Before all this work was finished some of the vegetables and cereals he had planted grew to maturity. Said Mohammed gave him turnips for dinner in February; next month he had some fine tomatoes and potatoes, and by the beginning of April the most delicious peas and vegetable marrows he had ever tasted. The grain fields, however, suffered a good deal from the depredations of weaver birds, and after ineffectual attempts to get rid of these with his rifle and by setting up scarecrows, John resorted to a poison supplied by his native neighbours--a decoction of a certain root. This proved effective. The wheat was ready for reaping in April, and he was amused to see the natives cut it with knives, they being quite unable to handle the scythes Mr. Halliday had brought. They threshed it with sticks and winnowed it with hand-sieves. There was a small hand-mill among the farm utensils, and by the end of April John enjoyed the unaccustomed luxury of eating bread baked by Said Mohammed in an earthen oven. Only half an acre had been sown with wheat, and as the yield was 400 lbs. of grain John was thoroughly satisfied. The oats were not ripe until July, and the yield was much less than that of the wheat; but they made good porridge, and John was able to write to his father that when he returned he could have the national breakfast. John had heard from Mr. Halliday several times since his departure. The first letter arrived early in December, and caused him mingled amusement and vexation. ———— "Here I am, in Glasgow, flourishing as ever. Tennant’s stack is behaving even worse than usual, and the atmosphere makes me fair sick after the air of Kenya. I had a horrible passage: we were terribly knocked about in the Bay, and I got a black eye one night through being pitched out of my bunk and coming into collision with the ledge of the one below. There was a teetotal commercial on board (rare bird), who looked at me very suspiciously at breakfast, and asked me at lunch whether I drank pot-still or patent. I asked him which was his line, and he got so red that I was uncharitable enough to conjecture he drinks on the sly.