VEGETATION ON THE BANKS OF THE WHITE NILE. 
327 
Red and yellow flowering befins, growing in 
the water, and twining amid the mass of 
other aquatic plants, creep up the banks in 
the utmost luxuriance. 
Water thistles, with lanceolate leaves and 
reddish flowers of the thickness of a finger, 
grow here in the same manner as in the Ger- 
man fishponds, with green water lentils, which 
in some places completely cover the banks of 
the stream, from which, far into the margin, 
there is sometimes nothing to be seen but an 
immense extent of land carpeted with bright 
yellow grass, and dotted occasionally with 
clumps of an acacia tree, with flowers of a 
golden colour, hanging in clusters like the 
dark bunches of the laburnum. These grassy 
plains, with occasionally the more luxuriantly 
covered lands, are not unfvequently swept by 
vast conflagrations, which, aided by the power- 
ful heat of the sun, in drying the vegetation, 
and rendering it fitter food for the flames, 
sometimes burn for days together, driven be- 
fore the wind, and leaving behind them a wide 
track of desolation, covered with black ashes, 
and a damp unctuous smoke. These acci- 
dents are commonly the result of a practice 
much in vogue among the dwellers on the 
shores of the White Nile, — namely, that of 
kindling signal fires to communicate with each 
other, and also small conflagrations to drive 
away the gnats. Nevertheless, such circum- 
stances are not of sufficiently constant occur- 
rence to divest the country of that luxuriant 
aspect under which it, in most places, and at 
all times, appears ; for a small tract of land, 
swept clear of verdure by the flames of a con- 
flagration, was rather a relief than otherwise 
to the eye, wearied by bright flowers and green 
grass and foliage. The river islands which we 
have mentioned were covered literally with 
masses of verdure, " high-sprouting plants and 
vegetables, between blooming shrubs." 
Doum and Dhellib palms, the latter espe- 
cially,remarkable from its singular shape, with 
poison and elephant trees, were constantly to 
be seen, rising high above the inferior vege- 
tation. This last, whose gigantic fruit is used 
as an article of food, attains a great size, and 
spreads out a broad shady roof of leaves, 
intermingled with magnificent long clusters of 
flowers, Avhich may be reckoned among the 
most beautiful of the ornaments of this region, 
favoured as it is in these respects. There is 
another tree, the Emeddi, with light-coloured 
branches, like those of the sycamore, and buds 
at the end of the boughs, similar to those of 
the chestnut-tree. It is said to flourish on all 
the mountains of Nubia, and is covered at the 
proper season of the year, the exact period of 
which has not been ascertained, with small 
flowers, and a sweet red fruit, hanging in 
bunches like the grape, and somewhat of the 
same shape and size. It is to be regretted 
that Werne could not obtain exact informa- 
tion connected with this tree, and was not able 
to observe it when in the fulness of its bloom. 
There is another, no less beautiful, and even 
more curious. It looks, from a distance, like 
a handsome tree covered with snow. This 
appearance is caused by the immense number 
of its delicate white flowers. The leaves are 
small, pointed, and succulent, and something 
like those of the pear, which indeed resembles 
this tree in many other respects. Four white 
leaves are arranged round eighteen long blue 
stamina. The fruit is said to be as large as 
an egg, and is eaten with great relish by the 
natives. 
Among all the trees, however, which our 
traveller saw, none flourished in such plenty 
as the Mimosa, which like the Mangrove in 
the rivers of the Indian Archipelago, wearies 
the eye with its monotonous abundance. Eopes 
were fabricated from the soft wood of these 
trees, to be used in towing the vessels against 
the current, and in the absence of wind. 
Our author, whose journey lay, for a great 
distance, through a country totally unknown, 
was not urged by curiosity to examine, even 
cursorily, the various plants, flowers, and 
trees, which he saw in such abundance and in 
such variety. On the contrary, he constantly 
makes mention of immense numbers of flowers, 
and other ornamental plants, of different colours 
and species, but does not even so much as 
attempt to individualize or describe them with 
minuteness. Had he done so, had he even 
counted the dififerent kinds which came under 
his observation, we might have possessed much 
more information than has in reality been 
collected. However, sufficient is said in the 
volume to answer our purpose in the present 
article, which is to excite the reader's interest 
in those wonderful regions which border the 
White Nile. 
The small-leaved tobacco, with dun-coloured 
flowers, grows in the country lying immedi- 
ately before that where the traveller's pro- 
gress ceased, but Werne is not able to tell us 
whether it is indigenous, or has been intro- 
duced by immigrants. Open expanses of sand 
were seen farther up, extending for miles, co- 
vered with the small white and vai'iegated 
bean, which also flourished luxuriantly on the 
skirts of the wood. 
" I made an incursion," says the author, 
"^ into this interesting forest. It lies upon a 
slightly elevated, sandy bottom, on which the 
doum palms do not grow as luxuriantly as in 
the country of the Tshierer, where I counted 
sixty lances on one leaf, whilst here there are 
only from fortj'^-two to forty-six. I had previ- 
ously preserved a vegetable, though without 
knowins; the nature of its root. Here the 
