MISCELLANEOUS SUBJECTS 497 



Other woods, such as the numerous species of Acacia 

 and Balanites, which are largely used by the coast 

 Somalis for the manufacture of charcoal, are resistant 

 to termites and are worthy of consideration. 



Grass. Throughout the Hand there grows in large 

 clumps a tall coarse grass, six feet or more in height, 

 called by the Somalis " Durr." This grass, of which 

 there are two species (Andropogon cyrtocladus, Stapf, 

 and A. Kcileri, Hack.), is of little or no use for grazing 

 purposes but it might be of value in the manufacture of 

 paper. Owing however to its only being found in the 

 Haud and Nogal Valley, a great distance from the 

 coast, it would hardly pay to convey it to the coast for 

 export. If however it could be treated in the interior 

 with caustic soda and then brought down it would pro- 

 bably be of value. 



Dates. Some parts of the coastline of the British 

 Protectorate of Somaliland are admirably suited to the 

 growth of the date palm. This is quite obvious even 

 to the uninitiated, for the palms in the gardens of Dubar 

 and Berbera speak for themselves. At Bulhar there is 

 an ideal stretch of country several miles in length where 

 the date palm would flourish with very little care. There 

 can be no doubt that anyone seriously taking up the 

 culture of the date palm will be handsomely rewarded 

 for his pains within a few years. When it is considered 

 that the yearly import of dates into the country is between 

 40,000 and 50,000 cwts., valued at over 14,000, it can be 

 easily seen that any attempt to grow the fruit locally is 

 certain to meet with success. Whatever may be the taste 

 of the Somalis the Arabs infinitely prefer the fresh date to 

 the imported one. Those who have tasted the dates 

 grown in the Berbera gardens know that not only are they 

 of excellent quality and size but that the Arabs will pay for 

 them two and three times the price of the imported dates. 

 The sole reason why this obviously payable industry 

 has not already been started is the unsettled state of 

 the affairs of the country. When once started there is 

 no reason why dates should not take their place on the 

 export instead, as now, on the import list. 



Coffee. The present writer has long held the belief 



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