y becomes more broken, hilly and timbered. In the
south limestone is found near Gujba and also along the Gongola tributary
of the Benue. A forest of red and green barked acacia, yielding the
species of gum most valuable in the market, extends from the Gongola to
Gujba. Immense baobabs (_Adansonia digitata_), fine tamarinds and a few
trees of the genus _Ficus_ are met with in the south. North of Maifoni
(latitude 12 deg. N.) the baobab ceases, except at Kuka, where extensive
plantations have been made, and its place is taken by the _Kigelia_ and
also by a very handsome species of _Diospyros_. North of Kuka is a dense
belt of _Hyphaene_ palm with fine tamarinds and figs. Cotton and indigo
grow wild, and afford the materials for the cloths, finely dyed with
blue stripes, which form the staple fabric of the country. On the shores
of Lake Chad the cotton grown is of a peculiarly fine quality. Rice and
wheat of excellent quality are raised, but in small quantities, the
staple food being a species of millet called _gussub_, which is made
into a kind of paste and eaten with butter or honey. Ground-nuts, yams,
sweet potatoes, several sorts of beans and grains, peppers, onions,
water-melons and tomatoes are grown. Of fruit trees the country
possesses the lime and fig.

Wild animals, in great numbers, find both food and cover in the
extensive districts of wood and marsh. Lions, giraffes, elephants,
hyenas, crocodiles, hippopotami, antelopes, gazelles and ostriches are
found. The horse, the camel and the ox are the chief domestic animals;
all are used as beasts of burden. The country abounds with bees, and
honey forms one of the chief Bornuese delicacies.

The climate, especially from March to the end of June, is oppressively
hot, rising sometimes to 105 deg. and 107 deg., and even during most of
the night not falling much below 100 deg. In May the wet season begins,
with violent storms of thunder and lightning. In the end of June the
rivers and lakes begin to overflow, and for several months the rains,
accompanied with sultry weather, are almost incessant. The inhabitants
at this season suffer greatly from fevers. In October the rains abate;
cool, fresh winds blow from the west and north-west; and for several
months the climate is healthy and agreeable.

_Inhabitants._--The inhabitants, of whom the great majority profess
Mahommedanism, are divided into Negroes and those of mixed blood, i.e.
Negro and Berber, Arab or other crossi