PRODUCTION OF SUGAR UN THE PROVUNCE OF 

 .MOZAMBIQUE. 



By James ]Munro. 



Blessed with a combination of favouring" conditions — includ- 

 ing a warm climate, abundant rainfall, a magnificent river 

 system, a Hue level surface contour, soil naturally highly fertile, 

 and an abundant and industrious Native j:)Oi3ulation — the Pro- 

 vince of Mozambique has, in the opinion of every authority who 

 has visited it, agricultural possil)ilities far surpassing those of 

 any other ]:)art of South Africa. All are agreed that the soil is 

 most favourably adapted for the easy and profitable raising of a 

 great variety of crops, but, though differing as to details, in 

 other respects, all combine in the statement that the production 

 of sugar on an enormous scale is what its rich rivers, valleys and 

 fertile plains are particularly adapted for, declaring that for 

 this purpose this favoured land is unsurpassed by any other on 

 the face of the glol:)e. 



Speaking on this point, Mr. T. R. Sim, formerly Conservator 

 of Forests in Natal, and an expert in both agriculture and arbori- 

 culture, referring more particularly to the Uimpopo Valley, said, 

 in a report to the Governor-General, Col. Andrade : — 



It forms probably the most fertile tract of large area in South Africa. 

 . . . . No other such valley exists in South Africa for the cultivation 

 of sugar on an extensive scale, and where the facilities for preparation, 

 cultivation, and collection, and manipulation are so abundant. 



And, again : 



The conditions are more suitable than exist extensively anywhere in 

 Natal or Zululand, and remind me^ on an enormously enlarged scale, of the 

 few best spots in the lower Umhlatuze Valley. 



Indeed. Mr. Sim spoke of this Valley ag capable of being 

 made into one vast sugar field, which would more than supply the 

 sugar consumption of the whole of South Africa. 



Mr. F. T. Nicholson, Secretary of the Transvaal Agricul- 

 tural Union, an agriculturist of wide South African experience, 

 speaking also of the lower Uimpopo \'alley, in a separate report, 

 said that it consisted of the most fertile lands which it had ever 

 been his lot to see. In his opinion the most profitable crop would 

 be sugar-cane, 



Which grows most luxuriantly and whose sugar contents is remark- 

 ably high, considerably above that of the Natal plantations, and coming to 

 maturity much earlier. 



This authority spoke most favourably of the Inhambane dis- 

 trict for sugar production, and, also, of course, of those of the 

 Quelimane 'district, where he found sugar-cane growing most 

 luxuriantly, being unusually tall and thick, and yielding a large 

 percentage of sugar. 



Then, again, ^Ir. O. V. PJarrett. then Director of Agricul- 

 ture for the Province, an American agricultural authoritv of 



