Page:Africa by Élisée Reclus, Volume 2.djvu/155

FAUNA OF TUNIS. It7 trees as if they wore domestic friends. They never " kill," i.e., cut down, a palm for the purpose of making /akhi, the caryptia of the uneients, except on very im- portant occasions, such as the birth of a child, a niurriago feu^t, or on the arrival of a greatly respected guest. Formerly Jorba, the ancient Meninx, the '• Island of the Lotus-eaters," was famous for the lotus plant, which is not known with certainty to have ever since been f^^und in this region. What was this fruit, of such an exquisite taste that when travellers had eat«n of it they forgot their native land ? Does this Ilomcrio legend refer to some mysterious product symbolical of peace and happiness ? or else does it apply to a veritable fruit which seemed so attractive to the Greek mariners? The descriptions given by the ancient writers seem more esiKJciully to indicate a variety of the jujube-tree {zizi/phus lotus), the seder or sidra, which is still found in Jerba Island, as well as on the neighbouring coast, and as fur inland as the Tuareg country. Its berries are made into a very pleasant acidulated drink, although the fruit itself, of an insipid sweetish taste, is no longer much appreciated. Mohammed 8{)eaks of the zizyphus lotus as an accursed shrub, which in the Saba country has taken the place of the delicious fruit-trees which formerly flourished in the gardens of that region. The first Greek explorers, who related to their countrymen the wonders of the distant knds they had visited, may possibly have tasted the tine dates of Beled-el-Jerid, without having seen the tree, ond hence they would have attributed this fruit to the jujube-tree; or else the taste of the fruit may have been modified, of which Egypt presents an example in the fruit of the sycamore. El-Bekri relates that the apple-trees of Jerba were unrivalled for the excellent and beautiful fruit they bore ; but its plantations were destroyed because the Christians used to take the apples without paj'ing the islanders for them. Fa IX A OF Trxis. The fauna of Tunis, like its flora, differs from that of Algeria and Tripoli in but few varieties, being somewhat richer in animal forms than the neighbouring desert lands which skirt the Syrtis Major, and not quite so rich as Western Mauritania. A gradual increase in the number of species takes place in the direction from east to west. But in Tunis, as in the conterminous regions, the fauna has been con- siderably modified by the great changes which have taken place in historical times. The destruction of the forests has caused certain species of animals to disappear, or else has reduce<l the extent of the zone inhabited by them. On the other hand, domestic animals have been imported, and also probably wild animals, such as deer, for according to the ancient writers, these animals were not to be found in this region before the arrival of the Carthaginians, who introduced and kept them in a half domesticated state to offer them up us sacrifices to Baal-IIummon. At present a few deer are to be seen in the western uplands of Tunisia, notably south of Tubarka, in the Ehumir and Ushtetta hills. The bear, which is believed to have been very common, judging from the numerous giH>graphicul terms in which its name occurs, appears to have become