BOR 



733 



BOR 



Bornholm, 



Bornou. 



Bounda- 

 ries, ex- 

 tent, aud 

 name. 



Climate 

 and sea- 



marshy ; the intercourse is principally carried on by 

 boats and sloors on the river. On the right, the 

 houses advance naif a mile into the land, with canals, 

 in the form of streets, between their rows. It ap- 

 pears as if, before the houses were built, the river 

 formed here a large but shallow basin, on which have 

 been erected three fourths of the town, which, in that 

 circumstance, resembles Venice, with a great number 

 of streets of water, so to speak, at right angles, and 

 parallel to the river, which is here as large as the 

 Thames at London bridge, with six fathoms of wa- 

 ter in its channel. In these divisions of the town by 

 canals there is neither firm land nor island, the houses 

 being entirely built on piles in shallow water. The 

 public market is held sometimes in one place, and 

 sometimes in another ; and consists of a number of 

 boats loaded with the necessaries of life, and the va- 

 rious articles of merchandise, and crowds of purcha- 

 sers rowing up and down the river, (k) 



BORNHOLM, the most eastern of the Danish 

 islands in the Baltic, is situated between Scania and 

 Rugen, about 16 miles from the extremity of Zeal- 

 and. It it about6 miles long and 3 broad, and extends 

 from north north-east to south south-west. 



Though the soil of Bornholm is rather stony, yet 

 it produces all sorts of grain. From the excellence 

 of the pasturage, the inhabitants export a good deal 

 of butter, and rear a considerable number of sheep, 

 the wool of which is spun and used in the island. 



Bornholm abounds with excellent pasture, which 

 :s superior to that of Gothland and Bremen ; and it 

 possesses also a kind of coal, which is equal to the 

 coal of this country. Clay proper for potteries, and 

 particularly useful in the manufacture of porcelain, is 

 also found here. In a kind of globular stone com- 

 mon in Bornholm, are found small crystals called 

 diamonds of Bornholm. 



The inhabitants of this island have a peculiar me- 

 thod of curing and smoking salmon, which are sent 

 to Copenhagen, and are held in high estimation. 

 Herring and cod are caught in great numbers. 



There are no fewer than six little towns in thi3 

 island, of which Sandewick is the principal. Large 

 farm-houses are scattered over every part of the 

 island, which renders it extremely populous. The in- 

 habitants are proprietors of the soil, and are remark- 

 ably jealous of their rights and privileges. Popula- 

 tion 30,000. E. Long. 15, N. Lat. 55 10'. (tu) 



BORNOU, an extensive empire in the interior of 

 Africa, situated to the south-east of Fezzan, and 

 bounded on the north by the desart of Bilma ; on the 

 west by Nubia, Kuka, and Tagua ; on the south by 

 Kanga and Begermee ; and on the east by Cassina, 

 Zegzeg, and Zanfara. This country, which ex- 

 tends from the 26 to the 22 north latitude, is num- 

 bered by the Mahometans among the four most pow- 

 erful monarchies in the world, the other three are 

 Turkey, Persia, and Abyssinia. Bornou is the name 

 by which it is known among the natives, but it is 

 called by the Arabs, Bernou, or Bernoah, the land 

 of Noah, because they believe that it was on the 

 mountains of this country that the ark rested after 

 the deluge. 



The climate of Bornou, as might be expected from 

 the position of the country, is excessively, though 



not uniformly, hot. The year is divided by two sea- Bornou. 

 sons, the first of which, commencing about the mid- 

 dle of April, is introduced by violent winds from the 

 south-east and south, bringing with them an intense 

 heat, a deluge of sultry rain, and tempests of thunder 

 and lightning, which destroy multitudes of the cattle, 

 and not a few of the people. The rainy period con- 

 tinues from three to nine successive days with short 

 intervals, from the occasional shifting of the wind to 

 the north or west. During this 'period, the inha- 

 bitants confine themselves closely to their dwellings ; 

 but the rest of the first season, however sultry or wet, 

 does not suspend the labour of the fields. With the 

 commencement of the second season towards the end 

 of October, the ardent heat subsides ; the air be- 

 comes mild ; the weather continues serene ; and, as 

 the year declines, the mornings, before sunrise, are 

 unpleasantly cool. 



The soil of Bornou is, in general, amazingly fer- Soil and 

 tile, though frequently interrupted by stripes of bar- agrlcul- 

 ren sand. The grain, which is principally cultivated turc * 

 there, is the Indian corn, of two different kinds, dis- 

 tinguished by the names of the gassob, and the gam- 

 phuly. The gassob, which, in its general shape, re- 

 sembles the common reed, is of two species ; the first 

 grows with a long stalk, that bears an ear from eight 

 to twelve inches long, and containing, in little husks 

 or cavities, from 300 to 500 grains, of the size of 

 small pease. The second species, which is common 

 in Tripoli, differs from the first only in the shorter 

 size of its ear." The stalk of the gamphuly is much 

 thicker than that of the gassob ; its ears are more nu- 

 merous, for it has several on the same reed, and the 

 size of its grain is considerably larger. This is the 

 same kind of corn which is frequently seen in Spain, 

 and which is there called maize. Wheat and barley 

 are not raised in Bornou ; but the hor6e-bean of Eu- 

 rope, and the common kidney-beau, are cultivated 

 with much assiduity, as they are used for food both i 

 to the slaves and to the cattle. Gum trees are thin- 

 ly scattered throughout the country. Cotton, hemp, 

 and indigo, are produced in great abundance. In 

 the agriculture of Bornou, the plough is unknown, 

 and thej hoe is the only instrument employed. In the 

 labour of husbandry, the men are always assisted by 

 the women. While the former open the ground with 

 their hoes, and form the trenches in straight parallel 

 lines, the women follow and throw in the seed, and as 

 soon as the weeds begin to rise where the grain has 

 been sowed, it is their business to root them up with 

 the hoe. The sowing season commences when the 

 periodical rains of April have ceased ; and so rapid 

 in that climate is the vegetation, that the gassob is 

 reaped early in July ; but the gamphuly, of slower 

 growth, is seldom cut down till the month of Au- 

 gust or September. 



Besides the vegetable productions already mention- Food of the 

 ed, two species of roots are used by the inhabitants inhabi- 

 of Bornou, which constitute a wholesome and sub- tants 

 stantial food. The one called dondoo, produces a 

 low plant, with branches that spread four or five 

 feet upon the ground, and leaves resembling those of 

 the garden-bean. In five months, after it has been Vegetables.- 

 planted, the leaves fall off, and the root is taken from 

 the ground, and being cut into small pieces, is dried 



