122 THE PRAZOES 



at the present time from any portion of the East 

 Coast of Africa. Several of the larger concession- 

 holders possess immense plantations of this profit- 

 able palm, one in particular numbering no less than 

 400,000, in addition to a quarter of a million young 

 trees. Much attention has been paid of late years, 

 moreover, to the plantation of various kinds of 

 fibre-producing plants, especially that known as the 

 Sisal (Agave) ; the large plantations of coffee have 

 produced most satisfactory results in the more 

 elevated portions of the country, and valuable 

 experiments have also been made with several 

 kinds of imported rubber-producing trees, notably 

 the Manihot, CastiUoa elastica, Mani9oba, and 

 others. On a recent journey which I made up the 

 Zambezi, I was much struck by the healthy and 

 promising appearance presented by a thriving grove 

 of oil-palms {Elais guineensis), for which I con- 

 sider the Zambezi Valley, with its moist, heated 

 atmosphere and rich soil, is a peculiarly suitable 

 locality. Then again we have the common ground- 

 nut {Arachis hypogeia), which might be made an 

 extraordinarily remunerative article of export, but 

 vidth which hitherto but little has been done. In 

 1906 the total amount of the ground-nuts exported 

 from Zambezia only totalled 1,800 tons, whereas 

 the quantity which could be raised is limitless. 

 Maize, millet, castor-oil seeds, beeswax, manioc 

 {Cassava), and various kinds of beans and oleaginous 

 seeds, are also cultivated for export, but chiefly by 

 natives ; the crop as soon as it is harvested passing 

 into the hands either of the prazo authorities in 

 payment or part payment of the yearly hut-tax, or 



