n8 A COLONY IN THE MAKING chap. 



there wattle timber has a ready sale, being used for 

 props in mines ; further, the wood is used for fuel by 

 the railway, for which purpose it is reported excellent. 

 In British East Africa we have as yet no mines, and 

 the railway reports unfavourably on wattle fuel. It 

 may be assumed, however, with confidence that a 

 State-owned railway will see their way, and indeed 

 must see their way, to utilise the timber, even if it be 

 inferior, which is itself an extremely doubtful point. 

 It is possible that it will make the whole differ- 

 ence between the success and failure of the 

 industry. 



The man, or company, who determines to go in 

 for wattle will proceed to choose his ground. And 

 here it may be said, as is so often said of farming 

 land in England, that the best land is generally the 

 cheapest. In the long run it will be found best to 

 pay a high price for an area which has all the 

 essentials highly developed than to pay a reduced, 

 even a considerably reduced, price for that which is 

 deficient in some or other desired characteristic. 



The ideal situation would be an area of, say, 4,000 

 acres at an elevation of 7,000 ft. where there are 

 considerable periods of mist. It would lie alongside 

 the line. This is a vital consideration in a bulky crop 

 of comparatively low value ; and, indeed, unless in 

 exceptional circumstances, the cultivation of wattle at 

 a greater distance from the line than twelve miles 

 could not be recommended. The soil would be deep, 

 loamy, and nicely drained. The rainfall would be 

 between 50 and 70 inches. Clearing would be an 

 easy task. Labour would be plentiful in the vicinity. 

 There would be water-power, fuel, and an absence of 

 the mischievous species of game or mosquitoes. For 



