German East Africa 145 



successors to the Arabs, whether the East 

 Indian or otherwise, seldom if ever see 

 any palpable advantage in careful culture and 

 systematic working- or preparation, Again, 

 the conduct of affairs is still to a consider- 

 able degree dependent on the goodwill of the 

 negro or native black, who is inordinately 

 fond of intoxicants, and the easiest way to 

 satisfy this craving is to tap the palm for its 

 sap, which, when fermented, yields a very 

 potent beverage, pleasant to the palate of the 

 African worshippers of Bacchus. For tapping 

 the juice, the flower stalks are tied together 

 at the ends, which are then cut off and a 

 vessel is hung underneath to catch the sap 

 running out (see illustration in the section 

 devoted to alcohol). While this tapping is 

 said to be harmless on young vigorous trees if 

 carried out moderately, the native method of 

 carrying it out to depletion is quite the reverse, 

 the consequence being that thousands of the 

 trees are destroyed annually by this means 

 alone. As long as there is no law prohibiting 

 it and the natives can openly offer the palm- 

 wine for sale in the streets, there appears to 

 be no remedy, and the wholesale destruction 

 will go on unhindered. Even on the white 

 plantations it is extremely difficult to exercise 

 sufficient supervision over the trees to check 

 the evil. This palm-wine tapping in East 

 Africa does far more damage than all the rest 

 of the enemies put together, and legislative 



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