OUR STATIONS ON THE NILE 189 



I saw neither crocodiles nor hippos at Fovira, though no 

 doubt they are present. There are a good many white- ant 

 hills about, though the fort itself is singularly free from this 

 nuisance. 



About an hour's walk from Fovira I came upon a different 

 race. They call themselves the " Falua," and dift'er from the 

 Wanyoro in every respect. Wanyoro women never go naked, 

 but here I came upon not a few as nude as the Wakavirondo. It 



SEM-SEM iJKVING-SrACK. 



was the time of the sem-sem crop. The sem-sem plant grows 

 somewhat like flax, but it bears a number of vertical pods which, 

 when ripe, burst at the top and form a deep miniature cup 

 surmounted by a miniature crown. The plants are reaped with 

 an ordinary knife, tied into small bundles, and then attached to 

 the sem-sem drying-stack. 



The drying-stack consists of a reed-screen resting slantingly 

 against a horizontal pole supported on two vertical props with 

 forked ends. The screen is made of interlacing reeds, and is 

 placed so as to receive as many as possible of the direct rays 

 of the sun. On this reed-screen the sem-sem crop is allowed 

 to dry thoroughly, when the plants, held with the open mouth 



