There is much less demand for these drugs in the west than in the south of Africa. In the countries to the north of Abyssinia, in those south of Sennaar, and in Abyssinia itself, they are in constant use, and besides what passes by land, considerable quantities are shipped from Djidda to Massouah, for the Abyssinian market. They are here at least 250 per cent. dearer than at Cairo. The Egyptians sometimes push on as far as Sennaar, if they cannot find a ready sale for their Zamele at Shendy. _Soap._ The soap which supplies all Egypt and Arabia, is manufactured at Gazé, Yaffa, Hebron, and Jerusalem. No good soap has hitherto been made in Egypt itself; there are several manufactories of it at Siout, but it is of a very inferior kind, the oil which they employ being made from the lettuce, instead of the olive. The Pasha of Egypt, however, has lately established, under the direction of an able Italian, a soap manufactory in the Delta. The oil is brought from the Archipelago, and the natron lakes furnish the alkali. Soap is a very profitable article, and in great demand in all parts of the southern countries, but it exposes the merchant to the importunities of numerous beggars of all classes, whose commonest intreaty is for a piece of soap to wash their shirt, and whom it is not always advisable to send away unsatisfied. Soap is sold at Shendy by the piece, without examining into its greater or smaller size. This is likewise the case with _sugar_. The loaf, weighing about four pounds, and the prime cost of which in the sugar works of Upper Egypt is one-sixth of a dollar, is sold for a dollar at Shendy. Its dearness is owing to the great risks incurred in transporting it, as a sudden fall of rain on the road might ruin a whole cargo. Sugar is much in demand in all parts, for presents to the great people, and to the women.[29] It is always eaten by itself, never entering into any dish of sweetmeats, or cookery.