The pomegranates with their scarlet flowers, and the acacias with their light and graceful foliage, ornament the banks of the streams, generally intermingled with the far more frequent palm, while oranges, apples, pears, and vines are successfully cultivated in the gardens and orchards.
[Illustration: PLATE 5] Among the vegetable products of Chaldaea must be noticed, as almost peculiar to the region, its enormous reeds.

[PLATE V.] These, which are represented with much spirit in the sculptures of Sennacherib, cover the marshes in the summer-time, rising often to the height of fourteen or fifteen feet.

The Arabs of the marsh region form their houses of this material, binding the stems of the reeds together, and bending them into arches, to make the skeleton of their buildings; while, to form the walls, they stretch across from arch to arch mats made of the leaves.
From the same fragile substance they construct their _terradas_ or light boats, which, when rendered waterproof by means of bitumen, will support the weight of three or four men.
In mineral products Chaldaea was very deficient indeed.

The alluvium is wholly destitute of metals, and even of stone, which must be obtained, if wanted, from the adjacent countries.

The neighboring parts of Arabia could furnish sandstone and the more distant basalt; which appears to have been in fact transported occasionally to the Chaldaean Cities.
Probably, however, the chief importation of stone was by the rivers, whose waters would readily convey it to almost any part of Chaldaea from the regions above the alluvium.