. Cook's practical guide to Algeria and Tunisia . ew of the neighbourhood. The following account, which appeared in the Times, gives anunexaggerated and correct description of the oasis of Biskra :— •? Some years ago the railway system in Eastern Algeria was extendedsouth through the gorge of Kl Kantara to Biskra, the first, and perhapsthe finest, of the oases in the Northern Sahara. Ii is now many yearssince a company of French gentlemen,the CompagniedelOued in the developmcnl of the country, conceived the idea ofinstalling a series of artesian we]]-, ami of increasing, by imp
. Cook's practical guide to Algeria and Tunisia . ew of the neighbourhood. The following account, which appeared in the Times, gives anunexaggerated and correct description of the oasis of Biskra :— •? Some years ago the railway system in Eastern Algeria was extendedsouth through the gorge of Kl Kantara to Biskra, the first, and perhapsthe finest, of the oases in the Northern Sahara. Ii is now many yearssince a company of French gentlemen,the CompagniedelOued in the developmcnl of the country, conceived the idea ofinstalling a series of artesian we]]-, ami of increasing, by improvedon, the produce Qi some of the already existing oases, as well DISTRICTS EAST !• 235 as Eorming now plantations for systematic cultivation. In spite of many obstacles, the project was steadily pursued. An evidence of thetenacity of purpose which has characterised the promoters i^. thatonly recently has a return in the way of dividend been travelling in the desert sometimes for days, with an unvarying. Street in Biskra. prospect of undulating plains of sand bounded by the horizon, therelief to the eye is even greater than that of the body when one ofthese little islands of green in the endless sea I sand is reached,and the sight id green trees, welcome shade, and running water isappreciated as it has been never before. The water from the wells isdistributed in little canals, often only a few inches in depth and 236 ALGERIA AND TUNISIA. width, which wind through the gardens and round the roots of thepalms, so as to ensure that condition under which alone, says theproverb, can the date nourish, its feet in the water and its head inthe tires of heaven. The artesian wells sunk by French engineersnaturally require but little attention when once the flow of water isestablished; but with the Arabs wells it is often quite another a mouth at least a yard square, and sides shored up in a primi-tive fashion, it is natural that they should frequ
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