WAHUMA HERDSMEN. ie Draceenas and aloes grew near the house, and colocasias surrounded it. JI noticed for the first time here, and often subsequently, that on the under surface of the colocasia leaves there is a blackish green lobe-shaped excrescence, chiefly along the ribs of the leaves. Hardly a leaf was free from it, and yet the plant did not seem to be affected by the parasite, but was in a very flourishing condition, which was probably due very much to the frequent trenching of the earth around it.

-Jn my opinion the roots of the colocasias afford the most tasty vegetable to be found in Central Africa.

There was no change in the landscape during the following march, which led through the wet, muddy bottom of the valley between two parallel ranges of hills. Swamps with elegant date palms, hills which transversely cross the path or run alongside of it, banana groves, and houses, succeeded each other in motley sequence. In the middle of one of the swamps the sound of a big kettledrum, which signals the approach of a person of rank, was heard, and shortly after, Matongali Nyakabua, chief of all the Wahuma herdsmen in Mréko’s district, passed us after a short greeting. His people, with spears, and bows and arrows (very seldom seen in Uganda), carried on their heads their chief’s baggage carefully wrapped up in bark mats and skins, Soon atterwards the village of Irkabwe was passed, and its inhabitants did not run away, whereas hitherto all except Mréko’s people had fled before us. At last we reached Guru, where we halted for the night, as it threatened to rain. I was to enjoy the luxury of a house that night, but had first to receive Mtésa’s messengers, who brought me his greetings, and after resting for a moment, took their departure. According to their account, the rain was pouring down in torrents every day at _ Mtésa’s, and the whole country was flooded, which I could easily believe, because it had only rained here four times that day, and yet we had been wading half the way in water breast high. The seams of my boots were splitting open, as the constant wet had caused the thread to rot.

In. spite of repeated calls, the people only made their appearance this morning after I had sent for them three or four times, and even then they hesitated a long time before starting, because the sun had not risen high enough to warm the water through