Wax and honey.Bees are abundant in the Bahr El Ghazal, and large quantities of honey are collected every year.
Salt.Salt is found only in the west, in the Faroge district, but is in demand everywhere.
Crops.Generally speaking, the ground is cleared in April. Crops are sown in May, and reaped in November-December. One crop a year.
Indian corn is grown extensively in the plateaux. Sown in April, it ripens in August. Sorghum dura is grown universally. The Dinkas, living near the marshes, sow this at the end of March, it ripens in October, and has a short stalk 4 feet high. Everywhere else it grows 12 feet high and ripens in December. Ground nuts and pumpkins are also universally grown, especially by the Dinkas. Simsim, telabun, dukhn, and various vegetables are met with in the habitations of other tribes. Locusts play great havoc with the crops, and the natives, especially the Dinkas, are too lazy to combat them. The crops are increasing in extent, especially in the western portion; each military post cultivates a certain amount, but it is expected that the natives will soon produce enough (bar accidents and drought) to supply the troops and any demand that may be made on them.
Minerals.Iron is very plentiful almost throughout the province, and is extensively worked (vide [p. 160]). A recent analysis of the iron ore gives a percentage of 47 per cent. of pure iron.
Copper is only found at the rich mines of Hofrat El Nahas, near the southern borders of Darfur. It lies in the midst of a deserted country, and has not been worked for a long time. It had not been visited by Europeans (until Colonel Sparkes’s recent journey, February, 1903), since 1876 (Purdy).[107] According to recent analysis of a specimen the ore is a silicate and carbonate, not a sulphate, of copper, containing 14 per cent. of pure metal. Although there is an immense quantity of this ore, its distance from civilisation and the obstacles to transport will render its development a matter of considerable difficulty for some time to come. In places, it sticks up in ridges above the surface.
Currency.Different tribes and districts have a fancy for various articles of barter. “Genotor” (Gianotta) beads (round, black beads with white and coloured spots) are useful anywhere. With the Dinkas, small white and red beads (“Suk-suk”) and brass wire, especially in the form of bracelets, are acceptable; but cloth only holds a steady demand on the direct routes to Government posts, where the inhabitants are thrown into contact with civilisation; it is, however, rapidly becoming more popular, and in some parts of the country is preferred to beads. Jurs like beads, brass and cloth. Golos and Bongos prefer cloth, which also obtains the best value from the Nyam Nyams. The Dinkas in the north have been in the habit of exchanging ivory for cattle with the Baggara Arabs.
6. Climate and Hygiene.
The rainy season[108] begins in April and ends in November; December, January, February, and March are the dry months, when the humidity is slight, though there is always a certain amount of dew. From the end of April till the middle of November rain falls, on the average, one day out of three, generally in very heavy showers lasting for two or three hours at a time. In the early months terrific thunderstorms accompany the showers. The shade temperature in the dry season shows an average maximum of 98° and a minimum of 59°. In the rainy season the maximum in April, May, and June averages 89°, and from July to December 85°. The minimum average during these months is 70°. During the rains the humidity is excessive, and the dews exceedingly heavy.
Sickness. Malaria.About 80 per cent. of the sickness in the Bahr El Ghazal is due to malaria. It attacks Europeans and Egyptians more severely than blacks.