As to food, if constantly moving about, not much can be taken in the way of stores. But fowls (4-5 piastres), eggs (twelve to twenty-four a piastre), rice and lentils can be bought anywhere. Bread is not always eatable, as some villages only make dirty little pats of maize; but good (though heavy) flap bread is made at nearly all towns and most villages (four to eight flaps a piastre), and a day’s supply in advance should be carried. If staying for some weeks at one place, or going in a boat, it is best to order out from England assorted boxes of stores, each box to contain all that is wanted for three weeks or a month; tinned tongues, soups, salmon, jams, cocoa, tea, biscuits, &c. Otherwise some tinned goods (sardines, peas, &c.) can be got in most large towns; and some canisters should be taken for sugar, salt, pepper, tea, and coffee; the latter can be made in the cup as wanted. The essential articles of canteen are:--Petroleum stove (‘Hero’ size is most useful), with saucepan, kettle, and frying-pan, and a tin can with cork to carry petroleum (_gaz_, Arabic), as the stove must be emptied when travelling. _Gaz_ can be bought in any large village, and if constantly moving, the kettle and frying-pan are not needful: the stove may be bought in Cairo, but perhaps not the best size. Cups, plates, spoons, forks, candles, matches, dusters, and galvanised pail can be got in any large town. For sleeping, a mattress is a mistake, as the same weight of blankets are as soft, more easily aired and packed, and can be used for warmth if needful. Take six blankets, laid one on the other and then folded over down the middle, and there are twelve thicknesses, of which three or four will serve for warmth above, and eight or nine for softness below, and the wind cannot get in on the turned-over side. To pack these, roll them tightly, with the crockery in the midst, and lash round with two cords; then wrap in a sheet of oiled cloth, large enough to spread between the blankets and the ground when sleeping, and rope up the bundle. All this may be bought in Cairo.