Book I. 



AGRICULTURE IN AFRICA. 



177 



tents, of a conical form, and about eight or ten feet high in the centre, and from twenty 

 to twenty five in length, are made of twine, composed of goat's hair, camel's wool, and 

 the leaves of the wild palm, so that they keep out water; but being black, their ap- 

 pearance at a distance is not agreeable. In camp the Moors live in the utmost simpli- 

 city, and present a faithful picture of the earth's inhabitants in the first ages. In the 

 milk and wool of their flocks, they find every thing necessary for their food and cloth- 

 ing. It is their custom to have several wives, who are employed in all domestic affairs. 

 Beneath their ill-secured tents they milk their cows and make butter ; they sort 

 and sift their wheat and barley, gather vegetables, grind flour with a mill composed of 

 two round stones, eighteen inches in diameter ; in the upper one of which is fixed a 

 handle by which it is made to turn upon an axle. They daily make bread, which they 

 bake between two earthen plates, and very often on the ground heated by fire. 



1076. JVo alteration in the agriculture of Morocco seems to have taken place for several 

 centuries, owing to the insecurity of its government; every thing being despotic; and 

 property in land, as well as the person and life, being subject to the caprice of the 

 sovereign, and the laws of the moment. 



SuBSECT. 4. Present State of Agriculture on the Western Coast of Africa. 



1077. Of the innumerable tribes which occujry tite west coast of Africa, the principal are 

 the Jalefs and Foulahs, and of the former little is known. The remaining part of the 

 country consists of the territories of Benin, Loango, and j~g 

 Congo. 



1078. The soil of the Fovlah country is fertile. The inhabitants are said 

 to be diligent as farmers and graziers, and to raise millet, rice, tobacco, 

 cotton, pease, carob beans {Ceratonia sitiqua,fig. 176.), roots, and fruits in 

 abundance. Their live stock, however, constitutes their chief wealth, 

 and accordingly they roam, pursuing a kind of wandering life, from field 

 to field, and from country to country, with large droves of cows, sheep, 

 goats, and horses ; removing, as the wet and dry seasons require, from the 

 low to the high lands, and continue no longer in one place than the 

 pasture for their cattle will allow. The inconvenience and labor of this 

 roving life are augmented by the defence they are obliged to provide 

 against the depredations of the fierce animals with which the countryj 

 abounds ; as they are molested by lions, tigers, and elephants, from the^ 

 land, and crocodiles from the rivers. At night they collect their herds * 

 and flocks within a circle of huts and tents in which they live, and where 

 they light fires in order to deter these animals from approaching them. 

 During the day they often place their children on elevated platforms of 

 reeds (fig. 177.) for security from wild beasts, while they are hunting or 

 pursuing other labors. The elephants are so numerous, that they appear 

 in droves of 200 together, plucking up the small trees, and destroying 

 whole fields of corn ; so that they have recourse to hunting, not merely 

 as a pastime, but as the means of self-preservation. 



1079. The English settleinent of Sierra-leone is situated to the west of the country of 

 the Foulahs, on the river Senegal. It was formed in 1787, for the benevolent purpose 

 of promoting African civilisation. A tract of land was purchased from the prince of 

 the country, and a plantation established, in which is cultivated rice, cotton, sugar, 

 pepper, tobacco, and other products; and gum arable (Mimosa nilotica, Jig. 178.), and 

 177 ' 178 



other valuable articles are procured from the native woods. In these woods the pine 

 apple grows wild in the greatest abundance and luxuriance. The fruit is large and 

 highly flavored, and, when in season, may be purchased by strangers at less than a 

 halfpenny each. A meal in common use by the natives is made from the pounded roots 

 of the manioca (Jatropha manihoi). This meal, after being first ground from the root, 

 is made into a pulp and pressed to get rid of a poisonous juice. It is then re-dried 

 and constitutes a wholesome farina, which forms almost tlie entire food of the slaves. 



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