CHAPTEE IV 



DISTRICT OP QUELIMANE— THE PRODUCTIVE 

 ZONES AND RIVER ZAMBEZI 



No part of East Africa with which I am 

 acquainted can compare in fertility with the 

 district of QueUmane. It is the garden of the 

 coast, and for the planter is perhaps worth more 

 than all the rest of the Province put together. 

 Three circumstances contribute to give it its 

 value, the most important being the rainfall, 

 which is between 50 and 60 inches, rising to 

 60 or 70 in the highlands behind. Zanzibar 

 and Pemba are the only places on the coast 

 which have a greater rainfall. Towards the 

 eastern administrative boundary a few storm- 

 water torrents drain the low range of hills 

 which form part of the Chinga system, but with 

 the exception of these the rivers of Quelimane 

 do not dry up. They intersect the country in 

 every direction as racing rivulets or bountiful 

 streams like the Lugella and Lycungo, the Lualua 



