Of fish I saw none but what were too much disguised by drying to be recognised. The fish in the river _Ada_, I am told, consist of nearly the same species as those of the Nile in Upper Egypt. They are caught in wicker baskets, and used for food.—The natives have also a way of drying them, but it does not prevent their being so offensive to the smell, as to be useless to any but themselves. Numerous huts built of reeds are found on the bank of the river, as well for the use of the fishermen, as of those who ensnare the ferocious animals that come to drink its waters. The Chameleon abounds in Dar-Fûr; the _viverra Ichneumon_, _nims_, and almost all the species of lizard are also seen there. Of Serpents, the _Coluber Hayé_ of Egypt, the _Coluber vipera_, and the _anguis Colubrina_, were the only ones I saw: and no more than one or two of each; though it was represented to me that in some places they are numerous. The Fûrians have not the art of charming them, like the Egyptians and Indians. I exposed myself to much ridicule by collecting a number of chameleons in my apartment, to observe their character and changes; the people there think them impure, and relate many foolish stories concerning them. A great number of insects and reptiles, which I had taken care to conserve, accident has deprived me of, and I cannot now furnish a catalogue. The scorpion is small, of a brown hue, and his venom not extremely violent. The natives cure the sting by immediately applying to the part a bruised onion, which is renewed till the pain subsides. The white ant, or _Termites_, is found in vast numbers, and is exceedingly destructive, eating through every thing within its reach, whether vegetables, cloth, leather, paper, provisions, &c. A bull’s hide, if not newly covered with tar, is no defence against it. The _Apis mellifera_ (common bee) abounds; but they have no hives, and the wild honey is commonly of a dark colour, and unpleasant taste. I have observed a beetle, not very large, which is characterized by burying its eggs in a small ball of horse’s or other dung, and then rolling the ball from place to place in the sand or clay, till it attains a size greatly exceeding that of the animal itself. Great quantities of cochineal are visible; which, if the natives, or the Egyptians who visit them, had any reflection or spirit, it might be thought would be applied to some useful purpose. The locust of Arabia, _Gryllus_, is very common, and is frequently roasted and eaten, particularly by the slaves. The _Scarabeus Ceratoniæ_; the _Culex Egypti_, _namûs_ in Ar. (mosquito), is particularly vexatious in the rainy season. METALS AND MINERALS.