Mat, 1912.] 



449 



Miscellaneous: 



advice is advisable as (apart from native 

 title questions) rubber requires a con- 

 genial soil and situation for its proper 

 cultivation, and an unsuitable selection 

 may eventually prove disastrous to the 

 planter's hopes. The cost of clearing, 

 planting, weeding and cultivating up to 

 the third year, when a small yield of 

 rubber should be secured is variously 

 estimated at between £4 and £5 per acre. 

 At two-and-half to three years the 

 Ceara rubber tree should yield about 

 6 oz. per tree, or about 100 lb. wet rubber 

 per acre (allowing for the usual 302 trees 

 to the acre) and the yield should then 

 regularly increase at the rate of ^ lb. 

 per tree per annum, ; so that there is 

 " money iu rubber," even at the present 

 low level of prices. 



Sisal Hemp. 

 Sisal is an attractive plant and is 

 largely cultivated. It is remarkably 

 hardy, entirely impervious to the attacks 

 of insects and plant diseases, and flour- 

 ishes on comparatively thin and poor 

 soil. The cost of cultivation is much the 

 same as rubber, but at least four years 

 must be allowed for in calculating on 

 the first yield. The plant required for 

 the fibre production is rather expensive, 

 so that a large area should be put under 

 cultivation, or arrangements made for 

 co-operation in dealing with the output 

 of several adjoining plantations. There 

 is a fair profit in sisal under proper 

 management, especially at the present 

 prices. 



Coconuts. 

 A coconut plantation on the coast is 

 perhaps the most attractive proposition 

 for the prospective settler, and it is not 

 surprising that a considerable extension 

 of the area under cultivation is already 

 reported. Coconuts are a safe crop, and 

 copra shows a steadily advancing ten- 

 dency which seems likely to continue in 

 view of the increasing and wide-spread 

 demand for the commodity. The only 

 drawback is the long waiting time— six 

 or seven years is a fair estimate— for any 

 return from the investment ; but, on the 

 other hand, when the return comes in it 

 is well worth waiting for, and moreover 



is a permanency of steadily increasing 

 value. The cost of bringing coconuts 

 to maturity may be estimated at 50s. 

 per acre, and as there are only seventy 

 trees to the acre, there is ample space 

 between the 25 by 25 feet rows for the 

 cultivation of sesame, beans, or other 

 catch-crops, which should materially 

 assist in meeting the cost of cultivation. 

 Some planters assert that they more 

 than cover this expense out of the catch, 

 crop profits, but this cannot be relied 

 on as the invariable experience. Once 

 the plantation is brought to the yielding 

 stage, there is no difficulty in disposing 

 of the nuts locally, or the Indians will 

 readily rent the trees, giving a rupee 

 (Is. id.) per tree rental, which represents 

 an annual income of £4 13s. id. per acre. 

 The coconut-palm is indigenous, and 

 does exceptionally well throughout the 

 coast-belt, and the local produce has a 

 high and long established reputation. 



Labour Supply. 



The labour supply is plentiful down 

 the coast, and although the wages rule 

 higher than those obtaining upcountry, 

 it is generally considered that the coast 

 boys are better workers and are worth 

 the extra pay. The average wage may 

 be taken at about 12s. or 15s. per month, 

 and, if rations are also given, the extra 

 expense should not exceed l%d. per day. 

 Experimental Farms. 



In the case of any young country the 

 prospective settler is at a disadvantage 

 in the ordinary way when seeking in- 

 formation as to the actual results 

 obtained by the older settlers who are 

 inevitably suspected of a desire to effect 

 a sale of something or other when they 

 speak well of the land of their adoption, 

 whilst on the other hand any adverse 

 report is apt to be looked upon as the 

 usual grumble of the '' returned empty." 

 The authorities in British East Africa 

 being well aware of these difficulties, 

 have wisely established experimental 

 farms at several points where the tropi- 

 cal produce of the coast-beltJtand the 

 temperate zone produce of the High- 

 lands may be seen in every stage of 

 cultivation with reliable records alike 



