158 UGANDA AND THE EGYPTIAN SOUDAN.

red oxide of iron, procured from an ore resembling hsematite.

The tools used by the blacksmiths in making these implements are generally of the rudest possible description ; oblong stones serve as hammers, and large flat ones as anvils, the tongs being often merely pieces of green wood with a cleft in them. However a few iron hammers and tongs have been imported from Zanzibar, and some of the native smiths are skilful in the use of the file, which has also been introduced. The bellows which supply the blast for their charcoal fires consist of two earthen pots firmly bedded in the ground ; over the mouths of these a pliable skin is fastened, while to the centre of this sticks are tied, which a boy, holding one in each hand, works rapidly up and down alternately, thus giving a constant blast. There is a hole near the bottom of each pot, on the side facing the fire, and through this the blast passes to a clay tube which conducts it to the hearth.

The food of the Waganda, especially of the lower classes, is chiefly vegetable ; the principal article being the banana. As already mentioned, this grows everywhere in Uganda, and requires little or no cultivation. There are several varieties of this plant, which shows that its introduction, assuming that it is not indigenous, dates back a considerable period. These varieties are used for different purposes, some being boiled, others roasted, and