^30 
DIXAN. 
the sun, at times, being extremely hot, but the nights cold. During 
the whole of our journey from Adowa we saw the inhabitants 
gathering in their corn, treading out the barley with oxen, and beat- 
ing out the teff with sticks. It was my wish, in compliance with 
the instructions I had received from Lord Valentia, to have pro- 
cured specimens of the different grains cultivated in Abyssinia, but 
the disappointments I had experienced in money concerns at Anta- 
low, had left me so totally destitute, that I was obliged to depart 
without them. The following is the best account I could collect of 
their mode of cultivation. 
*' Wheat (of which there are two varieties cultivated in Habesh) 
sells from four to six gerbuttehs for the firk of cloth, or dollar. 
This is made into large loaves, which are either baked or prepared 
by steam, and is eaten only by the first class ; indeed it is rarely 
seen but at the Ras's table, and is called Gogo. Teff" constitutes the 
chief food of all ranks, and being considered of equal goodness with 
wheat, generally fetches the same price ; it is made into the thin 
cakes of a large size called Engara. It varies extremely in quality 
and colour, from pure white to black. Neug, a small grain, not 
unlike the Raggy of India, is held next in esteem; it sells for as 
much as the two grains before mentioned (and often, from being 
scarce, fetches double the price); it is mixed with teff' or barley, 
and is a dry and harsh grain, 
" A species of flax is extensively cultivated in the neighbourhood 
ofDixan : it is not in great esteem for bread, but is much eaten, when 
parched, by the lower classes. There is also a species of vetch in 
much request, which is chiefly eaten in the morning, either mixed 
up with the ghee and curds into balls, or eaten with teff": it is 
