c>l& THE AFRICAN ASSOCIATION. 
she plant, which, though superior in fragrance, re- 
sembles the wild thyme of Europe, vegetates luxu- 
riantly. The surface of the ground is generally 
level, though interrupted by naked rocks, and ris- 
ing in some places into mountains of considerable 
elevation. The soil is sandy, but intermixed in 
various proportions with a flat black vegetable 
mould, insalubrious, in some degree^ to animal 
life. As the rains are more temperate than in some 
of the more northern districts of Africa, the ground 
is extremely productive of beans and maize, of 
which a peculiar species, cultivated in this country, 
is beautifully variegated with red and white. No 
salt is produced in Cassina, but the merchants of 
Agadez, one of its provinces, transport it in great 
quantities from Domboo in Bornou. Besides Cas- 
sina, the principal cities of this country, the names 
of which are known to Europeans, are Ganatt, As- 
souda* and Agadez, which are inhabited by Maho^ 
metans. Ganatt, which is situated amid barren 
sandy heaths, lies at the distance of fourteen jour- 
neys from Mourzouk in Fezzan, and seventeen 
from Assouda. The territories of this city are 
described by Leo as desert and mountainous, 
though the city was rich and populous, from its 
convenient position for trade. Its walls and houses 
were built of chalk. It seems, at that period, to 
have been the capital of an extensive province, al- 
ternately subject to Zegzeg and Cassina. At the 
6 
