Page:Africa by Élisée Reclus, Volume 2.djvu/25

 INHABITANTS OF BARK A. 9 fetched its weight in silver, and which was preserved in the State treasury, the liquid extracted from the present adrias is regarded by the natives as a panacea, and is employed especially in the treatment of wounds inflicted by animals. In Europe the researches of Ileiuzmunn have also proved that this plant should be accepted in the modern pharmacopoja, on accouut of its purifying properties. No apparent difference can be discovered between the Algerian and Cyrenian thapsia garganica ; yet some difference there must be, seeing that the Algerian species has scarcely any curative virtues. On the other hand, camels may browse on it without danger, although the di'ias of I3arka is fatal to them, as was formerly the silphium.* At present the land of Batka contributes but little to the general increase of wealth in the world. It no longer exjKjrts either medicinal drugs, the essence of roses, or the white truffles for which it was formerly renowned. Wheat, barley, cucumbers, tobacco, a few vegetables form, with the garden fruits, the only products of the local agriculture. The wild bee gathers an exquisite honey from the flowering plants. Tillage is in a rudimentary state ; nor do the wonderful crops of wheat mentioned by the ancients as yielding a hundred and even three hundred- fold, appear to have been witnessed in modern times. Occasionally want even prevails, and as a rule about every fifth year is unproductive. The slopes of the Jebel Akhdar are best adapted for the cultivation of the olive, and the oil supplied by the few olive-groves farmed by the Italians is of excellent quality. However rich in vegetation, the " Green Mountains " are extremely poor in animal species. The only wild beasts here seen are the hyaena and jackal. But the thickets of the depressions are infested by the wild boar, while the gazelle, hare, and rabbity abound on the plateau. Reptiles, birds, insects, belong almost exclusively to the same species as those of Mauritania. The budding vegetation is occasionally devoured by the locust, and the wild bee deposits its burden of honey in the fissures of the rocks. Southwards this scanty fauna gradually diminishes, until it disappears altogether beyond the zone of oases. After crossing the Wady Fareg, the traveller discovers that he is no longer accompanied even by the flea. He no longer crushes a shell under foot, or perceives a single bird on the wing. In the villages and encampments of Barka the domestic animals differ in no respect from those of Mauritania. There as here they are still the ass and mule, sheep, goats, and horned cattle. The horses no longer belong to that superb race described by Pindar, when singing of Cyrenaica famed for its " fine steeds." But if small, heavy, and ungainly, they are at least sure-footed and endure hardships well. Inhabitants of Barka. The land of Barka is peopled exclusively by Arabs of more or less mixed stock, who, however, claim to be of pure descent, and who epeak the language of the Prophet according to the Egyptian standard, slightly affected by Maugrabian • Mamoli, " Esploratore," vol. v., 1881. 88— AF