A Thousand Miles in a Machilla 



tree has so far been arrived at, but it appears to be 

 the sort best suited to the climate, and has done 

 extremely well in suitable soils. The price of Ceara 

 rubber in London is 8s. lod. per lb. 



The Para {Hevea Brasillensis) requires a moister 

 climate, and is cultivated in the West Nyasa 

 district, where the rainfall is abundant. Three- 

 year-old plants are now twenty feet high. Fifteen 

 thousand four hundred and fifteen pounds of rubber 

 was exported in 1908-9, valued at ;^3,o83, of which 

 one thousand five hundred and fourteen pounds was 

 the cultivated variety, the remainder having been 

 collected from wild vines. There is an export duty 

 of 4d. a lb. on uncultivated rubber, but the other is 

 allowed to be exported free of duty. 



Hemp. — Sisal and Mauritius hemps are grown 

 by many planters, Sisal being generally preferred, 

 as more easily grown and its fibre of better 

 quality. The greater the cultivation the more 

 remunerative it will become, as thoroughly proved 

 machinery is essential for preparing the fibre. 

 These hemps are chiefly cultivated in the Blantyre 

 district, and now cover nine hundred and twenty- 

 eight acres. 



Coffee. — The export and growing of coffee has 

 decreased of late, owing to other crops having been 

 taken up by planters. The season of 1896-97 

 produced such exceptional high quality coffee that 

 there was much competition for it in the home 

 markets, where it fetched from 105/- to 114/- per 

 cwt. in London, but it has steadily fallen since. 

 The West Shire district is the one best suited to 



114 



