ACCLIMATISATION OF PLANTS. 423 



viscous transparent resin of a very light green colour oozes out 

 immediately. It becomes slightly turbid like milk on exposure 

 to the air, and when fresh, gives out a powerful smell like that 

 of cedar wood (Oleum cedri). This resin is dissolved by boiling 

 it in oil j and is a favourite perfume among the natives. The 

 wood is reddish, and very serviceable, as it is not attacked by 

 insects. In Uganda this tree is called mpafu, and Cameron 

 mentions it 



Specimens of the fruits of Calamus secundiflorus are likewise 

 enclosed, but you will perhaps take more interest in those of 

 Musa ensete, which I found fairly abundant round Tomaya. 

 The fruits are fresh, so perhaps they will sprout. Did the 

 Helmia * bulbs reach you safely (through M. Vossion) ? Would 

 you like specimens of caoutchouc, and shall I send other kinds 

 of resin ? I have also sent some fruits and seeds of Amomum, 

 which is very common everywhere ; perhaps a practical use 

 for it might be discovered. The people here use the crushed 

 seeds to mix with coffee, just as the Egyptians use their liable 

 han, Abyssinian seeds of the same plant. If the tubers [of the 

 kambo plant] come in time, I will send you a basketful of 

 them. The tomatoes were as large as my fist at our station of 

 Janda (4 1 00 feet), while in Lado they are very diminutive. 



I am able to send a good report of my agricultural experi- 

 ments. Among the varieties of bamboo that were kindly 

 sent me, Bambusa arundinacea and Bendrocalamus stricttis have 

 made a good start, and I have great hopes of them. I have not 

 been so fortunate with the Italian peperoni. The cultivation of 

 the Zea mays (American seeds) is spreading slowly among the 

 Negroes • rice is thriving splendidly in Lado and Dufile, and is 

 now going to be cultivated also in Makraka (at Eimo). I brought 

 a small sample of wheat from Khartum, where the missionaries 

 grew it from Algerian seeds. The result was good, only the 

 birds will not leave the ears alone. I have sent some of the 

 seeds produced here to Makraka and to the southern stations, 

 so that its cultivation may be tried there. Vine stocks have 

 taken root at last, after failing at least ten times. The Carica 

 papaya *f has spread from here over the Bahr-el-Ghazal terri- 



* They are still growing in several of the gardens in Cairo. — G. S. 

 t Dr. Emin brought it from Uganda in 1874. — G. S. 



