Morocco

an empire of northwestern Africa, bordering on the Mediterranean Ocean. The name is Arabic, meaning the "extreme west." The interior boundary is rather indefinite, somewhere in the Sahara Desert. The area is about 219,000 square miles. The ruler, known as the sultan, has three residences or capitals, the principal of which is Fez. The backbone of the country is the Atlas range. There are stretches of sand, of grassy table lands, and of plains well watered, and of great fertility. The temperature of oceanic Morocco, west of the Atlas Mountains, ranges from 40 deg. to 95 deg. The heat of the interior is insufferable. There is mineral wealth in the Atlas Mountains, but its extent is little known. Small quantities of copper, iron, and lead are mined. The cork oak, the cedar, pine, juniper, and date palm are the principal trees. The lion, panther, wild boar, and gazelle are still found in the wilder parts of the country. The cultivators of the soil are much plagued by hordes of locusts. Supplies of ostrich feathers are obtained from the Sahara border. Though, as stated, portions of the country are naturally fertile, agriculture is in a deplorable condition. Wheat, barley, corn, millet, beans, and grapes grow well, but there is little security for property. The chief wealth of the country consists in sheep and goats. The hides of the latter furnish the well known Morocco leather of commerce.

Tangier is the principal port. There are exports of almonds, goat skins, wool, wax, ostrich feathers, asafoetida, coal dust, ivory, beans, and peas. The country is without roads, railways, or canals. The people are, for the most part, Mohammedans. The ancient populace, known as Berbers, are largely agricultural. The Berbers constitute two-thirds of the population. They are a white people, possibly the oldest known, antedating, it is thought, the Phoenicians, the Carthaginians, and the Romans. The dominant or Arabic element is largely nomadic, and is concerned chiefly in stock-raising. The education offered in the cities themselves goes little beyond a study of the Koran. Commerce is in the hands largely of the Jews and of the descendants of the Moors who were expelled from Spain. An extensive caravan trade is conducted with the oases of the Sahara and with Timbuctoo. The mountainous portions of the country are overrun by brigands. The sultan extorts $2,500,000 annually from his wretched people, but he leads a frivolous life. Quite recently he sent $17,000 to Hamburg for a lot of wild animals, including a polar bear. At the present time (1909) the various governments of Europe, especially France and Germany, are quarreling over the future disposition of Moroccan territory.

The following statistics are the latest to be had from trustworthy sources:

See Fez; Timbuctoo