Chap. III. PALM- WINES. 71 



Towards evening, hundreds of pretty little hawks 

 (Erythropw vespertinus) are seen flying in a southerly 

 direction, and feeding on dragon-flies and locusts. They 

 corne, apparently, from resting on the palm-trees during 

 the heat of the day. Flocks of scissor-bills (Bhyncopi) are 

 then also on the wing, and in search of food, ploughing 

 the water with their lower mandibles, which are nearly 

 half an inch longer than the upper ones. 



At the north-eastern end of the marsh, and about three 

 miles from the river, commences a great forest of palm- 

 trees (Borassus Mihioyyiimi). It extends many miles, and 

 at one point comes close to the river. The grey trunks 

 and green tops of this immense mass of trees give a 

 pleasing tone of colour to the view. The mountain-range, 

 which rises close behind the palms, is generally of a 

 cheerful green, and has many trees, with patches of a 

 lighter tint among them, as if spots of land had once been 

 cultivated. The sharp angular rocks and dells on its 

 sides have the appearance of a huge crystal broken ; and 

 this is so often the case in Africa, that one can guess 

 pretty nearly at sight whether a range is of the old 

 crystalline rocks or not. The Borassus, though not an 

 oil-bearing palm, is a useful tree. The fibrous pulp 

 round the large nuts is of a sweet fruity taste, and is 

 eaten by men and elephants. The natives bury the nuts 

 until the kernels begin to sprout ; when dug up and 

 broken, the inside resembles coarse potatoes, and is prized 

 in times of scarcity as nutritious food. During several 

 months of the year, palm-wine, or sura, is obtained in 

 large quantities ; when fresh, it is a pleasant drink, some- 

 what like champagne, and not at all intoxicating ; 

 though, after standing a few hours, it becomes highly so. 

 Sticks, a foot long, are driven into notches in the hard 

 outside of the tree — the inside being soft or hollow — to 

 serve as a ladder; the top of the fruit-shoot is cut off, and 



