Lake Victoria to Khartoum 



Many large huts lay scattered in the fields, 

 and their inhabitants stood in groups upon the 

 way clothed for the most part in white. * ' Otiano ! " 

 was the greeting we received in passing, and, 

 accompanied by hundreds of spectators, we 

 arrived at a large open space prepared for our 

 reception. Bunches of ripe golden bananas 

 appeared on the scene as a sign of welcome, 

 baskets of large red sweet potatoes, enormous 

 gourds full of native beer, small native fowls, 

 two or three sheep, and, last but not least, a 

 number of eggs in a pretty little basket. Two 

 of the donors had, as their somewhat thick 

 speech indicated, done all honour to the banana 

 wine, and they were in consequence slightly 

 elevated ; still they managed to show themselves 

 more or less at their ease. 



The banana plantations are generally very 

 well kept, but once a year the grass in them 

 is allowed to shoot, and after a while is pulled up 

 and placed in great heaps around each banana 

 plant, this being the only manure employed. 

 When rotting is at an end, which very soon 

 comes to pass, the grove looks like a huge and 

 very carefully kept garden. This and the breaking 

 off of the suckers, which grow readily, when 

 planted, to form a new shamba is the only tending 

 the banana requires to make it grow vigorously 

 and produce the nice big yellow bunches of fruit 

 danrrline from under the lonc^ orreen fronds. 



74 



