218 
RESIDENCE AT SOCCATOO AND MAGARIA. 
twelve feet. The thickness of the sides is not above four inches, 
though in any part it will bear a man’s weight : the diameter in 
the widest part may be from seven to eight feet, at the top about 
three or four feet, and is overlapped at the mouth like a wide- 
mouthed earthen jar. When the grain is put in, a conical cap of 
thatch is put over to keep out birds, insects, wet and moisture. 
The doura and millet will keep well in these jars for two or three 
years ; after that period it perishes, and is destroyed by worms and 
insects. The jar itself will last seven or eight years, if taken care 
of, by matting round the lower part with straw during the rainy 
season ; if not, two or three years is the period it will stand un- 
impaired. 
The time of putting the sweet potatoes in the ground is at the 
commencement of the rains, the ground being first well cleared of 
weeds, well hoed into furrows, the clods all broken, and the soil a 
good strong clay or mould. The branches or stems, in slips, are 
then planted by the dibble, and are two months before they have 
potatoes at the roots. 
The gaza, though differing in taste, shape, name, and size, is not 
unlike a small quince : it is more watery than a gourd, of a reddish 
white inside, and by no means a pleasant taste ; its stem is as thick 
as that of a gourd, with large rough leaves like those of a gourd. 
It is planted like the sweet potatoes, and is perpetuated in the 
same manner, by joints, and sown in furrows, at the same time, in 
a good soil of clay or mould. 
Wheat, of which they raise enough to supply all who make use 
of it in this country, is sown after the rains, when the cold weather 
has set in. It is always met with by the side of a small lake or river, 
where they are able to water it by irrigation every day. It is ripe 
in three months after it is put into the ground : the grain is small. 
It is not much relished by the Arabs, who say that it injures the 
