The difficulties attending the tedious road to the coast; the lazy indifferent character of the Danákil camel owners, who, regardless of the value of time, spend months upon the journey; and the fitful caprice evinced by the various chieftains though whose territories the caravan must pass—all form great obstacles to the conveyance of the cheaper produce from Abyssinia, although these might doubtless be overcome within a reasonable period by the well-directed efforts of British perseverance. In Cáffa and Enárea, coffee grows wild like a weed over the rich surface of the country. The beverage is in universal use among the inhabitants; the price paid is almost nominal; and the convenience of water carriage is alone wanting towards the transportation of the product in unlimited quantities to every portion of the globe.
Chaat is a shrub very extensively cultivated, both in Shoa and in the countries adjacent. It is in general use among the inhabitants as a substitute for tea, which, in all its properties and qualities, it closely resembles. The plant is said to have been brought originally from the western mountains, of which the elevation being from five to eight thousand feet, agrees with that of the Chinese tea districts, whilst the average temperature does not exceed 60 degrees Fahrenheit. In a light gravelly soil it attains the height of twelve feet; and the leaves being plucked during the dry season, and well dried in the sun, fetch from one penny to two-pence the pound. They are either chewed, or boiled in milk, or infused in water; and by the addition of honey, a pleasant beverage is produced, which, being bitter and stimulative, dispels sleep if used to excess.
The virtues of the chaat are equally to be appreciated with those of the yerba mate, recently introduced into England from Brazil and Paraguay. It is already known under the appellation of “Celastrus edulis,” and belongs to Pentandria Monogynia Linn, and to the natural family of Celastrineae, or to that sub-family of the Rhamneae, which have in the flower the stamens alternating with the petals. The family of Rhamneae, namely, the genus Rhamnus itself, supplies to the poorer classes in China a substitute for tea, and is known under the name of Rhamnus Theezaus Linn.
(The chaatt may thus be characterised:— Frutex inermis; foliis oppositis, petiolatis, oblongis, serrato-dentatis, glabris. Calyx minimus, persistens. Petala 5. Stamina 5-petalia alternantia. Fructus superus, oblonge baccatus, 5-locularis, polyspermus, vel abortive monospermus. Inflorescentia axillaris, cymosa: cymi dichotome stipulati. The plant supplying the Paraguay tea is a species of ilex, and belongs to the same family of Celastrineee, sub-order Aquifoliaceae.)
Cotton of two kinds grows in the sequestered nooks of the eastern face of the mountains of Shoa, and in the valleys at the extreme foot of the range; but from the superior luxuriance of the plant, and the amount of crop produced in the lower situations, the natural climate would appear to exist in those sheltered spots, which in atmosphere much resemble the more favoured parts of Western India. The Efát shrub varies, according to the locality and supply of water, from three feet in height to upwards of seven, and usually assuming the form of a pyramid, extends its lower branches to a width equal to the stature—the size of the leaves, and the soft and yielding nature of the stem, imparting a strong external resemblance to the Bourbon cotton. Eight and nine inches in circumference are not unfrequently attained; and the advantages of a very productive crop twice in each year, the existence of the plant during five seasons, and the heavy return of the particularly fine wool during the very first, award to the species a most deserving pre-eminence.
(Gossypium Efatense. Seeds completely covered with a close down. Cotton white; capsules 3-celled, 3-valved; flowers small, with a red fundus; leaves 3 to 5-lobed; lobes acuminated.)
The indigenous plant of Efát is not, however, so much esteemed as that from Gondar, which, instead of rising tall and straight from the ground, assumes a spreading dwarfy appearance. The wool is considered superior, and the cloth produced is softer and more elastic, but its existence is limited to three years. Both are planted indiscriminately in the same field, although, when gathered, the crops are preserved unmixed; and after the fifth year the Efát shrub is cut over close to the ground, which is then ploughed up, and sown with wheat or other grain, when, on the removal of the harvest the young cotton shoots are well above the ground, and will yield during two further seasons.
(Gossypium Gondarense. Seeds sprinkled with short hairs. Cotton white; capsules 3-celled, 3-valved; flowers large, yellow; leaves 3 to 5-lobed; lobes commonly obtuse.)
The seed, having been placed for some time in wood-ashes, is well rubbed with red earth before planting; and wherever the locality is favourable to irrigation, water is not spared. The pod, when ripe, is cut with a knife, the husk removed, and the wool deposited in a bag, with the utmost care to exclude extraneous matter. One full bearing bush produces twice during the twelve months between four and five pounds of raw stuff.
End of Volume II.