20 FROM MAGUNGO TO MRULL.

blossoms ; a streamlet dyed red with the iron that impregnates the soil, and upon the surface of which played all the colours of the rainbow, flows towards the west; and the station itself lies at the foot of a hill, upon which fragments of gneiss and quartz are scattered. This little establishment at Kirdto, the most southerly of our stations, is a paradise for the collector. Forests, fields, rocks, bogs, and short swards, all unite to harbour every species of animal and plant. Unfortunately, I was not able to remain here long.

Any number of cultivated plants grow round this place— tomatoes (which grow wild in masses), solanum, melongena, maize, lubia, arachis, voandzeia, bamia, and sesame (which has red blossoms, although generally in the Sudan they are white). Towards the south and east are dense forests, and in these the wild anona mingles its large bluish-green leaves with those of the wild vine, from the branches of which heavy clusters of grapes hang down. The Abrus precatorius twines round the trunks, presenting its well-known red kernels with black dots. Everywhere is found the red-ribbed Musa Hnsete, the black angular seeds of which are greatly prized in the manufacture of necklets. All sorts of beetles and worms crawl in the thick muddy water, and the wet bog seems particularly attractive to the butterflies, for above it numbers of them, especially the beautiful Hquites, flutter. Quantities of curiosities, including colobus skins (these monkeys must abound here) and very pretty pottery made from the usual black clay of the country, enriched my collections. Torcus erythorhynchus struts about the fields, yet in no way could I obtain possession of specimens, and if I had, there was not time to skin them.

At last, with a heavy heart, I had to leave Kiréto. We set off in the fresh early morning, the high grass sprinkling its dew upon us in myriads of glistening drops. How much our toilet was improved by this shower-bath can easily be imagined. Often enough on such marches I have envied our Negroes, who, hanging a skin in front of their bodies, obtained very good protection, while I was wet and shivering, a victim to my own civilisation. A ceaseless monotony envelops the traveller upon these marches, grass and isolated trees, and reeds of gigantic dimensions, often forming regular walls on