20 FROM MAGUNGO TO MKULI. 



blossoms ; a streamlet dyed red with the iron that impregnates 

 the soil, and upon the surface of which played all the colours 

 of the rainbow, flows towards the west ; and the station itself 

 lies at the foot of a hill, upon which fragments of gneiss and 

 quartz are scattered. This little establishment at Kiroto, the 

 most southerly of our stations, is a paradise for the collector. 

 Forests, fields, rocks, bogs, and short swards, all unite to harbour 

 every species of animal and plant. Unfortunately, I was not 

 able to remain here long. 



Any number of cultivated plants grow round this place — 

 tomatoes (which grow wild in masses), solanum, melongena, 

 maize, lubia, arachis, voandzeia, bamia, and sesame (which has 

 red blossoms, although generally in the Sudan they are white). 

 Towards the south and east are dense forests, and in these the 

 wild anona mingles its large bluish-green leaves with those of 

 the wild vine, from the branches of which heavy clusters of 

 grapes hang down. The Abrus precatorius twines round the 

 trunks, presenting its well-known red kernels with black 

 dots. Everywhere is found the red-ribbed Musa JEnsete, the 

 black angular seeds of which are greatly prized in the manu- 

 facture of necklets. All sorts of beetles and worms crawl in 

 the thick muddy water, and the wet bog seems particularly 

 attractive to the butterflies, for above it numbers of them, 

 especially the beautiful Equites, flutter. Quantities of curio- 

 sities, including colobus skins (these monkeys must abound 

 here) and very pretty pottery made from the usual black clay 

 of the country, enriched my collections. Torcus erythorhynchus 

 struts about the fields, yet in no way could I obtain possession 

 of specimens, and if I had, there was not time to skin them. 



At last, with a heavy heart, I had to leave Kiroto. We 

 set off in the fresh early morning, the high grass sprinkling 

 its dew upon us in myriads of glistening drops. How much 

 our toilet was improved by this shower-bath can easily be 

 imagined. Often enough on such marches I have envied our 

 Negroes, who, hanging a skin in front of their bodies, obtained 

 very good protection, while I was wet and shivering, a victim 

 to my own civilisation. A ceaseless monotony envelops the 

 traveller upon these marches, grass and isolated trees, and 

 reeds of gigantic dimensions, often forming regular walls on 



