ii.] BOTANY. 70 



Dr Livingstone believes this to be a fibrous 

 Budze. 



plant of great value, and that it was before 



entirely unknown to botanists. It grows about Tete, and in 



large quantities in the country of the Maravi. He submitted 



some specimens of it to Messrs Pye, Brothers, of London, 



who pronounce it to be suitable as a substitute for flax, in 



comparison with which it is stronger and of finer fibre. 



There is a drawing of this plant at p. 646, Travels. The natives 



make a thread of it, which is as strong as catgut. Possibly 



our manufacturers will find it adapted for sail-cloth, &c. 



p , This is another new plant, being a species of 



aloe of fibrous tissue, found by our traveller in 

 the same districts as the Buaze. It was suggested to him by 

 the Portuguese as being fitted for the manufacture of paper. 



He has met with several of great value. The 

 Dianas lCma -^ ux Vomica, producing strychnia, flourishes 



abundantly on the Leeambye. The Cinchona bark 

 grows in large quantities on the eastern coast. Senna is there 

 growing in whole forests, and possibly, like that of Egypt. 

 Another new plant, the Kumbanzo, a valuable remedy in cases 

 of fever, is found on the same coast. At page 648, Travels, 

 is a drawing of this latter plant. Also at page 649 there is a 

 long list of useful African medicinal and other plants, worthy 

 of attention from those who are interested in such studies. 



Manioc, or cassava, is the staple food of some central Afri- 

 can tribes, just as rice is among Asiatics, and wheat among 

 Europeans. Wild indigo abounds over vast tracts of Africa. 

 Potatoes are cultivated both by the Bushmen and by the Ma- 

 ravi. Fruits, flowers, and forest-trees still remain to be clas- 

 sified and described. 



These new districts, like all other parts of the creation of 

 God, shew forth His glory, forethought and goodness in pro- 

 viding so bountifully for all his creatures. 



