AFRICA 
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An effective method to keep a greenhouse cool in . 
a hot climate is to have canvas, muslin or lath from 
8 to 12 inches above the glass for air to cool and | 
circulate. The canvas on these houses at Gizeh, | 
Egypt, can be pulled up when not needed. 
Sisal Agave from Mexico has become one of East 
Africa's most important economic crops. The long 
leaves contain a tough fiber which are made into 
ropes and twine. Weeds if allowed to grow can 
easily ruin a plantation. For an investment of 20 
goats and 50 shillings, a man can get himself a life- 
time helomate to pull weeds. 
In sun-baked Egypt, rich crops are produced when 
desert land is watered. In the shadow of the pyra- 
mids, a freshly ploughed field is irrigated from a 
nearby well. In the background are some Date 
Palms (Phoenix) of which the Arabs say they must 
have ‘'their feet in Water and their heads in fire”. 
Thorough soaking of the soil is always better, wheth- 
er in the field or in pots, than sprinkling from the 
top. 
i The equator in East Africa passes over icy Mt. Kenya, 17,000 ft. | 
On its high slopes grow giant Senecio, resembling small palms; 
curious tree lobelias 10 feet high; Podocarpus, the fir of Africa. 
Three degrees further south, beyond the red Sansevieria steppes, 
rises the coastal range of the Usambara Mountains whose moist 
valleys produce an unbelievably luxuriant vegetation. Protected 
by large Ficus sycamorus trees hung with Lianas, grow light 
stemmed dragon trees, fresh green Nephrolepis ferns, serious 
Raphia palms, wild bananas, Impatiens, terrestrial Orchids, Sela- 
ginellas, Acanthus, Carex, Myrsine, Gladiolus. Here also is the 
home of one of our most loved houseplants, the African Violet. 
Saintpaulias are found in the rainforests at 7,000 feet where the 
temperature drops to 45°F, down to the warm coast nearlanga. 
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