MISCELLANEOUS SUBJECTS 515 



in Lisbon in 1906, the Companhia do Nyassa sent four- 

 teen samples of cotton, of which only two came from the 

 interior. The Exhibition jury awarded the Silver Medal 

 Diploma for this cotton. In regard to this product, 

 Governor Pires Viegas wrote: "Although the Con- 

 celhos beyond the Lugenda were not represented, I 

 noted when I traversed the district a great quantity of 

 cotton without special cultivation." 



It was at one time supposed, as Mr. Stocks had written 

 in 1907, that the districts adjacent to the coast were 

 the best for the cultivation of cotton, but it is certain 

 that even at that period the cultivation of cotton on some 

 scale had been thought of in the Amarambo Concelho, 

 in the south-west portion of the Territories, probably 

 in emulation of the cultivation of this product in the 

 neighbouring district of British Nyasaland. As a 

 matter of fact, the first experiments were made in 

 Amaramba in 1908 with Egyptian cotton, the seeds for 

 which had been acquired from the plantations of British 

 Nyasaland. As a result of these experiments it has 

 been proved that one hectare of land is capable of pro- 

 ducing a ton of cotton, including seeds, or 333 kilograms 

 of ginned cotton. In 1913 the following plantations 

 existed in the Amaramba Concelho : 



Scares Guedes & Co: 1,000 hectares of land granted, 

 225 hectares under cotton cultivation. This firm owns 

 steam-driven machinery and warehouses. 



Paes dos Santos: 1,000 hectares granted, 150 hectares 

 under cultivation; steam-driven machinery. 



Felismino da Fonseca : 100 hectares under cultivation. 



Joaquim Baptista, Elias Vasilius, Regino Pietro : 50 

 hectares under cultivation each. 



The production for 1913 was estimated at about 270 

 tons of clean cotton. 



In the first months of 1913, the Administration of the 

 Companhia do Nyassa received in Lisbon a large sample 

 of cotton from Amaramba, an equal quantity being sent 

 to the London Section. In Portugal the Company 

 distributed this sample amongst various manufacturers 

 in Lisbon and Oporto, one being sent to Professor 

 Melo Geraldes, to whose special work we will hereafter 



