Gums, Resins, 



204 



[September, 1909. 



what variable rains to which we are 

 subject in this part of the Protectorate 

 do not seriously affect it. As is of 

 course well known, ceara is a very tricky 

 species of rubber, and though it will 

 grow almost anywhere , it gives an 

 unsatisfactory yield unless the condi- 

 tions are exactly right. Too much rain 

 is as bad or worse than too little, and 

 many a tree that appears all that it 

 should be, proves a sad disappointment 

 when tapped. But judging from small 

 first samples taken home last summer, 

 and valued at least equal to the best 

 Para, it seems that the tree is at home in 

 this district, and that it should not now 

 be long before the venture emerges from 

 the experimental stage and begin to 

 yield a satisfactory profit. 



The Kibwezi Plantations have cer- 

 tainly not been granted the best of good 

 fortune on starting, The rains of 1908 

 were lamentably small and development 

 was seriously hampered. Many thou- 

 sands of trees died in the long drought 

 owing to their not getting the start one 

 had every reason to expect in March 

 and April, and those that survived were 

 greatly weakened and took some time 

 to recover even with the good rains 

 that have fallen since October last ; but 

 on the other hand, the trees which were 

 over six feet high before the failure of 

 the rains suffered little if at all, and we 

 have the satisfaction of knowing that 

 once a Plantation is established we need 

 not unduly fear a drought, At the 

 worst the trees will cease to increase in 

 girth and possibly give a small yield 

 for the time, and that is one anxiety off 

 the planter's mind. Since November 

 this establishment has planted out some 

 80,000 young trees, the majority of 

 which have taken hold satisfactorily, 

 and this year the plantations may 

 fairly hope to recover from the drought 

 and disappointment of 1908. Fortunately 

 sufficient trees were planted before the 

 failure of the rains to enable a certain 

 amount of tapping to be carrried out 

 this year, and by July or August some 

 return of a practical kind ought to be 

 forthcoming. 



One does not care to make too many 

 roseate prophecies, but the planters 

 here can at least say that, after some 

 experience they still believe, and with 

 more solid grounds of faith than before, 

 in the excellent prospects of their 

 venture, 



To turn from generalities to detail, I 

 will give a few particulars of the 

 management of our own estate, The 

 first thing that any intending planter, 

 at any rate in this district, should bear 

 in mind is that a Rubber Estate absorbs 



labour as a sponge water. It is easy to 

 draw up tables, more or less accurate, 

 giving the cost of planting a given 

 number of acres, but the expense does 

 not stop there, and lama firm believer 

 in the absolute necessity of capital for 

 the proper development of an enterprise 

 of this kind- At certain times of the 

 year labour is required in quantity, and 

 as these dates cannot be accurately fore- 

 seen since they depend on the fall of the 

 rains, it is essential to keep a good head 

 of labour in freadiness. Boys cannot be 

 obtained here at a moment's notice, 

 and the end of August is none too 

 soon to begin gathering numbers for 

 work during the rains in October and 

 November. Our labour is drawn from 

 so many services that it is almost impos- 

 sible to make out a fixed scale of pay. 

 All tribes drift up and down the 

 line from Wanyanwezi and Swahili to 

 Wakikuyu and Kitui-Wakamba, and 

 conditions are quite different to those 

 obtaining in the Highlands. Roughly 

 speaking however, the scale is as 

 follows : — 



Wanyanwezi are taken on at Rs. 8 and no posho 

 Wachaga „ „ , )( 6 or Rs. 7 , 

 Wakikuya and Wakamba at Rs 3 or 4 an d 

 posho or at Rs, 5 or 6 and no posho, 

 The rates are of course sometimes 

 raised after a few months. Broadly 

 speaking, we find that taking trouble to 

 understand the various types and make 

 them contended has its effect in keeping 

 down the scale of wages since, here at 

 any rate, a native does not readily want 

 to work, and if he is not satisfied high 

 wages will not keep him. But enough— 

 this article is not intended to be a disser- 

 tation on the much prayed labour 

 question. 



From the plantation point of view, 

 our year begins at the end of the long 

 rains in May. It is then that the 

 boundaries of new shambas are marked 

 off and the limits of new plantations 

 fixed. Most of the available force of 

 labour is armed with the inimitable 

 panga, and clearing is the order of the 

 day. Week after week and month after 

 month one spends one's time perambu- 

 lating in the sun under a green cotton 

 umbrella (at least I personally insist on 

 the umbrella) superintending the des- 

 truction of the bush. At first sight it 

 would seem as if superintendence was 

 hardly required for such work, but it is 

 annoying how little commonsense is 

 shown by the average boy. A tall tree, 

 for example, is a useful wind break, but 

 that tree if cut down takes four boys a 

 week to get rid of it, yet none but one's 

 best boys can discriminate between such 

 a tree and a rambling bush ten feet high. 



