THE OIL PALM. 443 on beautiful high trees of the same kind as those I saw in Uganda, where they appear to be confined to the lowlands. The variety and abundance of species of Anona are very noticeable. I send you the seeds of one of them, called mdémbara, which yields bright yellow fruits larger than a pineapple and distinguished by an acid taste. If it were possible to improve their cultivation, they would become a magnificent fruit. I have collected a considerable quantity of Elais seeds, and if I return to Ladé I will have this beautiful tree planted everywhere. Its most northerly hmit in our district, as far as I know, is in Makrakda, where I saw it spontaneously growing upon the small islands in the Yei. I imagine that the seeds had been carried down the river from . the south. I see from a letter from Lupton Bey that the Hlais palm is found to the west of the Bahr-el-Ghazal district as far as 6 N. lat. Seeds from there have been planted in Ladd. I may take it for granted beforehand that you will be satisfied with the sample of caoutchouc I sent you. The juice was collected, according to my instructions, without mixing it with water, and was then simply thickened over the fire and smoked. Masses of it could be collected in this country, as both species of the Landolphia are very common. ‘The juice is used in a remarkable way here as an application in the treatment of dry skin diseases. The affected places are painted with it, and it forms an impermeable layer over the diseased skin. The facts which you establish with regard to the flora of this land, namely, the predominance of pure westerly forms and species, I can corroborate with regard to the fauna, on the basis of my zoological collections. But this was only what I expected from the first. The want of text-books prevents me determining more than a very small portion of my collections, but I believe that I have already collected much of interest and several completely new species.

My stay here is not exactly pleasant; on the day of my arrival the people commenced to complain of pricking and burning in the skin, and several especially susceptible individuals suffered from small swellings, chiefly on their hands and. feet, as well as feverish symptoms. My turn came next ; purplish-red spots appeared upon my neck, face, and hands,