126 A COLONY IN THE MAKING chap. 



areas, comparatively speaking, more especially of 

 native land, will always be under maize. When this 

 crop is above the average, there will be a considerable 

 surplus to export. Further than this, maize export is 

 hardly likely to become a great factor in the prosperity 

 of the country. Our land is too valuable. Accord- 

 ing to Mr. A. C. Macdonald, in a very lucid and 

 interesting lecture given in 1910, the average price to 

 be anticipated in London is about £$ 3s. a ton, though 

 of course it has often been higher. The farmer can 

 grow maize and deliver it at Kilindini, including a 

 reasonable profit, for £$ 16s. The matter of freight, 

 therefore, is still one of adjustment. 



There is no great secret with regard to maize 

 growing beyond the usual maxim of plant early and 

 cultivate well. Maize is a surface plant and is best 

 suited by a good deep loam. While it likes plenty of 

 moisture, it cannot stand being waterlogged. It is 

 fairly greedy in the soil and after a certain period must 

 or had better be grown in rotation with some leguminous 

 crop. In those parts of the Protectorate where it is 

 possible to get two crops, it stands to reason to plant 

 an early ripening variety during the short hot season 

 succeeding the little rains. Such a variety would be 

 the Champion White Pearl. During the long mild 

 period succeeding the big rains Hickory King is 

 usually grown. 



Coffee. — Every year it becomes more apparent that 

 the cultivation of coffee will prove one of the chief 

 sources of the Protectorate's wealth. There are 

 several localities where coffee grows well and crops 

 heavily, and as yet the Protectorate has not been 

 visited by disease. Further, the quality is good and 

 the price shows a steady upward tendency. From ^45 



