Cotton and corn are the two great foundations on which the hopes of commercial prosperity in the Soudan are founded. The Negro Soudan is still comparatively unexplored, and its resources cannot be estimated. There is, however, a chance that the Bahr el Ghazal will do great things in rubber. Rubber-trees are known to be plentiful; rubber has already been produced in small quantities, and specimens of absolutely first-class quality have been obtained. But it has yet to be shown that the best kind of creepers are numerous, and also that they can be successfully tapped without killing the plants. So far, it does not seem likely that the Soudan has any great sources of wealth underground. Iron is found and worked in small quantities in the Bahr el Ghazal, and at least two ore beds are known in Kordofan, but there is no fuel to work them, and no means of transporting the ore. As for gold and the precious metals, several prospecting licenses have been issued and search is being eagerly made, but, except the copper mines of Hofrat-en-Nahas, nothing has been discovered at present. The only known gold-bearing district, the Beni-Shangul, is now included within the territories of Abyssinia. Gold was formerly worked in this district by the Egyptians, not at a profit, and perhaps, in any case, it is no great loss to the Soudan (even if it had not already been occupied by the Abyssinians), for that gold may not be discovered in the Soudan is the earnest prayer of every official in the country. The true wealth of the Soudan, such as it is, lies in its water and its soil. A find of coal would be a very different matter, and much more valuable than gold, but, though discoveries are constantly being rumoured, coal is not yet. No account of the commerce of the Soudan would be complete without a mention of those wonderful people the Greek traders. It is well known how, on the day after the Battle of Omdurman, a Greek arrived in the town and opened a store with all kinds of goods brought somehow from Suakin. This man is now a prosperous and wealthy merchant, with large shops in Khartoum and Halfa, and a finger in every sort of commercial undertaking. He is no longer alone in the field. Whether it be true or not that trade follows the flag, undoubtedly the Greek trader follows the British flag. They are said to be principally Ionian Islanders, so perhaps they have a hereditary liking for it. Just as from Alexandria to Halfa every town in Egypt has its Greek traders, carrying on business as storekeepers, dealers, and innkeepers, so, from Halfa to Gondokoro, from Suakin to El Obeid, every town in the Soudan has its Greeks. They are ubiquitous; in Khartoum and Omdurman alone they number about 800. One wonders what they were all doing before the Soudan was open. Some of them, no doubt, stayed on right through the Khalifa’s time.