On the morning of the 14th of May, Ibrahim fired several musket-shots, as a signal for his friends to come and receive some little presents of tobacco which he destined for them. The court was soon crowded with old men, and as the portions had been made up on the preceding day, there was nothing to do but to distribute them; he also gave some blue Guinea cloth to each of his three wives for their dresses. After this distribution, Ibrahim was overwhelmed with benedictions. The women danced, and sang his praises, and the men offered up prayers for his prosperity. The good old schoolmaster was not forgotten. After our breakfast, which was always equally frugal, Ibrahim and I walked to the ourondé to see the slaves employed in preparing the ground for sowing. The poor slaves work entirely naked, exposed to the heat of a burning sun. The presence of their master intimidates them, and the fear of punishment expedites the work; but they make themselves amends in his absence. The women, who had very little clothing, had their children tied to their backs. They were employed in collecting the dry grass, which, being burnt, forms a kind of manure, indeed, the only kind they use. Ibrahim assured me that rice in these fields grows to the height of four feet. The soil, which is composed of a very hard grey sand, is fertilized by the inundations of the Tankisso. The uplands, which the inundations do not reach, are planted with yams, cassava, maize, small millet, and foigné, which is much cultivated here. The foigné is sown in the course of May, and gathered in the month of July, at which time the rice is no more than four inches above the ground. Two harvests of foigné may be gathered during the year. But for the foigné, which grows very rapidly, this country would frequently be subject to famine, for the people are accustomed to sow no more rice than what they absolutely need, and very often less; in which latter case they have recourse to the foigné. I sat down for a moment under the shade of a tree, to watch the slaves work. They appeared to perform their tasks much better than the negroes employed by the Europeans on the western coast. They use but one agricultural implement, which is a hoe, made in the country, six inches long by four broad; the handle from eighteen to twenty inches long, is very much bent. Previously to sowing their rice the ground is broken up to the depth of about a foot, but the same preparation is not made for sowing the foigné. They merely cut the grass, and sow the seed broad-cast, before the ground is properly prepared, then draw the grass over the seed, which thus becomes covered. It is the business of the women to perform this simple operation. When the foigné rises above the ground, no pains are taken to remove the weeds which impede its growth. Greater attention however, is bestowed on the rice; the ground in which it grows is carefully cleared of noxious weeds. In the Fouta, I observed that the Foulahs