THE NATURAL lOKESTS 181 



possess a climatic value over that of cultivated 

 trees. 



The only timber of the Province that is an 

 established article of commerce in Europe is a 

 species of Copaifera (?) known in Angoche as 

 pinki, and popularly as African ebony. The 

 forests of the Mozambique district are, in places, 

 rich in pinki, but the tree is also found in 

 Quelimane and Lourenzo Marques. It is brought 

 in by the natives in metre lengths weighing 

 from 40 to 50 kilogrammes according to girth, 

 and bought by merchants at from 7s, to 8s. 

 per 100 kilos. It is sold in Marseilles for from 

 £J^ to £.20 per ton according to quality, the 

 lowest quality going to Hamburg and fetching 

 ^5 per ton. 



Euphorbia Tirucalli, the source of almeidina 

 gum, now being exploited in Natal for its rubber, 

 occurs in Lourenzo Marques, but not sufficiently 

 abundantly, as far as is known, to make it worth 

 while exploiting in its natural state. The dry 

 sandy soils of Lourenzo Marques suit it admirably, 

 and as it grows readily from cuttings it possibly 

 might pay to cultivate. It should, I think, be 

 planted thickly in the ground in the manner sug- 

 gested for Ceara rubber, and allowed to grow up 

 into a jungle, in which no weeding would be 

 required ; a crop taken every year or two years 



