the poorer C'lais and I believe, that even among the opulent, there is no man who can aflbrd to eat meat above three times a week. They do net •éarry bn any particular trade, except with Bornou, Soudan, and Waday, tor slaves, and the barter attendant on the dealings with thé Kafflês. Many of the plants which are cultivated in thè ¡Southern parts Of Europe would, no doubt, flourish in this country, with ’thè usual attention which is paid to the gardens. European spades, rakes, light hoes, and ploughs, might be introduced in this part o f the world with great success, and would be most gratefully "received. Machines for winnowing corn, Which is generally mixed with chaff, sieves, &c. would also be very beneficial. The people WOuld not at first comprehend their use, but 1 conceive that -those few articles would soon become familiar to them, and be much prized. There is-not any -kind Of timber which can be Used for buildihg, or, -Hioré properly, Which can be cut into planks. The palm -is the only tree they have, and is used fbr doors, props, and frames for wells'; i t i s likewise employed for beams, by eutting the trunk in four quarters ; it is very porous, dry, and subject to rot, and is easily broken. Landed property is generally in the possession Of the better classés,-and is cultivated for them by the free servants and slaves, who work alike, and expérience exactly the same treatment. Lands generally descend to the nearest relations at the decease Of the bWîfër'; but i f h e 1 dies without heirs, or is put to death for an alleged crime, 'the Sultan claims them as his right:: the owner, ■nOUWithst'àìiding, Can, if he pleases, buy or sell, withoutbeing bound by any sort of entail or clause, against parting with family property. Houses are held in the same way as the lands. When grounds are leased, or sold, the price is generally proportioned to the number o f wells and date trees on the premises: it happens, however, not unfrequently, that the palms are the property o f one man, while the land on which they grow belongs to another. Thè gardens are entirely cultivated by the paddle or hoe, and parcelled out into squares of about three feet, having little Channels to them, for the purpose of irrigation. Much dung is used, and the sandy soil of old gardens almost assumes the appearance of earth. From the great labour requisite to keep these spots in order, it would not repay any non-resident to have lands in F ezzan ; though I am confident that such possessions would be respected, as there are many absentees who have large groves of palms, which their relatives, o r those employed by them, keep, and render up an ¡exact account -of. The difficulty of finding willing, honest, faithful, or contented workmen, is very great ; and each master or agent is -obliged to attend constantly to his own immediate property or charge ; some gardens, however, are, and have been, attended for generations, by the same family of labourers. The commerce is chiefly in slaves, and 1 have already given a list of such articles as are marketable. They have-but few weights; -these are, the Eantar, jUu, ISO lb.'; the Bottai, JbjM, lb. ; the ■Oghia, f g p or ounee ; and the weights used in the purchase or exdhange of gold, Which was once the money of the country. The weights, with little scales, are generally »kept in a small box. The largest is edlled Groowi, Mitgals ; the next is M f Mitgals ; •another is ;6f Mitgads, and is called Qghia, and weighs one dollar ; the smallest brass weight is i f Mitgdl. '24 Eharoubas, or 'beans ef'the locust tree, -weigh 1 Mitgal. There are also three -small weights of iron or lead, -weighing 16, fi, and 4 Khoroubas.
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