138 MOZAMBIQUE 



As a grazing country the district of Inliambane 

 is inferior to that of Lourenzo Marques. The 

 sparsely populated northern and western portions 

 are to a great extent waterless, while the fertile, 

 well-watered, populous south is infected with 

 East Coast fever. When this part comes out of 

 quarantine the question of restocking will oc- 

 cupy the attention of landowners, but for some 

 time to come yet Inhambane is not likely to 

 provide any attraction for the cattle-breeder. 



Except in favoured spots in the interior, the 

 heavy breeds of the south would be out of place 

 in the tropic areas, which will never rank with 

 the south as cattle-breeding countries. No one 

 who wished to embark upon the business of 

 stock-raising would select the Zambezi or Queli- 

 mane, much less Mozambique. But cattle are 

 required there for draught purposes and for the 

 local markets. 



In connection with draught oxen an interesting 

 circumstance has come under my observation 

 which may be worth recording by the way, 

 namely, that the further north we go the fewer 

 the number of oxen can we yoke into a team. 

 Spans of sixteen and twenty oxen are managed 

 in South Africa, but in the equatorial belt one 

 pair is as much as can be conveniently handled. 



