The World and Its People, Book VII: Views in Africa

by Anna B. Badlam

The vegetation of Egypt may be said to be somewhat of an intermediate character, for it partakes of the characteristics of the several sections we have already had described.

In the parts watered by the Nile there are found rich productions of grains of all kinds, while in the southern and drier portions are found only stunted, miserable-looking bushes and shrubs. These dispute with the drifts of accumulating sand for the possession of the native soil of these sections.

Indigo and tobacco are found in the parts of Egypt which have the richest soil. Cotton has been cultivated to some extent, by means of an expensive and laborious system of irrigating the soil.

Along the Senegal the cotton plant flourishes, in its rich, well-watered soil, almost without care or cultivation. One can scarcely estimate what quantities of cotton could be raised under careful and painstaking labor. Coffee grows luxuriantly in all the fertile sections of Africa, and is very abundant.

In the deserts of the interior the eye is greeted by very different pictures from those which the other sections of Africa present. These deserts are mostly destitute of plants, and the few they have are of stunted growth. A very remarkable kind of grass covers entire districts, to the great annoyance of the traveler, on account of its prickles. Agoul, a plant peculiar to the desert, furnishes food for the camel.

In the equatorial parts of Africa all trees peculiar to European countries are lacking. Even the date tree is seldom seen. While the flora of these tropical regions resembles somewhat that of India, yet there are peculiarities of vegetation which belong strictly to African localities.

Here are found masses of the baobab trees of which we have read, and whose fruit furnishes the refreshing drink so necessary to the natives. Here, also, are found the cotton trees, the bases of which form great buttresses; while shrubs in no inconsiderable variety and rich and varied verdure cover the soil. Groups of palm trees, sago palms, and other varieties of the same family bend down to the water's edge along the great streams.

In the thickets climbing plants of every description twine among the branches of the trees. One variety has recently been discovered which yields a very good species of india rubber. These specimens of plant life, with the masses of wild flowers, showing a brilliant coloring of mingled scarlet, orange, and white, make a scene of rare beauty.

While there is so much that is new and strange in these tropical regions, yet the absence of waving fields of grain and corn is strongly noticeable. Here, too, the vine is quite unknown. The fig is of little or no use, except in a few localities. Only the orange and the lime remain to remind us of the usual fruits of the tropics.

Here and there may be found various kinds of apples and plums; but, owing to the intense heat, they do not attain any perfection of size or flavor. It is a curious fact that all the fruit is not only small and undeveloped, but seems to lose, in a large degree, not only its peculiar flavor, but its succulent juices as well.