The sky was cloudy, and the country became less interesting than the day before. We met a small troop of native traders, with dried fish, which forms a great article of commerce throughout Bórnu; for though the Kanúri people at present are almost deprived of the dominion, and even the use, of the fine sheet of water which spreads out in the midst of their territories, the fish, to which their forefathers have given the name of food (bú-ni, from bú, to eat), has remained a necessary article for making their soups. The fields in this part of the country were not so well looked after, and were in a more neglected state, but there was a tolerable variety of trees, though rather scanty. Besides prickly underwood of talhas, there were principally the hajilíj or bíto (_Balanites Ægyptiaca_), the selím, the kurna, the serrákh, and the gherret or _Mimosa Nilotica_. Farther on, a short time before we came to the village Kalíkágorí, I observed a woman collecting the seeds of an eatable _Poa_, called “kréb” or “kashá,” of which there are several species, by swinging a sort of basket through the rich meadow ground. These species of grasses afford a great deal of food to the inhabitants of Bórnu, Bagírmi, and Wadáÿ, but more especially to the Arab settlers in these countries, or the Shúwa; in Bórnu, at least, I have never seen the black natives make use of this kind of food, while in Bagírmi it seems to constitute a sort of luxury even with the wealthier classes. The reader will see in the course of my narrative, that in Mas-eña I lived principally on this kind of _Poa_. It makes a light palatable dish, but requires a great deal of butter. After having entered the forest and passed several small waterpools, we encamped near one of these, when the heat of the sun began to make itself felt. This district abounded in mimosas of the species called gherret, úm-el-barka, or “kingar,” which affords a very excellent wood for saddles and other purposes, while the coals prepared from it are used for making powder. My old talkative, but not very energetic companion Bu-Zéd, was busy in making new pegs for my tent, the very hard black ground of Bórnu destroying pegs very soon; and in the meantime, assisted by Hosén ben Hár, gave me a first insight into the numerous tribes living in Kánem and round the bahar-el-ghazál. The fruits of the gherret, which in their general appearance are very like those of the tamarind-tree, are a very important native medicine, especially in cases of dysentery, and it is most probably to them that I owed my recovery when attacked by that destructive disease during my second stay in Sókoto in September, 1854. The same tree is essential for preparing the water-skins, that most necessary article for crossing the desert. The kajíji was plentiful in this neighbourhood. The root of this little plant, which is about the size of a nut, the natives use in the most extensive way for perfuming themselves with.