Page:Africa by Élisée Reclus, Volume 2.djvu/269

 A more practical project, already begun with the happiest results, aims at recovering the reservoirs of water accumulated below the surface, and utilising them for the extension of the old, or creation of new, oases. Although from the remotest times the natives have carefully husbanded their supplies, many sources

have completely dried up, and numerous places are known as Ain-Mita, or "Dead Springs," indicating the victory of the sands over the fecundating waters of the oases. In the everlasting struggle between the elements, incessantly modifying the surface of the earth, the wilderness has continued to steadily encroach on the arable lands, and in many districts depressions formerly flooded are now destitute of all visible moisture. The local fauna itself shows that the climate has