Inasmuch as European colonization of the High- 

 lands to any serious degree only commenced s<jme 

 fifteen years ago, the flourishing condition of the 

 settlement as a whole is conclusive evidence as to the 

 intrinsic value of British East Africa. Books on local 

 agriculture written only live years before this publica- 

 tion are couched almost entirely in the future tense. 

 In the two succeeding paragraphs an attempt has 

 been made to compare the conditions which then pre- 

 vailed with those of to-dav. 



DIFFICULTIES 

 OF THE 

 EARLY 

 PIONEERS. 



THE OUTLOOK 

 TO-DAY. 



THEN, the newcomer had to depend entirely 

 upon his own resources, knowledge and initiative. 

 Experience gained in other countries often resulted in 

 his undoing, and no information was available to 

 assist in the selection of land and implements, or in 

 what and when to plant. In East Africa the seasons, 

 rainfall, soil, and climate vary with the altitude, and 

 it was found that the prudent course in one locality 

 was the height of folly in another ! Coffee, succeed- 

 ing to perfection at 5,000 feet, failed on precisely 

 similar soil at higher altitudes. Sheep in one district 

 throve, but perished in another, owing to some altera- 

 tion in the climate or feed. It was only after years 

 of bitter experience, many failures, and an expendi- 

 ture of much capital and energy, that the strong 

 hearts won through, and by their efforts cleared the 

 way to Prosperity. 



NOW, the new arrival, benefitting by the experi- 

 ence of these early pioneers, may direct his energies 

 along lines of proven success, and reap the advantage 

 of these costly experiments. But although land is 

 cheap to-day, its phenominal richness, combined with 

 the fact that the country is limited in area, indicate 

 a rapid rise in values immediately after the war. 



THE EDITOR. 



Nairobi, 



October, Tgi7. 



