Miscellaneous. 



08 



[July, 1012. 



cultural interests have not been devel- 

 oped in time to lessen the consequences 

 of competition. 



The present state of things is caused 

 by the penetration of three important 

 railway systeme into regions hitherto 

 neglected : (1) the Mombasa line to Lake 

 Victoria ; (2) the Tanga line to Killi- 

 mandjaro, and (3) the Dar-es-salam line to 

 Tabara. 



In 1910 the total value of the exports 

 from Zanzibar amounted to £1,054,136. 

 13s. They consisted of three distinct 

 groups. The first two included products 

 imported from Europe, America, Asia, 

 and Africa, and belonging to the old 

 transit trade of Zanzibar, while the third 

 was composed of local products. These 

 articles were cloves, coprah, and cord 

 made of the fibres of the coconut. 



Of these the exports in 1910 are valued 

 at : 



Cloves ... ... £,258,539 



Coprah ... ... 223,757 



Coconut fibre ropes ... 3,458 



The increase is due entirely to the 

 coprah and the cord, as there was a con- 

 siderable diminution in the amount of 

 cloves exported. The local production 

 of coprah is now considerable, this has 

 been favoured by the high price coprah 

 fetches on the world's market (as much 

 as £2Q per ton has been paid for it). 



The improvement will continue, and 

 even advance, as many plantations are 

 not yet productive. 



The coconut palm is much more profit- 

 able than the clove-tree. It bearg 

 sooner and more regularly ; it requires 

 less labour ; it yields four.times a year ; 

 its fibres can be made into ropes, its 

 leaves into roofing for huts, and its 

 Woody rind into fuel. 



THE IMPERIAL BIOLOGICAL AGRI- 

 CULTURAL INSTITUTE AT AMANI, 

 GERMAN EAST AFRICA. 



By A. Zimmbrmann, 



(Das Kaiserlich Biologisch-Landwirt- 

 schaf tliehe Institut Amani)— Landw. 

 Zeitung. Berlin 10th February 1912.) 



(From the Bulletin of the Bureau of 



Agricultural Intelligence and of 

 Plant- Diseases, 3rd Year— Number 4, 

 April, 1912.) 



The Biological Agricultural Institute 

 of Amani was founded in 1902 by Count 

 v Gotzen, then governor of German E. 

 Africa. Its objects are the following :— 



1. Research, from a practical point of 

 view, of the necessary conditions for 

 the growth and development of cultiv- 

 ated tropical plants. 



2. Researches on the diseases and 

 insect and other pests of cultivated 

 plants, and on the means of prevention 

 and cure. 



3. Soil analyses ; experiments on 

 manuring ; analyses of raw material and 

 of animal and vegetable products, which 

 present any interest either as matter 

 for exportation or as human food or 

 medicinal substances. 



4. Study of the flora and fauna of 

 German E. Africa. On account of its 

 favourable conditions of soil and climate, 

 Amani, in the mountains of Eastern 

 Usambasa was chosen as the site of the 

 Institute. The land belonging to it is 

 741 acres in extent and rises from an 

 altitude of 1,300 feet on the banks of the 

 river Sigi, to 3,575 feet at the top of 

 Mt- Bomole. Thus at Amani. exclusively 

 tropical plants, such as coconuts, black 

 pepper, Hevea brasiliensis etc. , may be 

 grown together with subtropical ones, 

 such as cinchona and camphor trees, 

 conifer?, etc. 



The station of Mombo at the foot of 

 West-Usambasa completes the Experi* 

 ment Station of Amani by affording a 

 ft r eat extent of land in the plain. 



