The soldiers had never even
cleared the rough native grass from the surface, but had turned up the
soil in small lots at intervals of about a foot, into which they had
carelessly dropped a few grains of corn.
We now found agricultural enemies that were unexpected. Guinea-fowl
recognized the importance of cultivation, and created terrible damage.
Small birds of the sparrow tribe infested the newly-sown land in clouds,
but worse than these enemies were the vast armies of great ants.
These industrious insects, ever providing for the future, discovered the
newly sown barley and wheat, and considering that such an opportunity
should not be neglected, they literally marched off with the greater
portion of the seed that was exposed. I saw them on many occasions
returning in countless numbers from a foray, each carrying in its mouth
a grain of barley or wheat. I tracked them to their subterranean nests,
in one of which I found about a peck of corn which had been conveyed by
separate grains; and patches of land had been left nearly barren of
seed.
The large crimson-headed goose of the White Nile quickly discovered that
barley was a food well adapted for the physical constitution of geese,
and great numbers flocked to the new farm.
