544 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[Feb. 1, 1894. 
oar planting oonntry and men, wonH cons der 
that they ooald not develope plantatiDDS of their 
own, as weli aa aot as bu^erd of nsttive prodaoe : — 
Labodb, — Bat there ia one ditfioulty wbicb at once 
opoars. Where ia your labour coming tium 'f Aa 1 
this is one of the greatest q i sci >n:i in Ce<>tr*l A'riit 
No mtn will do an; work auleaa be is ab'toiuCely 
obliged. He vriU, ae a rule, work uard enou^jb bu Id- 
ing boaaea or fences lor himsnlf or bin chief, i>iit the 
actudil work of oultivati n be l-av 8 to hit woru'^o- 
kiad — and wondenuUy g )od th y are. The eo I of 
Uganda, ezoept in p^tobes, ia uoibioK extrdor iu ry. 
The extreme fertility i« doe to a goo i roufail and 
an Afriosn sun, addud to a very Uborioiis bat mosi 
excellent method of oultiTatioo. Tilers is no scratcb- 
iag the groand in Ug>nda xnd gettinic a or«p. Wiib 
thdir hoea eet like a zes tbey cut a sore of trsucb aad 
then ohip away ac the edite, heapinii the eactb up eo 
that they have a ee-j'lbcd twelve or tourteeo inc'ics 
deep, ia which you oaa gr tw aiiyihintf. Of courKe auch 
labour oonld never be uted tu grow great breadtbii of 
grain. Fortuna'ely; the stipl'i and (avoarita food of 
most of the Inke tribea is the plsncam or green 
bftuana, which, when onoe eattbliehud, provide* a large 
quantity of I'uod per acr". while o^ra and att n iou, 
xaore tban severe labour, are required tu keep tbnm 
in order. In a really good banan ^ p aota'iou you will 
hardly see a weed. Tbe t>t«lK wh oh ba« once pro- 
duced fruit is cut dowu with it, aud is split up and 
laid most carefully over tbe ground. A baoann pia i. 
tation, therefore, uppcirs to be c^rp^ted with dried 
leaves aud fibres, which ezcludo tue light from the 
groand, and so prevent we^ds growing. At a food the 
green banan<h is most ezcelleut aud nutritions nut 
Bweet asm^nyof ua might suppose, but w ie'i stenmed 
(and no black man would dreim of boiliag them) very 
like oar owa potatoes. 
Cultivation which prodaoee such pxifl'^nt resalts 
in a soil mostly of different quality will produce 
inything for which thx climate is aaitable ; but 
auch labour U difficult to Bupervise an 1 I 
think we shall £i''d that in Uganda tbe European 
planter will not be common, but tbat a paternal and 
enlightened Qovernmen'. will put th<>8 - pi/ople io tbe 
■way of growing whatever mai b-i found af »r ex- 
periment to pay beat, wiiile the Earopeaa-i wdl merely 
concern themaelvea with buyiag hi cropit, aud witb 
Buperintendiog the more impjrcnnt processes at acme 
central point — amounting, ia fact, to a sort of co-ope- 
xative arrangerat'nt, ia wiiiob tbe p opie ha I tbe mtxi- 
mum of induptndenc seeiogtbat tbey ni ed not w rk 
Uuks] they w»nted money. F jfumtely, as a comp n- 
satxon to their idlen^sn, thwir vanity will mikeaemm 
ivork by fits and starts saffioieuily to obtain clothes ia 
vrhioh to display themselves. 
In the disouBsion which follow Capt. Lugaid 
generally approved of Capt. Williams' piper, but be 
pot the first seatiou of railway reauired at 2 8 mi^e^. 
Mr. W. Fitzgerald with experience ot the Coist 
yegioa ot East Africa gave useful informatio i: — 
!t!he whole sphere of the port! >n ef Airican territ jry 
under present discussion lies well witQwi tbe tropics, 
and in subject to the influence of the S. W. aud N. E. 
monsoons. The mean temperature miiy be (jiven 
throughout as 80°, and the loweit temperature ex- 
perienced by me was 64°. The avenge annual ruiu- 
lall I shoald be induoet to put down ti bet-veea 
tbirty-five and forty incbea : and though I auja«are 
that other records give an average ot nearly fifty, 
I should be inclined to accep" the ower record aa the 
moat accurate. Dry seasona occur here as eliewhere; 
tout any one nich In iian experience who hasvisitel 
Africa wilt agree witb me that, in point ot fertility of 
Moil and general agrijulture capabi aies, fi^ adv«ntai;e 
is immeasurably in favour of Africa. Tbe country, 
'aa a rule, along the coast lands is very flat and 
low, generally fringed with mang oves in the middle 
and southern portion, behind which extends dense 
"bush, and behind this agai a forest. The cultivated 
area ia comparatively small, and slave being the 
only labour employed, this area ia certainly decrea- 
sing y^arljf io esiteati. Xhe ml I describe, 
Do Grown on Compa 
plantktiou near Mel 
Do from Urlu district 
0 afk 
ig > l 
I oil! 
{Is per lb and aescrioed 
repart aa a dtx^i^ed • 
cesa, the siap.e ui k<i 
lou^ih auu atrcn;,ta 
without entering into technical details, aa every- 
where extremely fertile, and ceruunly, iu mv opinion, 
eminently adapted for tbe cuIiivtLtiou of all the more 
important tropical products as well me grain and oil 
crops. Let me in-tance tbe followiag. T..e eoMniit, 
especially, grows exceedingly well, and there are 
gr at future possibilities cuunected with ita cultivaiiun 
which c mid be extended tu an enurmous exie i ; 
and I would here quota aa iaieresiing a broker's 
report on a trial shipment of copra sent home front the 
I. fi E A, Company's plantations at Meliudi "Your 
sma 1 shi| m'-ni created great intereet io this market, 
and, exc pting Cochin, we have rarely aeen finer 
copra ; the nut is of great beaatv and thickness and 
well matured, and tbe quality is Doe. It is also well 
su .-dried a^d fairly clean, and sa table in every 
way." Ibis lot (about ten tons) ev«ntaa4iy 
s dd for the very excellent figure of illi .^s. 
per ton, being £1 higb'^r t an the then lulia^ 
prices. This fine copra is used on the ^ onii- 
mcu , u<i| luroil iiut li.r ii<e mauuiauiure "f m^tg»in,ti. 
Oi goes to tbR b«at mill«. It was fur. her etaled to 
yield tbe following ve>y s aiatacior) crosbiog te-uila; 
04 per CMiii ol oil. Equal, or greater, in i upuristicd 
raiika eotton; an ■ the laoi uf il'< adapta ihi> lOr ou i- 
v.ors le evidenced by the mild Tar e ice of u-ia, 
found growing al. uVer tbe couutry. Apart Ir. 111 the 
v-iy eucouia^iiig vaiusli' na bis B a^l- quutet' <y 
O^pUiii Lu^ard, let me glee aiB>i tbe fu.ljw.ug laitr 
brok'-r'a repu't": — 
5 a IslaiiU coiton grown at] 
Mooibana in very lig 1 l , 
Eoil, a d much prcviaa >*i^ "^^'K* P"«- 
cultivation. 
If a Rea Iriand etiiio«r 
oolo nae i>, 8 J (• ^id ; 
tnwix; O^d 10 7d. 
Is per lb and aescrioed ia 
uc- 
g0i>d 
d. 
It is not yet de''niitl> set Ifd which vaiiet) of 
cottoo is th ' mOB> sp' oiolly auapted foi ouitivai oa, and 
experimvi.ts are stii, bting cuiritU uu in ti c t. ou p uy e 
plantations fur the p irpo e; out tnai tne u^u ir is 
wriii sui ed lor its lu iiv.tuuu, and bas a gresv tut re 
before it, there can be no doubt. I may further 
mention that a native cotton ia at preauuc acuiAily 
cultivated on the coast land north of l«amu. i 
do not wish to enter here into fuller dntaus on 
tbe coast lands, but let me repeat that nearly ail 
of the more remunerative pruduuta could be cultivated 
with profit with a>.ilied iudian laooar to guiae and 
stimulate the large native rihal popuiatiou lanaoi ing 
the coast zone. I am led to take a very Bangiuue 
view of the prospects of this portion ot the country. 
Tlie great advantages also that the coast -ands offer 
as &a out et for the surplus population of the 
teeming millions of India struck me from the firat, 
aud has also. I underataud, attrac ed the sen as 
a.tention of the ( omp<i,ny ; and the benefits ot aji 
Indian immigration with the Hiudooa, 1 .>ve of thritt, 
aud careful habits need not Oe empaaaiaed by me. 
Great possibilitea exist for more extenaive cultivation; 
aud wheu one reads of the vast expenditure m- 
curred by tbe Indian Goverument for large irri- 
giition schemes, une realises the great future that 
must exist for the coast lauds of iiiasc Ainca in 
this respect, and which the ever-flowiug w ters 
of the three great rivers of the Sabaki, the Tana, 
and the Yuoa place within lueu easy reach. 
Que word more, and I then take le..ve of ine 
coast lands. The richness of the sail is furtner 
proved by the luxuriant gzowtn 01 tne duinea i/rass 
an excellent aud moat nourishing fouder tur cui^tie 
aud horses, and which is here tuund ^rowing niid 
everywhere, and aiso by the duarj pa/rn, the 
ChaiiKBops huiuilis, a noted characteristic of good 
soil wuich is found growing in dense thick clumps 
along the greater portion of t e coast laud from 
the leaves of wuich the natives make mats and 
grain oags, aud wuich is so uaeiui for ocaer artiCiea 
01 fiiuofsaa necessicf and tue m^^ij qI ii 
