AFRICA: CENTRAL AND INDEPENDENT STATER. 341 imports of foreign are double the imports of Iiuliiin piece goods. Half tho exports consist of raw wool, the other half being mainly fruit and nuts. The im]»()rts fi-om Hokh;ira are stated to amount to nearly '1, 000, 000 roubles, and the ex[)orts to Bokhara to as much. The rupee apjtears to be the usual currency, though Government demands are often paid in kind. The Ameer's mint at Kabul is now under the supervision of an English- man. According to olficial reports, the stnallcst silver coin yet struck has ))een the " kran," of the value of half the " Kalml " rupee, but in future then' will be a smaller coin, e([uivalent to the threepence. In addition to these pieces, there will be a gold piece of the same value as the sovereign, and new silver pieces equal to the crown and half-crown respectively. Resides the small copper " pice " at present coined, of which 72 are reckoned as equal to one " Kabuli " rupee, a large bronze coin will be struck of the size of a crown, and of the nominal value of about 5d. The Khaibar antl Bolan roads are excellent, and fit for wheeled traffic as far as Kabul and Kandahar respectively. There is, however, no wheeled carriage^ except artiller}', proper to the country, and merchandise is transported on camel or pony back. There are practically no navigable rivers in Afghan- istan, and timber is the only article of commerce conveyed by water, floated down stream in rafts. Books of Reference. Bellew, Afghanistan and the Afghans, London, 1879; and The Races of Afghanistan, 18R0 Burnes, Cabool. 1843. Curzon (Hon. G. N.). Russia in Central Asia. [Contains bibliography]. London, 1880. Forhe» (A.), The Afghan Wars, 18;W-l-2 and 1878-80. London, 181>2, Gore (F. St. G.), Lights and Sliades of Hill Life in the Afghan and Hindu Highlands of the Punjab. London, 18! '(J. Oray (T.), At the Court of the Ameer. Loudon, 1895. Hemman, The Afghan War of 1879-80. London, 1881. Kaye, History of the War in Afghanistan. 4th edition. 1878. MacFall (C.),' With the Zhob Field Force, 1890. London, 1895. MacMahon (A. H.), The Southern Borderlands of Afghanistan. London, 1897. Mole (A.), Seenes tlirough the Battle Smoke. London, 1891. Malleson, History of Afghanistan. 2nd edition. 1879. Slutchmore {S. A.), Moghul, Mongol, Mikado, and Missionary 2 vols. New York, 1891. Oliver (E. E.), Across the Border, or Pathan and Biluch. London, 1890. ito6<'r(« (Field-Marshal Lord), Forty-nine Years in India. London, 1897. Robertson (Sir G. S.), The Kafirs of the Hindoo Knsh. London, 1890. Thorhurn (S.). Asiatic Neighbours. London, 1895. Wfir (T. S.), From India to the Caspian. Bombay, 189.'?. Wheeler (S. E.), The Ameer Abdur Rahman. London, 1>^95. Yate (Major C. E.). Northern Afglianistan. London, 1888. Parliamentary Papers, Afghanistan, 1873-1897. AFRICA, CENTRAL. TiiEiiK still remain certain independent and quasi-independent States in Central Africa about which it may be useful to give here such information ns is obtainable with respect to their political, religious, industrial and commer- cial condition. These are Ahyssinia, which is noticed in its alphabetical place, and the Crntkal Sud.vn St.vtks — Boiiiu and Wadai (on which Kanem and 13agirmi are dependent); although as a matter of fact Bornu may lie regarded as partly within the Ihitish and partly within the German .spheres. The region lying between the eastern boundary of the French sphere in the .Sahara, the western limits of Eg}-pt, the country of Fezzan in the north, and the Central Sudan in the south, is still unannexed. It contains the moun- tainous inhabited region of Tibesti.
