The cultivated crop appears to be a precarious one;
little or no care, however, is bestowed on the trees, and even
weeding is done very inefficiently. The plantations are generally
old, and have been made on the low ground near the river, which
renders them liable to inundation when this rises a few inches
more than the average. There is plenty of higher land quite
suitable to the tree, but it is uncleared, and the want of labour
and enterprise prevents the establishment of new plantations.
We passed the last houses in the Obydos district on the 20th, and
the river scenery then resumed its usual wild and solitary
character, which the scattered human habitations relieved,
although in a small degree. We soon fell into a regular mode of
life on board our little ark. Penna would not travel by night;
indeed, our small crew, wearied by the day's labour, required
rest, and we very rarely had wind in the night. We used to moor
the vessel to a tree, giving out plenty of cable, so as to sleep
at a distance from the banks and free of mosquitoes, which
although swarming in the forest, rarely came many yards out into
the river at this season of the year.
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