It was a matter of some interest to us to study the spontaneous vegetation of the gardens of Marocco. We could without difficulty have obtained permission to visit the very extensive gardens that occupy the larger part of the enclosed space surrounding the palace of the Sultan; but we decided that we should be able to work more effectually, and without risk of exciting the suspicions of the natives, by confining ourselves to the rather large space surrounding our own dwelling. To the English reader it may be well to remark that, in Marocco, as in most Eastern countries, a garden means something very different from what we understand by it at home. So far as any idea of enjoyment is connected with it the paramount object is shade and coolness. Trees, and running water, without which in this climate few trees will grow, are therefore the essential requisites. Beyond this the Moor, if he be rich and luxurious, may plant a few sweet-scented flowers, of which the rose, violet, jessamine, and _Acacia Farnesiana_ are most prized; but beyond this, no mere pleasure of the eye is ever dreamt of, and here, as elsewhere, there seems to be among the natives a complete want of the sense of beauty. [Illustration:_J. D. H. & J. B. delt._ TOWER OF THE KOUTOUBIA AT MAROCCO] To the Moor the chief object of a garden is not pleasure but profit. In this admirable climate nearly all the vegetable products of the temperate and subtropical zones may be had in profusion wherever water is attainable, and of this the Great Atlas provides an unfailing supply to the city and its neighbourhood. Even at the low prices of the country, fruits are the most profitable of all crops; and it is asserted that the Aguidel Garden—the largest of those within the palace enclosure—containing about forty English acres, produces on an average 20,000_l_. a year. The fruit-bearing trees planted in our garden were the date-palm, orange, olive, fig, pomegranate, apricot, almond, pear, apple, and mulberry, along with a few vines. Besides these were cypresses, willows (_Salix babylonica_), aspens, _Robinia_, _Melia_, and _Celtis_. There were several tall bushes of _Acacia Farnesiana_, just coming into fruit, and of white jessamine. The only cultivated flowers were the rose, Mirabilis, and hollyhock, and a large-leaved variety of sweet violet, which has also been found in Madeira. Of wild arborescent plants we noted only _Zizyphus Lotus_ and _Lonicera biflora_; the latter species (peculiar to North Africa) we observed here and there throughout our journey. Although the list of wild herbaceous plants includes few that are not common throughout the Mediterranean region, it may interest some readers to give it in full. Specimens of nearly all the species enumerated were preserved by us. _List of Plants growing wild in the Garden of Ben Dreis, in the City of Marocco. Those marked (*) are British species._