Page 455 - Travels in Arabis (Vol I)

416 NAKAB EL HAJAR. [CH.

loitered near these wells, an Arab brought
several fine bullocks to water. They had the

hump observable in those of India, to which,
in size and colour, as well as in the stunted
growth of their horns, they bear a great re­
semblance.

Arak trees were very numerous, but taller,
larger, and of a different species to those
.
found on the sea-coast * The camels ate
greedily of those we found here, though
they never feed on the latter unless pressed
by hunger. This tree, common to Arabia,

Abyssinia, and Nubia, is found in many
places along the shores of the Red Sea, and
the southern coast of Socotra abounds with it.

Its foliage is of a lively green, which sends
forth a most fragrant odour at certain seasons.
The Arabs make tooth-brushes of the smaller
branches, which they dispose of at Mecca

and other parts of the East.
We observed also many tamarisks and
acacias intermingling their branches with the

other trees growing on this spot; the whole,
at this season, putting forth young buds and
* The former is the Salvadora Persica, well described by Fors-
kall as the Cissus Arborea ; the latter is the Avecennia nitida.
—Delille, Voy. en Arabie de l.ton la Borde.