VARIETIES OF VEGETATION.
In the Barbary States, which border upon the Mediterranean Sea, there is an extensive cultivation of grain. Wheat, barley, maize, rice, and a variety of corn called Kaffir corn, are found in considerable quantities. Figs and olives thrive luxuriantly, and pomegranates, grapes, and melons abound.
Tobacco has been introduced and has been cultivated to quite an extent. The white mulberry tree is also cultivated, for use in the silkworm culture. Here, too, are found the indigo and cotton plants, together with the sugar cane, while most of the kitchen vegetables of Europe are easily cultivated.
South of the Barbary States, in the mountainous districts of the Atlas range, is found a peculiar kind of timber growth. It bears the name sandarach, and is almost imperishable. It is generally supposed to be the same species of wood mentioned as the shittim wood in the Scriptures. The ceilings of the Mohammedan mosques are largely, if not exclusively, built of it.
Passing beyond the chain of the Atlas Mountains, the vegetation changes. There are now but few trees, and there is a noticeable dryness in the atmosphere. It is in these regions that rain seldom falls, while such is the heat of the winds that it is scarcely bearable even by the natives.
Here, the palm, by divine Providence, affords a grateful shade. The mass of foliage formed by its fan-like leaves is almost impervious to the scorching heat, and beneath its towering yet graceful form the orange, lemon, pomegranate, and vine flourish. Strange to say, their fruits, grown thus in the cooling shade, seem to acquire a peculiar richness of flavor not noticeable in those grown in the ordinary way.
The vegetation of Egypt may be said to be somewhat of an intermediate character, for it partakes of the characteristics of the several sections we have already had described.
In the parts watered by the Nile there are found rich productions of grains of all kinds, while in the southern and drier portions are found only stunted, miserable-looking bushes and shrubs. These dispute with the drifts of accumulating sand for the possession of the native soil of these sections.
Indigo and tobacco are found in the parts of Egypt which have the richest soil. Cotton has been cultivated to some extent, by means of an expensive and laborious system of irrigating the soil.
Along the Senegal the cotton plant flourishes, in its rich, well-watered soil, almost without care or cultivation. One can scarcely estimate what quantities of cotton could be raised under careful and painstaking labor. Coffee grows luxuriantly in all the fertile sections of Africa, and is very abundant.
In the deserts of the interior the eye is greeted by very different pictures from those which the other sections of Africa present. These deserts are mostly destitute of plants, and the few they have are of stunted growth. A very remarkable kind of grass covers entire districts, to the great annoyance of the traveler, on account of its prickles. Agoul, a plant peculiar to the desert, furnishes food for the camel.
In the equatorial parts of Africa all trees peculiar to European countries are lacking. Even the date tree is seldom seen. While the flora of these tropical regions resembles somewhat that of India, yet there are peculiarities of vegetation which belong strictly to African localities.
Here are found masses of the baobab trees of which we have read, and whose fruit furnishes the refreshing drink so necessary to the natives. Here, also, are found the cotton trees, the bases of which form great buttresses; while shrubs in no inconsiderable variety and rich and varied verdure cover the soil. Groups of palm trees, sago palms, and other varieties of the same family bend down to the water's edge along the great streams.
In the thickets climbing plants of every description twine among the branches of the trees. One variety has recently been discovered which yields a very good species of india rubber. These specimens of plant life, with the masses of wild flowers, showing a brilliant coloring of mingled scarlet, orange, and white, make a scene of rare beauty.
While there is so much that is new and strange in these tropical regions, yet the absence of waving fields of grain and corn is strongly noticeable. Here, too, the vine is quite unknown. The fig is of little or no use, except in a few localities. Only the orange and the lime remain to remind us of the usual fruits of the tropics.
Here and there may be found various kinds of apples and plums; but, owing to the intense heat, they do not attain any perfection of size or flavor. It is a curious fact that all the fruit is not only small and undeveloped, but seems to lose, in a large degree, not only its peculiar flavor, but its succulent juices as well.
In some places in the wooded sections pineapples are very abundant, and seem to be as well established as in their native soil in tropical America.
In the tropics, wherever a broad belt of alluvial soil is exposed by the fall of the tide, as on the shores of the sea, in the estuaries of rivers, and in the shallow lagoons, we may expect to find a dense vegetation of mangroves.
These water-loving trees seem to seek the salt water sections in preference even to other localities equally damp. Their growth is peculiar and picturesque. The seeds germinate on the branches, increase to a considerable length, and then fall into the mud. Here, with their sharp points lying buried, they soon take root.
As the mangrove grows upwards, roots issue from the trunk and low branches, and ultimately strike into the muddy ground, where they grow and present the appearance of a series of loops and arches, from five to ten feet high, which support the body of the tree like so many stakes.
Their matted roots interrupt the flow of the waters, and by retaining the earthy particles that sink to the bottom between them, gradually raise the level of the land. As the new land is thus built up, seeds begin to grow in it, and thousands of roots descend, still further to consolidate it. Thus, year after year, the mangroves extend the land into the sea.
As we approach the southern portion of the great peninsula of Africa, we find a wilderness of sand. This barren tract occupies the central portion of the country. Here there is little or no vegetation to attract the eye.
In the table-lands of Cape Colony there are numerous fleshy, leafless tribes of aloes and other plants. These fix their hold in the sand by means of a single tough, wiry root. For conveying nourishment to the plants, these roots must be practically useless, since the soil affords little food. Hence the main sustenance of these plants must come from the dews with which a wise Creator supplies their needs. Many varieties of heath are found here, among other plants.
Upon the hills and rocks of some sections of Africa is a curious tribe of plants which seem partly of the nature of palms and partly of the nature of ferns. They may be said to be of an intermediate family. These fernlike palms literally cover the hills and rocky slopes. After a rain, such portions of the country as have been watered by nature's hand blossom forth into indescribable beauty; for the gladiolus, oxalis, and other native plants are in brilliant bloom.
At Cape Town the American aloe tree has been introduced, and vast impenetrable hedges have been formed by the interlacing of its spinelike leaves, which are often six feet in length. Here, too, flourish the oak and pine of Europe, for the climate is most favorable to their growth.
We have had occasion to speak of the thick-leaved, cactuslike plants of the desert, which seem to prefer the arid soil of the naked plains, where they are fully exposed to the burning rays of a tropical sun.
They furnish a great contrast to the delicately feathered mimosas of the more fertile sections of the continent. Among all the lovely children of Flora, the goddess of flowers, none can rival these plants in the beauty of their foliage.
One can gain but a faint idea of the beauty these plants attain under a tropical sun. In most species the branches extend horizontally, or are umbrella-shaped, and the deep blue sky, shining through the light green foliage, has a very picturesque effect.