) AN UNCANNY PLANT, 347 the chief beauty of the landscape. The rich green foliage of the indiarubber creeper (called here billa), with its white bunches of blossoms and its strong but pleasant perfume, abounds in the Mittu country, and is very beautiful. Sanseviera (tov) also grows there, but the most curious form I noticed was a plant much like a euphorbia, about three feet high, with a grey stem about two and a half inches thick, which had at its upper end six to eight short thick branches ; these, as well as the stem, had an immense number of scars where the leaves were inserted, and beneath each scar a short sharp thorn, which gave to the plant, at this time without leaves or flowers, a stumpy, prickly, uncanny appearance. It grows in groups of two or three, and its character appears to resemble its looks, for the natives, who call the plant Azbboia, say that if buffaloes knock their heads against it, they are blinded by the juice and their heads swell. The people take good care, therefore, to avoid it.

Khor Maholu, which delivers a considerable quantity of water into Khor Lila during the kiari/, was at this time only a large pond. Its water is used by the people living in the scattered zertbas belonging to the village of Magulu. Where the corn-fields which surround these zertbas end, park-like plains abounding in high trees, or broad bare flats of ferruginous clay, covered with scanty moss-like turf and many small termite hills, are noticed. The wells of Karaibote are circular basins sunk into the hard clay soil; they contain dirty water and water-lilies. Worms of all kinds are found in them, and they are the breeding-places of the Ferentit (Mlaria medinensis, Guinea worm), which is so abundant in this district. Hundreds of swifts flew over the small doléb plantation near the village of Imudi, which lay hidden in the midst of bamboo thickets. The latter extended to the corn-fields of the village of Bauru, where we camped.

Our porters, with their “ buttoned” upper lips and the glittering knives stuck behind in their girdles, were a merry set, always ready to sing and dance. Hardly had they laid down their loads, when they formed a large circle for conversation, their naked and very ugly wives joining in quite freely. I noticed here an exceedingly curious custom. One