340 Seven Years iji the Soudan.

" The tree called Siila produces a butter wliicli is eaten, and wliicli I believe will be much sought after for industrial purposes. Until now all the wax from honeycombs was thrown away, but now it is collected according to my recommendation. There are ostrich feathers in great quantities, and the savages, not knowing what to do with so many, used the black feathers only as head-ornaments, leaving the white plumes on the spot where the birds were killed.

" The country of Hofrat-el-Nahas is very rich in copper of best quality. Iron veins are met with everywhere. Timber of every kind is abundant, and especiall}'' a tree that is used for tanning. It is said that coffee abounds in Sandeh, and I shall soon have a sample. Rice is also abundant there, and the grains are three times the size of the best Bolognese rice.

" At Khartoum I had asked for cotton seeds, and his Excellency sent me a hundredweight. It has been sown in various places, and yielded a splendid result. Dr. Felkin, who occupies himself a great deal with these matters, asserts that the quality is perfect both as regards the length and fineness. I have found cotton growing; wild in manv places, and intend to give a great impulse to its cultivation.

" I will not s})eak of the ivory, which is a government monoply. From tandeli alone more than a thousand hundredweight are received yearly. In the beds of the rivers Wau and Dembo is found a kind of stone with which the natives dye the mud walls of their huts black. I believe that it can be nothing but graphite, and "VTilson and Felkin are of the same opinion. When the water subsides I shall take care to send you a sample that you may have it examined. There are many other articles adapted for commerce, but those I have mentioned would be sufiicient to ensure the prosperity of the natives and of the European factories.