SOMALI LAND 223 



mediate between the Sudan and Arabia. The rain- 

 bearing monsoons on their way to the lofty mass of 

 Abyssinia pass over this thirsty, sweltering lowland, 

 grudging it the benefit of their moisture. Thus the plant 

 cover is reduced to a minimum, which renders the 

 country very similar to the arid margin of the Sahara. 

 A meagre sprinkling of umbrella-acacias and other 

 low trees, thorny and leafless, over the bare sandy or 

 stony ground is quite typical of this region. Now 

 bushes gather in open scrubs ; now light acacia woods 

 mark the tracts of some underground moisture : a 

 dotting of stiff grass-bunches or of prickly, leathery, 

 strap-leaved plants recalling pineapple bunches, may 

 form the scanty undergrowth. Grass is scarce and bad ; 

 pastures mostly temporary and localized. A rich develop- 

 ment of thorny plants, a general umbrella shape of the 

 tiny- leaved deciduous trees of low woody and bushy 

 growth, are, with the strange forms of the candelabra 

 euphorbia, species of aloes and water- storing plants, 

 specific features of the vegetation. Tamarix, calotropis, 

 indigo, salvadora, and other denizens of the semi-desert 

 Sudanese belt reappear in Somaliland. It is only in 

 the margins of the often waterless river-beds that one 

 sees impenetrable thickets of acacias and a stronger 

 development of grass : long stretches of the coastland 

 are completely destitute of any visible vegetation. Amid 

 the scorching semi-deserts, two large rivers arising from 

 the Ethiopian highlands form symmetrical replicas of 

 the Blue Nile and the Atbara. Their flood margins 3 

 extend in places over five miles, and long sections of the 

 valleys support dense equatorial selvas, marshes, and 

 jungles of marvellous exuberance: a presumably true 

 picture of primeval Egypt before the secular efforts of 

 man brought it under control. A similar effort has 



