Great Numbers Of The Dome Palm (Hyphoene Thebaica, Mart.) Grew
Upon The Banks; These Trees Are Of Great Service To The Arab
Tribes, Who At This Season Of Drought Forsake The Deserts And
Flock Upon The Margin Of The Atbara.
The leaves of the dome
supply them with excellent material for mats and ropes, while the
fruit is used both for man and beast.
The dome palm resembles the
palmyra in the form and texture of its fan-shaped leaves, but
there is a distinguishing peculiarity in the growth: instead of
the straight single stem of the palmyra, the dome palm spreads
into branches, each of which invariably represents the letter Y.
The fruit grows in dense clusters, numbering several hundred, of
the size of a small orange, but of an irregular oval shape; these
are of a rich brown colour, and bear a natural polish as though
varnished. So hard is the fruit and uninviting to the teeth, that
a deal board would be equally practicable for mastication; the
Arabs pound them between stones, by which rough process they
detach the edible portion in the form of a resinous powder. The
rind of the nut which produces this powder is about a quarter of
an inch thick; this coating covers a strong shell which contains
a nut of vegetable ivory, a little larger than a full-sized
walnut. When the resinous powder is detached, it is either eaten
raw, or it is boiled into a delicious porridge, with milk; this
has a strong flavour of gingerbread.
The vegetable ivory nuts are then soaked in water for about
twenty-four hours, after which they are heaped in large piles
upon a fire until nearly dry, and thoroughly steamed; this
process renders them sufficiently tractable to be reduced by
pounding in a heavy mortar. Thus, broken into small pieces they
somewhat resemble half-roasted chestnuts, and in this state they
form excellent food for cattle. The useful dome palm is the chief
support of the desert Arabs when in times of drought and scarcity
the supply of corn has failed. At this season (June) there was
not a blade of even the withered grass of the desert oases. Our
donkeys lived exclusively upon the dhurra (Sorghum Egyptiaca)
that we carried with us, and the camels required a daily supply
of corn in addition to the dry twigs and bushes that formed their
dusty food. The margin of the river was miserable and uninviting;
the trees and bushes were entirely leafless from the intense
heat, as are the trees in England during winter. The only shade
was afforded by the evergreen dome palms; nevertheless, the Arabs
occupied the banks at intervals of three or four miles, wherever
a pool of water in some deep bend of the dried river's bed
offered an attraction; in such places were Arab villages or
camps, of the usual mat tents formed of the dome palm leaves.
Many pools were of considerable size and of great depth.
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