Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 16.djvu/865

Rh MOROCCO 833 east Devonian rocks stretch for hundreds of miles into the Sahara. The plain around the city of Morocco has a sheet-like covering of tufaceous crust rising over hill and valley and following all the undulations of the ground, the result probably of the intense heat of the sun rapidly drawing up water charged with soluble carbonate of lime from the calcareous strata, and drying it layer by layer on the surface till an accumulation several feet thick has been produced (Maw). This crust is extensively burned for lime, and it forms a natural strong roof for the matainores or underground cellars which the Moors excavate in the soft strata beneath. An enormous deposit of boulders occurs in the lateral valleys and along the escarpment of the Atlas, and the opinion that these are the pro ducts of remote glacial action is supported by the existence of true moraines in the upper part of the glens. All along the west coast there are indications of an elevation of the land in the shape of raised beaches, at Tangiers 40, at the south of Cape Spartel 50, at Mogador 60 or 70 feet high ; but a number of other facts seem to show that at present a process of subsidence is in progress. 1 That mineral deposits of great value exist in Morocco there is little doubt. At Jobel Hadid or the Iron Mountain, the heights to the north of Mogador, old scorioe are found. In the Beni Madan hills near Tetuan are mines, closed, it is said, by the sultan Abd al-Rahman ; but whether they furnished copper or lead authorities differ. On the road to Kenatsa, Rohlfs saw lead and antimony worked by the Bern Sithe. Antimony especially seems to be abun dant to the south of the Atlas ; rJohlfs found it in a very pure state near Tesna, and Dr Allen (whose account was not published when this article was written) informed the writer that he saw splendid veins of it north of the Der a. That gold mines existed in Sus was long suspected ; Gatell proved it. Rock-salt occurs in the mountains north of Fez, in the valley of the W. Martil, and probably in Jebel Zarhun. In several places, as in the route from Safti to Morocco, are brine lakes, from which the salt is collected and exported as far as Central Africa. The general aspect of the lowlands of Morocco varies so much according to the season of the year that, while one stranger finds it arid and sunburnt and monotonous, another is delighted with the richness of its vegetation and the bright variety of its colours. In some of the Atlas valleys there is a wealth of timber, enormous conifers, 10 to 12 feet in girth of stem, oaks, &c., 2 but the greater part of the country has been cleared of every vestige of woodland, and consequently depends for its appearance on herbage, brush wood, and the lesser fruit-trees. Cultivation is confined to such comparatively narrow limits that the natural flora has full scope for its development. Cowan, writing more immediately of the country between Morocco and Mogador, speaks of &quot;drifts of as phodel, white lilies, blue convolvuli, white broom flowers, thyme and lavender, borage, marigold, purple thistles, colossal daisies and poppies ; &quot; and Captain Trotter tells how for miles the undu lating plateau of Kasr Fera un was literally covered with wild flowers, whose varied colours, and the partiality with which each species confined itself to certain ground, gave to the landscape a brilliant and most unique appearance. Dark-blue, yellow, and red iris, marigold, and poppy occurred in patches an acre in size ; farther on whole hills and valleys were of a delicate blue tint from convolvulus and borage. At times the traveller s tent is pitched on a carpet of mignonette, at times on a carpet of purple bugloss. In the country of the Beni Hasan squills are so abundant that the fibres of the bulbs are used instead of hair in making tent- cloth ; and in the north of Ksar al-Kebir the moors are covered for miles with a beautiful white heather. From such gorgeous com binations of colour one can well imagine that the Moors drew the inspiration of their chromatic art ; but the season of floral splen dour is brief, and under the hot African sun everything soon sinks into the monotony of straw. The botany of Morocco has been explored by Balansa (1867), Hooker, Ball, and Maw (1871), Rein and Fritsch (1873), Ibrahim Ammcribt (a Berber collector, 1873-6), the Rabbi Mardochee AM Serur (1872-3) ; and the resiilts have been systematically arranged in Cosson s Compendium Floree, Atlantic^ : ou Florc des fitats bar- baresques (Paris, 1881, &c.). From the presence of a large propor tion of plants of central and northern Europe (none of the northern plants, however, being of alpine or arctic type) and the absence of southern types characteristic of the sub-tropical zone Ball concludes that &quot;the mountain flora of Morocco is a southern extension of the European temperate flora, with little or no admixture of ex traneous elements, but so long isolated from the neighbouring regions that a considerable number of new specific types have been developed.&quot; 3 Of the individual plants none are more remarkable than the ardr and the argan. The former (Callitris quadrimlvis, Thuja articulata of Shaw) is a cypress-like tree that grows on the Atlas both in Morocco and Algeria. It furnishes gum sandarach ; 1 See Mourlon in Bull. &amp;lt;le I Accul. Rny. de Belgique, vol. xxx., 1870 ; Coquancl, Bull, de la Snc. Gml. de France, vol. iv. ; and especially Maw s paper appended to Hooker and Ball s Morocco. 2 Rohlfs says larches, but there is strong reason to doubt this. 3 Compare Drude, &quot; Floristische Erforschung Nord-Afrika s &quot; in Fetermann s Mittheilungen, 1882. and its beautiful and enduring timber has been identified with the alcrce with which the Cordova cathedral (mosque) was roofed, and with the citron-wood of the ancient Romans. The argan (Aryania Sidcroxylon] is confined even in Morocco to a tract of country extend ing only about 150 miles along the coast, from the river Tensift almost to the river Sus, and about 30 miles in breadth ; and it is found nowhere else in the world. A gnarled trunk and wide- spreading contorted thorny branches give it a striking appearance. Large specimens have a height of from 20 to 30 feet, and a girth of 25 or 2(5 feet. The fruit, which ripens between May and August, is an olive-looking nut, greedily eaten by camels, mules, goats, sheep, and horned cattle (but not by horses) for the sake of the fleshy pericarp, and crushed by the natives to extract the oil from the kernel. Though &quot; its strong and fulsome savour &quot; renders it nauseous to the European palate, this oil is largely used in the cookery of southern Morocco. The prickly pear forms one of the features of the landscape from the coast up to the slopes of the mountains. The cork tree, common in the time of Addison, has lost ground enormously, though it probably forms the staple of the Ma mura forest, which^ extends for some 20 miles between the Bii Itakrak and the Sebu. Though not so widespread as in Algeria or some districts of southern Europe, the palmetto is often locally very abundant. Citrons, lemons, limes (sweet and sour), shaddocks, mulberries, walnuts, and chestnuts are common in many parts. Tetuan is famous for oranges, Meknes for quinces, Morocco for pomegranates, Fez for figs, Tafi lelt and Akka for dates, Siis for almonds, Dukalla for melons, Tagodast, Edantenan, and Rabat for grapes, and Tarudant for olives (Cowan). The grape is extensively cultivated ; the Jews manufacture crude but palatable wines. Sugar, once grown in Sus, to supply the demands of the whole of Morocco, has disappeared. Both hemp and tobacco are cultivated under the restrictions of an imperial monopoly, the former (of prime quality) being largely used as hashish, the latter, though never smoked, as snuff. Barley is the most usual cereal ; but excellent crops of wheat, maize, millet, rye, beans, pease, chick-peas, and canary seed are also obtained. 1 otatoes are coming into favour in certain districts. It is still true, as in the time of Addison, that the Moors &quot; seldom reap more than will bring the year about,&quot; and the failure of a single harvest causes inevitable dearth. Captain Colvile calculates that not more than a hundredth part of the available land is culti vated at all ; and the cultivated portion possessed by each tribe is divided into three parts, one only of which is sown each year. With a plough of the most primitive description the Moorish peasant scarcely scratches the surface of the soil ; and his harrow is a few branches of trees weighted with heavy stones. The corn is cut close to the ear with short curved knives, and the straw left standing. Underground granaries or matamores (matmurd) are constructed, sometimes capable of holding 2000 quarters ; they preserve their contents in good condition for many years. There is abundant space in the country for wild animals, even of the larger kind ; but the absence of woodland keeps them in check. Besides the lion, which exists only in very limited numbers, and, according to local proverbs, with diminished courage, the spotted leopard, the hyrcna, jackal, lynx, fox, and wild boar are tho most important. The audad or wild sheep is found in the more inaccessible parts of the Atlas. Rabbits swarm in the country to the north of the Bu Rakrak, and since 1870 they have crossed this, which used to be their southern limit. A kind of ground-squirrel, the sibsib, occurs in the southern provinces. Monkeys of the same species as those of Gibraltar frequent the neighbourhood of Jebel Musa or Apes Hill. The list of the ordinary wild birds includes blackbirds, goldfinches, linnets, greenfinches, robins, wagtails, skylarks, and crested larks, as well as turtle-doves, nightingales, and jays. The house-sparrow is not found ; between Morocco and Mogador its place is taken by a beautiful bird (Embcriza striolata), locally called tabib, or &quot;the doctor&quot; (Leared). The stranger is struck by the immense variety and number of hawks, and still more by the familiar terms on which they build their nests in the walls and rocks along with blue rock-pigeons and starlings. All through the country the red-legged partridge is the main resource of tho sportsman, though he may also bag other varieties of partridge, bustards, and ducks and other water-fowl. Along the coasts there is no lack of gulls, whimbrel, oyster-catchers, &c. Every town has its colony of storks. Lizards, chameleons, tortoises, and frogs arc familiar objects ; it is from Morocco that the small tortoises hawked about the streets of London are usually obtained. The profusion of insect-life is one of the plagues of the country in the eyes of the European ; and even the Moor, who has got reconciled to his mosquitoes and fleas, considers the locust one of his deadliest enemies. The camel is the great beast of burden in Morocco, though asses and mules are also employed. The horse, never reduced to such base uses, is usually a sturdy little animal, but far below the ancient reputation of the Barbary steed. Roughly broken when young, his mouth is soon spoiled by barbarous bits, and his feet by square shoes. The finest animals are said to be bred in Shiadma