CHAPTKU IX 

 CEARA RUBBER 



One of the most serious problems occupying the 

 minds of those interested in the agricultural 

 development of the Province of Mozambique is 

 the future of rui)ber-pluntin«,'. The case would 

 perhaps be better put by the query : Has rubber- 

 planting a future in the Province or has it not ? 

 There exist in the districts of Lourenzo Marques 

 and Inhambane several small plantations of Ceara 

 rubber, some of them planted by the Government 

 at the Circumscriptions and some owned by 

 private individuals. They consist of trees that 

 have reached the producing stage, but in no case 

 are they being successfully worked. Hence the 

 reputation of the Province as a rubber country has 

 not yet been established. On the contrary, it has 

 been damaged ; and incidentally it may be men- 

 tioned that if it is true, as it certainly is, that one 

 successful man will do more to encourage the 



development of an industry- than any number 



•n 



