CULTIVATION OF MILLET. 
79 
CHAPTER III. 
Method of cultivating and using millet. — Character of the hassanes or 
warriors. — The balanites segyptiaca, its fruit, method of extracting oil 
from it. — Quarrel excited by a woman. — Manner of protecting oneself 
from cold in the tents. — Method of collecting gum. — Marriages of the 
marabouts, and of the hassanes. — Inheritance of property. — Method of 
tanning leather. — Dress of the Moors. 
The millet is reaped at the end of May 5 at that time the 
marabouts receive it from their slaves and the hassanes from 
their zenagues, or tributaries. This millet supports them 
till the month of July when the rainy season commences ; 
they then withdraw from the banks of the river, and live 
entirely on milk. Jf any millet remains, it is laid by till the 
next dry season. 
In the month of November, when the waters begin to 
subside, the Moors send their slaves to sow the ground which 
has been flooded by the rains, or by the overflowing of the 
river. It is at this season also, that the zenagues come 
down to the banks of the river to cultivate millet. The 
slaves of the same camp lodge together, and cultivate the 
same district ; each field is marked out, and the produce 
carefully kept in a separate place. Their method of cultiva- 
tion is exceedingly bad, but it gives them little trouble. 
With a thick stick they make holes in the ground six inches 
deep, and into these holes they drop three or four grains of 
millet, covering them with sand or light mould. They never 
prepare the ground in any w^ay, and only weed it after the 
millet has come up. To save themselves trouble they select 
a poor soil, because a richer would require more weeding, and 
they are naturally lazy. When the seed is sown, they wait 
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