MANIOC-GARDENS. 28 1 



CHAPTER XVII. 



7.6th. — Leaving Shinte, with eight of his men to aid in 

 carrying our luggage, we passed, in a northerly direction, 

 down the lovely valley on which the town stands, then 

 went a little to the west through pretty open forest, and 

 slept at a village of Balonda. In the morning we had 

 a fine range of green hills called Salofsho on our right, 

 and were informed that they were rather thickly inhabited 

 by the people of Shinte, who worked in iron, the ore of 

 which abounds in these hills. 



The country through which we passed, possessed the 

 same general character of flatness and forest that we 

 noticed before. The soil is dark, with a tinge of red ; in 

 some places it might be called red ; and appeared very 

 fertile. Kvery valley contained villages of twenty or 

 thirty huts, with gardens of manioc, which here is looked 

 upon as the staff of life. Very little labour is required 

 for its cultivation. The earth is drawn up into oblong 

 beds, about three feet broad and one in height, and in 

 these are planted pieces of the manioc-stalk, at four feet 

 apart. A crop of beans, or ground-nuts, is sown between 

 them, and when these are reaped, the land around the 

 manioc is cleared of weeds. In from ten to eighteen 

 months after planting, according to the quality of the 

 soil, the roots are fit for food. There is no necessity for 

 reaping soon, as the roots do not become bitter and dry 

 until after three years. When a woman takes up the 

 roots, she thrusts a piece or two of the upper stalks into 

 the hole she has made, draws back the soil, and a new crop 

 is thereby begun. The plant grows to a height of six 

 feet, and every part of it is useful : the leaves may be 

 cooked as a vegetable. The roots are from three to four 

 inches in diameter, and from twelve to eighteen inches 

 long. 



There are two varieties of the manioc or cassava — 

 one sweet and wholesome, the other bitter and containing 

 poison, but much more speedy in its growth than the 

 former. This last property causes its perpetuation. 

 When we reached the village of Kapende, on the banks 

 of the rivulet Lonaje, we were presented with so much 

 of the poisonous kind, that we were obliged to leave it. 



