Tunis has several fine mineral springs, though it has no rivers. Thus does Nature seem to compensate for the lack of one blessing by the bestowal of another.
Tunis enjoys a fine climate and an exceedingly fertile soil. The people have only an imperfect knowledge of agriculture, but the natural advantages of the soil and climate are so great that little labor is necessary. Hence, we find wheat, barley, maize, olives, oranges, figs, grapes, pomegranates, almonds, and dates produced in abundance. In the culture of olives for oil more care is expended than in other directions. The supply of oil is very abundant, and exceedingly profitable.
Great herds of cattle and flocks of sheep feed on the plains. The wool of the sheep of Tunis is far famed.
The horses and the dromedaries, or camels, are considered very fine, and command a good price.
Tripoli is the most easterly of the Barbary States. It is not so mountainous as the other countries comprising Barbary. The Atlas Mountains terminate here in two chains that run parallel with the coast. The summits of the mountains in this section never exceed four thousand feet in height.
Tripoli has no rivers. During the long hot summers rain rarely falls. In compensation, there is a copious supply of dew. So plentiful is this dewfall, in some favored sections, as really to support vegetation.
The coast region is about eleven hundred miles in extent. Some sections of it are very fertile and productive. All kinds of tropical fruits are found, together with grain, grapes, cotton, and madder.
Farther to the east, along the shores of the Gulf of Sidra, nothing but dreary wastes of sand prevail. Here desolation may be said to reign.
The interior sections of Tripoli yield senna, dates, and nutgalls. The carob and the lotus are also found.
Here, as in Tunis, much attention is paid to the rearing of sheep and cattle. The small, yet beautiful horses, and the strong, well-formed mules of Tripoli are highly prized and much sought after.