690 CONGE AND BUAZE. 



Angola. The pile is short, and it clings to the seed so much that 

 they use an iron roller to detach it. The soil, however, is equal 

 to the production of any tropical plant or fruit. The natives have 

 never been encouraged to cultivate cotton for sale, nor has any 

 new variety been introduced. We saw no palm-oil-trees, the oil 

 which is occasionally exported being from the ground-nut. One 

 of the merchants of Tete had a mill of the rudest construction for 

 grinding this nut, which was driven by donkeys. It was the only 

 specimen of a machine I could exhibit to my men. A very supe- 

 rior kind of salad oil is obtained from the seeds of cucumbers, and 

 is much used in native cookery. 



An offer, said to have been made by the " Times," having ex- 

 cited attention even in this distant part, I asked the commandant 

 if he knew of any plant fit for the production of paper. He pro- 

 cured specimens of the fibrous tissue of a species of aloe, named 

 Conge, and some also from the root of a wild date, and, lastly, of 

 a plant named Buaze, the fibres of which, though useless for the 

 manufacture of paper, are probably a suitable substitute for flax. 

 I submitted a small quantity of these fibres to Messrs. Pye, 

 Brothers, of London, who have invented a superior mode for the 

 preparation of such tissues for the manufacturer. They most 

 politely undertook the examination, and have given a favorable 

 opinion of the Buaze, as may be seen in the note below.* 



* 80 Lombard Street, 20th March, 185T. 



Dear Sir, — We have the pleasure to return you the specimens of fibrous plants 

 from the Zambesi River, on which you were desirous to see the effects of our treat- 

 ment ; we therefore inclose to you, 



No. 1. Buaze, in the state received from you. 

 1 A. Do. as prepared by us. 



1 B. The tow which has come from it in hackling. 

 No. 2. Conge, as received from you. 



2 A. Do. as prepared by us. 



With regard to both these fibres, we must state that the very minute quantity of 

 each specimen has prevented our subjecting them to any thing like the full treat- 

 ment of our process, and we can therefore only give you an approximate idea of 

 their value. 



The Buaze evidently possesses a very strong and fine fibre, assimilating to flax in 

 its character, but we believe, when treated in quantity by our process, it would show 

 both a stronger and finer fibre than flax ; but being unable to apply the rolling or 

 pressing processes with any efficiency to so very small a quantity, the gums are not 

 yet so perfectly extracted as they would be, nor the fibre opened out to so fine a 

 quality as it would then exhibit. 



