sa, where it is the prime article of
food. A hundred kinds of date are said to grow at Medina, of which the
_birni_ is considered the most wholesome; the _halwa_ and the _jalebi_
are the most delicately flavoured and sell at very high rates; the
_khulas_ of El Hasa is also much esteemed.

Of cereals the common millets, _dhura_ and _dukhn_, are grown in all
parts of the country as the summer crop, and in the hot irrigated
Tehama districts three crops are reaped in the year; in the highlands
maize, wheat and barley are grown to a limited extent as the winter
crop, ripening at the end of March or in April. Among vegetables the
common kinds grown include radishes, pumpkins, cucumbers, melons,
potatoes, onions and leeks. Roses are grown in some places for the
manufacture of _atr_, or attar of roses; mignonette, jasmine, thyme,
lavender and other aromatic plants are favourites in Yemen, when the
Arabs often stick a bunch in their head-dress.

Coffee.

Of the products special to Arabia coffee comes first; it is nowhere
found wild, and is believed to have been introduced from Abyssinia in
the 6th century A.D. It thrives on the seaward slopes of the western
range in the zone of the tropical rains, at altitudes between 4000 and
7000 ft. The principal centres of production are the upper valleys of
the W. Surdad, between Kaukaban and Manakha, and particularly on J.
Haraz; in the Wadi Zubed west of Uden; in Hajaria on the slopes of J.
Sabur, and in the Yafa district north-east of Aden. It is planted in
terraces on the mountain slopes; shady trees, such as tamarind and
fig, are planted in the border as a protection from the sun, and the
terraces are irrigated by channels led from a neighbouring rivulet or
spring. The plants are raised from seedlings, and when six or seven
weeks old they are transplanted in rows 4 to 6 ft. apart; they require
watering twice a month, and bear in two to four years. The berries are
dried in the sun and sent down to Hodeda or Aden, where they are
subjected to a process for separating the husk from the bean; the
result is about 50% of cleaned berries, _bun safi_, which is exported,
and a residue of husk or _kishr_, from which the Yemenis make their
favourite beverage.

Another plant universally used as a stimulant in Southern Arabia is
_khat_ (_Catha edulis_). The best is grown on J. Sabur and the
mountainous country round Ta