Page:Africa by Élisée Reclus, Volume 1.djvu/347

 FLORA. 275 Farther westwards, other wadies send dowa during the kharif a sufficient volume to cause the floods to spread out into vast temporary lakes, in which the dunes and argilaceous hills api)eur like islands. Here and there are even some lakes in the steppe, such as Luke Tairao, in which water is found at the height of the dry season. Nevertheless Wilson and Felkin state that at S/tekka, during the dry months, the people use the juice of the water-melon instead of water for household purposes, and that the cattle have scarcely any other liquid to drink- The upper Bahr-el-Arab, which receives the surplus of all the wadies of southern Dar-For, is flooded throughout the year, and in the Bahr-el-Fertit, a northern affluent of the Bahr-el-Arab, water is always to be obtained at a depth of a few inches below the surface. The fish take refuge in the deep pools excavated by the current at the base of the rocks, and the river is said to be navigable during the kharif. The southern region, which is often flooded, is the least healthy, whilst that of the north, being drier, and at the same time lying at a higher elevation, is generally salubrious. Flora. The flora of Dar-For is identical with that of Kordof&n, at least in the region which is not watered by the affluents of the Bahr-el-Arab. The plants and wild beasts, as well as the cultivated species of the domestic animals, differ in no respect in the two regions. The same living forms and products are to be found in the corresponding climatic zones ; however, the western region of Dar-For, where water is more abundant, and the layer of vegetable humus thicker, is by far the richest in variety of species. In both countries, woods and groves are found only on the banks of the wadies, the intermediary tracts presenting the appearance of a steppe or even a desert. Acacias, tamarisks and sycamores are the commonest varieties of trees. The baobab, which in Dar-For is also used as a reservoir during the dry sea^n, finds its northern limit towards the middle of the country. In the mountains the branching euphorbias recall the flora of the Abyssinian plateau ; here are also found cedars, orange-trees, citrons and pomegranates, which reminded the Italian Messedaglia of his country. Before the war, the fruit of the tamarisk, kneaded into small cakes, was exported to Nubia and Egypt. One of the most valuable trees is the higlik {balauites yUgi/ptiaca'), who^e fruit, neglected in the zeribi region, is used as an aliment by the Forians. The fruit, made into a paste with pounded roots, is also used as soap, whilst the young leaves and shoots make an excellent seasoning. The ashes yield a kind of pickle, also employed in their diet, and its wood burns without giving out smoke. Thus the higlik is to the Forians what the date is to the Egyptians. The palm is rarely seen, although the western districts possess the wine palm {^raphia vim/era). Dar-For and Eordofan are comprised between two zones of vegetation, to the north that of the date, and to the south that of the deleb palm.