The country of Barbary, as has been already men tioned, soon after its subjection to the caliphs, was divided into a multitude of petty sovereignties ; but these have been so continually varying, both as to their particular number and relative strength, that it is impossible either to enumerate or describe them with any tolerable degree of accuracy. The chief of them at present arc, Morocco, Algiers, Tunis, poli ; and to one or other of these, the smaller king doms of Fez, Tremecen; Constautina, Barca, &c. are now become subject. The largest of these, Mo rocco and Fez, comprehending the greater part of west and south Barbary, forms an entire and indepen dent empire of itself. The more northern and eas tern states are still in some degree dependent upon the Turkish power, or at least occasionally claim•its protection. For a separate account of whatever may be peculiar in each of these divisions, with respect to history, description, government, population, &c. we refer the reader to the several articles Auiimis, MOROCCO, TUNIS, TRIPOLI, &c.; and shall here en deavour to collect and arrange, in one view, such ob servations as apply to the country and inhabitants of Barbary in general.
The climate of Barbary is, in general, peculiarly temperate and salubrious, equally removed from the opposite extremes of drought and moisture, of heat land cold. In the coldest seasons the thermometer seldom sinks more than to the 5th degree above the freezing point, and in the warmest weather it seldom rises to sultry, except when the winds blow from the Sahara. During a long residence in Morocco, M. Chenier never observed it lower than 21 above the freezing point ; and during the space of 12 years at Algiers, Dr Shaw found it so low as freezing only on two occasions, when the ground was covered with snow. According to the observations of the last 'mentioned author, all the variations of the atmo sphere, as indicated by the barometer, are compre hended within the compass of inch, or from to 30k. The air upon the coast is nearly as cool during summer, as in the most temperate countries of Europe ; and, even in the more inland places, the heat is greatly moderated by refreshing breezes from the snowy summits of the Atlas mountains. In the southern provinces, however, during the months of July and August, the heats are sometimes extreme ; and, about the beginning of September, a suffocating wind from the Sahara, called the Shume, or Siume, blows with the greatest violence for the space of one, two, or even three weeks. During the prevalence of this parching blast, the ground is often heated to such a degree, that it is almost impossible to walk upon it ; and the inhabitants are obliged to retire to subterraneous apartments, or warehouses on the ground floor, eating nothing but fruits, and frequently sprink ling their houses with vinegar to cool the air. Buck. cts of water, also, are thrown upon the stone-walls of the bed-chambers, to render them habitable towards night ; and so excessive is the heat, that the effect of this operation is often similar to that of casting water upon hot iron. During the dry season, from March to September, it scarcely ever rains • and the atmo sphere is almost completely free of clouds : even du ring the rainy season, from September to March, there is seldom a day that the sun is not visible at inter vals. These vernal and autumnal rains are remark. ably regular, and seldom violent ; but the country is occasionally subject to long-continued droughts, which never fail to produce innumerable swarms of locusts, the most destructive enemies of vegetation, and the frequent forerunners of famine.
The appearance of the country is rather mountainous, tolerably covered with wood, but not so well watered. In many places it is finely varied in hill and dale ; and amidst the forests and higher grounds, the most delightful retreats are to be found, refreshed with abundant and numerous streams, filled with odoriferous plants and flowers, and yielding the most luxuriant and nutritious herbage. The soil, es pecially towards the coast and in the mountainous districts, is light and sandy, of a very loose and yield ing texture ; but, in some of the northern provinces, it is composed of a rich black or red earth, without either clay or stone. It is capable of every kind of cultivation, and is productive in the highest degree. In the northern districts, it is well fitted for the growth of the most valuable European productions ; and in the southern, it is capable of yielding every lux ury peculiar to the East or West Indies. It is, in general, strongly impregnated with various salts; and to this circumstance, it is conjectured, may in a great measure be ascribed that extraordinary fertility for which it has always been remarkable. The culture, which it receives, is meagre and superficial in the extreme. The only manure, which is employed, is the annual burning of the long stubble, and the dung of the cat tle turned out to pasture ; while all the tillage that is bestowed is a slight scratching, about six inches deep, which is frequently performed with a wooden plough, and of which an ordinary pair of beeves is sufficient to accomplish a whole acre in one day. Two bush els and a half of wheat or barley are usually sown upon one acre ; and the ordinary produce is about 12 bushels for one. A much greater increase, however, is not uncommon. One grain generally puts forth ten or fifteen stalks, sometimes fifty or sixty, and in some instances even a still greater number. Each of these stalks sometimes bears two ears, and these again often shoot out into a number of smaller ones, so as to afford a most extraordinary return. After the custom of the East, the natives of Barbary tread out their corn by driving the cattle over the sheaves spread out on some level spot of ground, and then separate the chaff, by throwing it up against the wind with a shovel. The grain is then lodged in matta mores, or subterraneous magazines, containing at least 400 bushels each, lined with straw, and covered with earth in a pyramidal form. In these store-places it can be preserved, without suffering any damage, for the space of five or six years, and even for a much longer period. The horticulture in Barbary is, if possible, even more deficient than the husbandry ; and the gardens are neither laid out with taste, nor kept with care ; but present to the view a confused mixture of fruit-trees, pot-herbs, and grain, neither divided by walks, nor ornamented with flowers. Yet even with this superficial cultivation, the soil of Bar bary yields almost every vegetable production in the greatest abundance ; and were the husbandman suffi ciently protected in the exercise of his labour, and the enjoyment of his gains, it is supposed to be capable of producing a hundred fold more than the consump tion of its population requires.