A USEFUL TREE 



able to obtain a silver-backed jackal (Cams vtesomelas). 

 These beautiful little animals are among the most 

 handsome of the smaller carnivora, their bright rufous 

 coat showing up in vivid contrast to the silver-coloured 

 patch along the back, from which they get their name. 

 I noticed, among other small birds, a species of horn- 

 bill (Lopkoceros medianus) whose harsh note and 

 curiously uneven flight, continuously dipping and then 

 rising again, renders it very conspicuous. 



Some four hours later we reached another small 

 Somali " boma " or village, and I camped near a 

 clump of "araru" trees, about half a mile farther 

 on. These trees, which resemble a diminutive baobab 

 tree, are much valued by the natives, as by peeling 

 off the smooth outer bark they obtain a tough and 

 resilient fibre, from which the women make many 

 useful household utensils. The camel mats, which 

 serve also as a covering for their huts, are skilfully 

 woven of grass, and tied together with this fibre, 

 which renders them extremely durable. While waiting 

 for the camels I strolled down to the water-hole, 

 which lay a quarter of a mile distant, to see what it 

 was like. The bush was very dense all round, but 

 situated in a little clearing were five shallow depres- 

 sions or pans, averaging 15 yards broad by 30 yards 

 long, filled with rain-water to a depth of about 

 6 inches. The water was grey-brown, covered with 

 patches of green slime, and was much soiled with 

 the dung of cattle and goats. The pools had evidently 

 been far larger, but they were fast drying up, and 

 the Somali were already moving to "pastures new." 

 I took the temperature of the water in the largest 

 pan, and my thermometer showed 84*5° in the deepest 

 parts and slightly more at the edge. 



54 



