f ;
' I.
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wall, within which is planted a coiTCSiwndiug line of palm trees.” (iVar., &c. p. 52.)
“ The countiy round Tripoli,” says CcUa, “ abounds in palm trees, ivhose bare and
rough stems, spreading tops, and pointed leaves harmonise witli the parched and
rugged aspect of the country, and furnish the principal part of the subsistence of tho
natives. Their fruit equalises the tables of the rich and poor ; and, being produced
without culture, is favom-able to happiness. Among the plantations of palm trees are
jiedition, ^c., p. 17.)
823. In Barca, the suburban gardens of D erna are mentioned hy tra^’ellcrs as worthy
qf notice; and the cemetery of Cyrene has long been celebrated. The latter country is
remarked for its roses, and the elegance and variety of the flowers and flowering slnmbs
with which it abounds.
824. The houses o f Dema are surrounded hy gardens producing abundance of grapes,
melons, flgs, bananas, oranges, greengages, and other fra its : they have also the advantage
of hcing weU sheltered by thick gi-oves of date trees, which give a yery pleasing appearance
to the to'svn, and add much to the comfort of the inhabitants by foi-ming a
pcr]ietual shade. A delightful stream of water gushes out of the rock above the town,
passing througli several streets in its com-sc, and m-igating the gardens, and even the
cornfields in its neighbourhood. The ravine, at the mouth of which the town is
situated, is of considerable depth and extent, wdnding up far into the mountains : some
of the gardens are formed on its sides, and about them a few trees occasionally appear,
where the soil has been able to lodge. In the rainy season a considerable body of
waiter rushes down from the mountains to the sea, and is sometimes so deep and so rapid
as to become wholly impassable. A t such times it sepai-ates one half of the town
from the other, and occasions considerable inconvenience. In the summer, however,
it is dry, and the mm-ket is held upon its shining bed. {Beecheifs Trav. in Africa,
p. 472.)
825. The principal hurying-place o f Derna is on the eastern bank of the ravine,
distinguished, in particular, by a lofty and handsome tomb, raised on fom- arches, iinder
which' the body is placed, with its usual simple covering of snow-white cement, and the
stone-carved turban at its head. p. 473.)
826. The cemetery o f Cyrene {fig. 229.) covers a terraced h il l; and the rock, which
229
rises perpendicularly from these tcrraccs, is excavated into innumerable tombs, whicli
have been formed with great labour and taste ; and the greater number of them have
been adoraed with •architectural façades, built against the smooth sides of the rock
itself, contributing materially to increase the interest and to add to the beauty of the
drives. When the rock would serve for the porticoes in front of the tombs, without any
addition of building, it was left in the forms required ; and, if only a part of it would
serve, the remainder was added by the architect. This mode of proceeding added
greatly to the strength of the work, and was probably attended, at the same time, w'ith
a saving of labour. The outer sides of tlie roads, -where they descended from one range
to another, were ornamented with sai-cophagi and monumental tombs ; and the -wliolc
sloping space between the galleries was completely filled up with similar structures.
These, as well as the excavated tombs, exhibit very superior taste and execution ; and
the clusters of dark green furze and slender shrubs, with which they are now partly
overgrown, give an additional effect, hy their contrast of forms and colour, to the
multitude of white buildings which spring up from the midst of them. Among the
tombs which have been excavated on the northern face of the heights at Cyrene, are
several, on a much larger scale than the rest, which appear to have been public vaults :
others seem to have been appropriated to single families. Beechey found two with
white marble sarcophagi, ornamented with figures, and wreaths of flowers in relief,
which lie suspected to he Roman. {Ibid., p. 4 4 6 .)
827. O f the state o f horticultural science on the African coast of the Mediterranean,
some idea may be formed from the following extract, given by Beechey, from a Moorish
horticultural work : — “ Wlien a palm tree refuses to bear,” says the Arab author alluded
to, “ the owner, armed with a hatchet, comes to visit it in company with another person.
He begins by observing aloud to his friend, in order that the date tree may hear Mm,—
‘ I am going to cut d^oivn tMs worthless tree, since it no longer bears me any fruit.’
‘ Have a care what you do,’ replies his companion ; ‘ for I predict that this vei*y
year, your tree will he covered with dates.’—‘No, no,’ cries the owner; ‘I am
determined to cut it down ; for I am certain it will produce me nothing ; ’ and then
approaching the tree, he jiroceeds to give it two or three strokes -wdtli his hatchet. Tho
friend again interferes, and begs him to try one more season ; adding, that if it does not
bear then, he will let him do as he pleases. The owner at length suffers liimself to be
persuaded, and retires without proceeding to further extremities. The threat, however,
and the few strokes inflicted with the hatchet, have always the dcsfred effect ; and the
terrified palm tree never fails to produce, the same yeai-, an abundant crop of fine dates.”
{Kazwini, Chrestomathie Arabe, tom. iii. p. 319.)
S u b s e c t . 3. Gardening on the Western Coast o f Africa.
828. Gardening can hardly he said to exist in a country which can scarcely be considered
witliin the pale of civilisation ; but it may he interesting to notice some of the
flowers and fraits which are indigenous in the neighbourhood of tliat deleterious settlement,
Sicn-a Leone. It is remarkable, that the pine-apple is very abundant in the
woods here ; and the fruit, Mr. George Don assures us, is, even in a wild state, equal
or superior to any he has tasted in England. The pine-apple is always found in the
shade ; and, when accompanied by much decayed vegetable matter and moisture, attains
an extraordinary size of foliage, and forms an impenetrable tMcket, destroying every
other plant except the timber trees over it, and obstracting the progress of the passenger
iu every direction. The peach of Sierra Leone (the Sarcoccphalus csculéntus of
Afzelius) is one of the most valuable of the tree fraits. The plant grows in abundance
in low places over the whole country, and generally attains the -height of from ten to
fifteen feet. The fruit is a large fleshy substance, with a brown granulated sm-face, and
a hard but eatable core, about one fourth of the diameter of the frait, and about the
consistence of the centre of a pine-apple. Guava and banana trees ai-e abundant at
Sierra Leone; and tamarinds, limes, oranges, plantains, papaw, and a variety of
pumpkins, have been introduced tliere by the settlers. The "vine produces grapes twice a
year. Among the ornamental plants, one of the finest is the Comlirctum comòsum, which
covers the low tress with one blazing smface of scai-let.
S d b s ec t . 4 . Gardening in South Africa.
829. Gardening, as an art o f design and taste, can hardly be said to exist in a newly
colonised country ; nevertheless, when the Dutch took possession of the Cape of Good
Hope, in the middle of the seventeenth ccntm-y, a garden is described in Lackman’s
Travels o f the Jesuits, vol. i. p. 37., and thus noticed by Sir WiUiam Temple :—“ It
contained nineteen acres, was of an oblong figure, very large extent, and divided into
four quarters, by long and cross walks, ranged with all sorts of orange trees, lemons,
limes, and citrons. Each of these four quarters is planted with the trees, fruits, flo-w'ers,
and plants that are native and proper to each of the four parts of the world ; so that in
this one enclosure, are to be found the several gardens of Europe, Asia, Africa, and
America. There could not be, in my mind, a greater thought of a gardener, nor a
nobler idea of a garden, nor better suited or chosen for the climate.” Father de Premare
says, “ it is one of the most beautiful spectacles iu the world.” This garden was -visited
by Mr. Main in 1792, and he found it at that time used as a puhlic mall. It was then
rather neglected, except a smaU part appropriated to the private use of the governor.
It was quite in the Dutch style, with quadrangular quarters, divided by walks, crossing
each other at right angles. The oak and myrtle hedges ai-e the principal ornaments of
the place.
830. Cemeteries. The Malays at the Cape of Good Hope, like the Fi-ench, arc
particularly neat in decorating their churchyards, in which they have gai-deners always
at work, converting the loathsome dreary sepulchre into an inviting place of religious
instruction. {Penny Magazine, vol. i. p. 51.)
831. The only indigenous fr u its o f the Cape. Those that have been introduced into
Y 4