180 UGANDA AND THE EGYPTIAN SOUDAN.

bottom is a strainer made of various coloured grasses, terminating in a " crown" knot.

The mats, which are an invariable article of furniture in every respectable family, are made of strips of the young leaflets of the wild date palm. These leaflets are dried and bleached in the sun, and then cut carefully into strips and plaited into large mats, elegant patterns being often made by working in blue, red, or black strips. These mats are very pliable, and will roll up without cracking or splitting.

In metal-work, the blacksmiths of Uganda are very superior to their neighbours. They obtain their iron from ore found in the country, and though rather short, it is of good quality. Steel, except as imported, is unknown to them. Their spears, knives, etc., have already been mentioned. They also make various articles, such as spears, bells, and rings, of the brass and copper imported from Zanzibar ; and Mtesa once showed me some brass cartridge-cases made by his smiths, which, though only cast, were wonderfully true and smooth. The "Waganda are very clever at imitating articles of European manufacture, and frequently convert flint-lock muskets into percussion guns.

The only noticeable articles of woodwork are their walking-sticks and milk-pots. Walking-sticks are carried by all the aristocracy of Uganda, and are made out of a hard white wood, and are beautifully