588 TOBACCO— CASTOR-OIL PLANT. Chap. XXIX. 



of country. The indigenous kind had nearly been super- 

 seded by a very superior sort called " foreign cotton." This 

 had been introduced by the natives themselves ; and the dis- 

 trict included in the Shire Valley and shores adjacent to 

 Lake Nyassa, in which it abounds, is about 400 miles in 

 length, and may confidently be stated as one of the finest 

 cotton-fields in the world. Cotton already cultivated there 

 is superior to common American, and nearly equal to Egyp- 

 tian. The favourable soil and climate render it probable that 

 with skill in cultivation this country might be made to excel 

 many others. 



In further illustration of the fertility of the soil, we found 

 that those plants which require much care in the cultivation 

 in other countries grow wild here as well as cotton. Tobacco, 

 though a delicate plant, was frequently found growing self- 

 sown. The Ricinus communis, or castor-oil plant, was met 

 with everywhere under similar circumstances. In some 

 parts indigo is known by the name of " occupier of deserted 

 gardens," from its habit of springing up wherever it has a 

 chance. Sugar-cane is not a self-planter, but it blossoms, 

 and when cultivated in rich loam grows, without manure, as 

 large as that which can only be reared by the help of guano 

 in the Mauritius and Bourbon ; and, from crystals at once 

 appearing on the cut surfaces, seems to contain much sugar. 



Idi addition to these evidences of the richness of the soil, 

 we have the face of the country in the lowlands covered with 

 gigantic grasses ; they tower over men's heads, and render 

 hunting quite impossible. The inhabitants of Natal and of 

 the Cape colony will understand us perfectly, when we say 

 that the low belt adjacent to the East Coast, from one to 

 three hundred miles broad, is " zour velt" and well suited for 

 cattle. In fact, the only fault that can be found with the 

 soil is its over luxuriance ; and though Speke and Grant men- 

 tion a very fertile zone near the Equator, we cannot conceive 

 that it exhibits greater fecundity than the districts between 



