The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1907-04-21

pictures of the palms and springs, only;
and that we had very good looking men
in France and America and hence did
not need to take home pictures of the
natives of Figug.
Among Date Plantations.
Fifteen thousand acres is a pretty big
farm, and, as / estimate it, that is just
about the extent of these oasis. This
Flguig farm, however, is like nothing you
can imagine. 1t is divided up into little
pens or gardens, each of which is a date
plantation. Many of the holdings are
not more than a quarter of an acre in
size and each Is surrounded by walls
from eight to twelve feet in length The
walls are of sun-dried brick plastered with
mud; and they usually face upon the
roads, SO narrow that as L rode on my
horse through them | could easily touch
the mud bricks on both Sides Here
and there, wall was broken at the top
and | could look over and see the date
trees and the gardens within.
Many of the date palms reach high
above the wall; but others are not more
than six feet in height and still they
bear dates. The trees are about eight
inches in diameter. and they seem to car
~ an even thickness from the ground
upward. The highest were. I judge, not
over twenty feet tall At the top they
DIdIlCi Oul III great ldH-llh6 III cA lcdNeb,
and from the roots of the leaves hang
the clusters of red and yellow dates The
fruit is long, fiat and smooth and of
much the same shape as a butternut with
the shell on. / saw many clusters, any
one of which, I am sure. held a half
bushel of dates, and not a few trees bore
half dozen clusters or more. Some of
the dates are now ripe and we ate them
fresh from the trees. They are as sweet
q hnnnU nd fbpir dlOn ba Inn
agined by those who have only tasted
the mushy black dates of our grocery
stores.
Under these palms, appricots, peaches,
pears, pomegranates and other such
fruits were growing; and below them in
some places, were vegetables three crops
being produced on the same soil at the
same time.
Outside the date plantations were un-
irrigated fields In which grain had been
planted to take advantage of the slight
rainfall which comes here near the noun
tains during certain months of the year.
believe that these fields are also given
some water from the springs.
Lumber of the Gases.
AS we went on with our journey we
could see how important the date palm
is to these people of the desert. 1t Is
their bread. fire wood and lumber. The
bitches here and there crossed the streets
and In such cases there were bridges OF
palm wood. l observed the doors which
go into the walls of the date gardens.
Each has but one and that not higher
than my waist. Indeed some doors are
so low that the common razor-back hog
would lose his bristles if he should try
to go through them. These gates are OF
palm planks; they are sawed out by hand
and pegged rudely together. The date
tree forms the pillars which uphold the
house roofs, 1t is used as beams and
rafters and it is made into ladders for
the watch towers. These towers are of
mud brick, but there Is more or less
palm wood in them, and the platforms.
on which the spies sit at time of date
harvest to guard the crop against thieves,
are of the same material.
l was much interested in tho palm
trees. They look ragged and rough. On
the taller trees there are no leaves ex-
cept at the top, and am told that each
ring or bark represents a years growth.
If this is true many of the palms must
be century old. They begin/to bear at
ten or twelve years and yield crops there
after every two years. The dates hero
are not as good as those of some other
parts of the Sahara. There are
better ones In the Tuat, IN Tougurt and
in Biskra. I shall learn more about them
as I go on with my travels.
Village Republic Of Figulg.
Stranger even than the palm trees are
the people of this out-of-the way land.
Each of these oasis has its own little viii
lage, and every little desert settlement
is community of Its own Kind. The viii
lagos of Figuig are seven. The first and