Without halting, except at one spot to secure some specimens of the great onion (_Allium nigrum_ of Linnæus), we rode pretty fast through the belt of cultivated land that lies between the shore and the hills. The agriculture of this country has probably undergone little change since the earliest historic period. The plough in daily use is the same that is figured on the monuments of ancient Egypt, and with two exceptions the crops are the same—barley, wheat, lentils, vetches, flax, and pumpkins. America has supplied two valuable articles of food—maize and potatoes—and two exotic plants that have become so common as to modify the appearance of many localities—the _Agave_, or American aloe of British greenhouses, and the Indian fig (_Opuntia vulgaris_)—both extensively used for hedges, and multiplying freely on waste ground. The last-named plant contributes to the scanty dietary of the natives; but the fruit, when eaten in any quantity, is said to be indigestible, and a potent ally to diarrhœa and dysentery. On reaching the hills, of which we merely crossed some low spurs, the aspect of the vegetation became more varied. The dominant plants were still those we had seen in similar situations about Tangier—the palmetto (_Chamærops humilis_), the great branched asphodel (_Asphodelus cerasiferus_), and some spiny species of the Cytisus tribe; but the slopes were covered with a brilliant and varied vegetation, presenting a marked contrast to the comparative monotony of the tillage region. Most of the common orchids were seen, and we admired the many climbing plants that cover the bushes, and even reach the tops of tall trees. The beautiful _Clematis cirrhosa_ is, indeed, less common here than it is in Algeria; but the two forms of _Smilax_, the spiny and the smooth-stemmed (_S. aspera_ and _S. mauritanica_), were abundant; and a wild vine is common here, as it is in similar positions on the northern skirts of the Great Atlas, where it is not known to have ever been cultivated for the production of wine. Our chief botanical prize in this part of the day’s ride was a beautiful Cytisus, with silvery white leaves and numerous dense heads of bright yellow flowers (_Genista clavata_ of Poiret).