WILD FRUITS — ANIMAL LIFE. 243 



quite disposed to pass a favourable verdict on every fruit 

 which had the property of being eatable at all. Many 

 kinds are better than our crab-apple or sice ; and, had 

 they half the care and culture these have enjoyed, might 

 take high rank among the fruits of the world. All that 

 the Africans have thought of has been present gratifica- 

 tion ; and now, as I sometimes deposit date-seeds in the 

 soil, and tell them I have no hope whatever of seeing the 

 fruit, it seems to them, as the act of the vSouth-Sea 

 Islanders appears to us, when they planted in their 

 gardens iron nails received from Captain Cook. 



There are many fruits and berries in the forests, the 

 uses of which are unknown to my companions. Great 

 numbers of a kind of palm I have never met with before 

 were seen growing at and below the confluence of the 

 Loeti and Leeambye ; the seed probably came down the 

 former river. It is nearly as tall as the palmyra. The 

 fruit is larger than of that species ; it is about four inches 

 long, and has a soft yellow pulp round the kernel, or 

 seed ; when ripe, it is fluid and stringy, like the wild 

 mango, and not very pleasant to eat. 



Before we came to the junction of the I^eeba and 

 Leeambye, we found the banks twenty feet high, and com- 

 posed of marly sandstone. They are covered with 

 trees, and the left bank has the tsetse and elephants. I 

 suspect the fly has some connection with this animal, 

 and the Portuguese in the district of Tete must think so 

 too, for they call it the Musca da elephant (the elephant 

 fly). 



The water of inundation covers even these lofty banks, 

 but does not stand long upon them — hence' the crop of 

 trees. Where it remains for any length of time, trees 

 cannot live. On the right bank, or that in which the I^oeti 

 flows, there is an extensive flat country called Manga, 

 which, though covered \^ith grass, is destitute in a great 

 measure of trees. 



Flocks of green pigeons rose from the trees as we passed 

 along the banks, and the notes of many birds told that we 

 were now among strangers of the feathered tribe. The 

 beautiful trogon, with bright scarlet breast and black 

 back, uttered a most peculiar note, similar to that we 

 read of as having once been emitted by Memnon, and 

 likened to the tuning of a lyre. The boatmen answered 

 it by calling " Nama, nama ! " — meat, meat — as if they 



