Book I. 



AGRICULTURE IN AFRICA. 

 144 



177 



ment of a bashaw ; some of whom have 1000 douhars under their command. Their 

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

 to twenty-five in length, are made of twine composed of goats' hair, camels' wool, and 

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

 ance at a distance is not agreeable. In camp the Moors live in the utmost simplicity, 

 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 clothing. 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 ; prepare vegetables ; and 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. 



1102. iSTo 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 to the laws of the moment. 



SuBSECT. 4. Of the present State of Agriculture on the Western Coast of Africa. 



1 103. Of the innumerable tribes which occupy the western 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 

 Congo. 



1104. The soil qf the Foulah country is fertile. The inhabitants are 

 said to be diligent as farmers and graziers, and to raise millet, rice, to- 

 bacco, cotton, peas, carob beans (Ceratonia siliqiia) {fig. 145.), roots, and 

 fruits in abundance. Their live stock, however, constitutes their chief 

 wealth, and, accordingly, pursuing a kind of wandering life, they roam, 

 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 labour of this roving life are augmented by the defence they are 

 obliged to provide against the depredations of the fierce animals with 

 which the country 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. 146.) for security from wild beasts, while 

 they are hunting or pursuing other labours. The elephants are so nu- 

 merous, 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. 



1 1 05. The English settlement 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 civil- 

 isation. A tract of land was purchased from the 

 prince of the country, and a plantation established, 

 in which are cultivated rice, cotton, sugar, pep- 

 per, tobacco, and other products. Gum arable 

 (Mimosa nilotica) {fg. 147.) and 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 flavoured, and, when in season, may be pur- 

 chased by strangers at less than a halfpenny each. 

 A meal in common use by the natives is made from 

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