THE KINGDOM OP UGANDA 



97 



first diverged from wild foriiis of Musa in Eastern Asia, and like all the 

 other food products cultivated by the Negro, travelled to troitical Africa 

 from India at some pre-historic ])eriod. I, too, held this opinion once, 

 but I cannot endorse it so heartily now, on reflection. I believe there 

 is no record of the banana having been known to the ancient Kgy])tians. 



02. TllK HANANA Of UGANDA ^ONE UF THE THIRTY ODD VARIETIES) 



Its scientific name. Mam, is of course only a Latinising of the Egyptian- 

 Arabic word mu8, and ^Nluhanunadan Egypt only knew the fruit in the 

 Middle Ages* Therefore it is not very likely that the cultivated banana 

 reached trojdcal Africa from Asia, by way of Egypt, since its introduction 



* The word "banana" was, I believe, introduced and s])read l)y the Portuguese, 

 and is possibly derived from a ^^'est African word. 



VOL. I. 7 



