TAMA TO KABARU. 39 in the preparation of beer ; Miamunya, the golden medium-sized sweet fruits of which have a delicious white pulp, and are used for eating as well as for the manufacture of banana wine; Karambe, with firm fruit of a span’s length, having brick-red skins, and only employed for eating—decidedly the best kind. The natives seldom eat ripe bananas; but the ereen fruit, alone, or cooked with meat, forms the basis of their food, It is remarkable that many of the fruit-bearing plants show wellmarked red ribs on their leaves, corresponding with Musa Ensete, the mother of their species, which comes often enough to the fore here, but has nothing remarkable about its shape. It is found from Fatiko (3000 feet high) on towards the south everywhere, and its large black seeds are much liked for necklaces..

The distance between Tama and Kabdaru was short, and as the road seemed to lead through a great garden, we soon reached our journey’s end. As regards the grass, it is Just the reverse of what it was in the north; there tall grass was the rule, and plantations were only met with occasionally ; here there is one cultivated stretch of land after another, and houses in great numbers, and where tracts of land covered with high grass are found, the latter seems to be spared on purpose to provide material for housebuilding. It was fortunate that I had a roof over my head, for immediately after our arrival the rain, which had been threatening since morning, began to descend in torrents.

My house, under the projecting roof of which were hung as charms small bundles of maize, lubia, and durrah, neatly rolled up in banana leaves, was full of earthen vessels, bark cloth, and gourd bottles. There were also the large baskets mentioned above, wide at the top, narrowing towards the bottom, and closely plaited, in case of being needed for the manufacture of beer. In this case a pap of bananas mashed with water is put into them, and they are buried in the earth, and covered with banana leaves and a thick layer of hay until the fermentation begins. In all the houses were suspended small baskets filled with hay, which are used as roosts for fowls, these being very small, but kept in great numbers.

There are no trees in the banana groves except several varieties of the fig, which are used for the manufacture of