APPENDIX VI.— ECONOMIC CONDITIONS 519 



1. (luolla. — Elevation below 1500 m. (ca. 5000 ft.) above sea-level. 

 (^a) Lower region. Temperature min. 28' to max. 48° C. (82° to 



118° F.). This is the district called the Sanihar, outside 

 Massowah. The soil is arid and sandy ; trees are few, except in 

 the neighbourhood of water. Products ml. The fauna com- 

 prises lion, hyeena, jackal, many kinds of antelope, and along the 

 coast, ostriches. Reptiles abound ; many venomous snakes, 

 python, and crocodile are found. 

 {U) Upper region. Temperature min. 22^ to max. 28' C. (72° to 

 82° F.). Flora : tamarisk, mimosa, euphorbia or quolquol tree. 

 Products : incense and gums, ebony, cotton, and maize. Fauna : 

 lion, leopard, buffalo, rhinoceros, elephant, hippopotamus, ante- 

 lope, and gazelles. 



2. Usiiia Dega. — Elevation, 1500 to 2500 metres above sea-level (ca. 

 5000 to 8000 ft.). 



i^ii) Lower region. Temperature min. 22' to max. 25° C. (72° to 

 11 F.). 



[b) Upper region. Temperature min. 13 to max. 17'' C. (55° to 

 63° F.). Flora : numerous trees and shrubs, e.g.., sycamore, 

 terebinth, lemon, orange, banana, coffee. All kinds of cereals 

 grow well. Cattle, good horses, and mules are plentiful. 



3. Dcga, on the Abyssinian plateau. Above the altitude of 2500 

 metres (ca. 8000 feet). 



{a) Lower region. Temperature, min. 10' to 13' C. (50' to 55° F.). 

 Vegetation ; scanty. Plenty of cattle and long-haired sheep. 

 Fauna : leopard, hyaena ; eagles and falcons, a few guinea-fowl, 

 two kinds of partridge. 



{!>) Upper region. Temperature from a maximum of 10' C. (50° F.) to 

 a minimum in winter of several degrees under o. The vegeta- 

 tion consists almost exclusively of lichen and gehoruc — and in 

 Tembien the koiisso tree. 



The total population of Erythrea is about 330,000 souls. The figures 

 below are taken from the census of 1900, as forwarded by H.E. the 

 Governor to the Italian Foreign Office. They are fairly reliable, though 

 as far as the native population is concerned they cannot be regarded as 

 absolutely correct, for the reason that a good many of the latter are nomadic 

 in their habits — particularly in the Bata country and the Habab and 

 Hadendowa tribes. 



