Feb, 1, 1900.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
517 
NEW AND OLD PRODUCTS IN 
ZANZIBAR. 
{Concluded from page 448.) 
Approximate yield per tree.— The number of clove 
trees at Marseilles was stated to be 5,000, but on re- 
counting we found there were 7,500 bearing trees at 
Marbeilles and 1,000 at Kitiimba— together 8,500. On 
December 31st we had gathered, approximately, 1,300 
fraslas, and might, I think, safely count upon another 
300, making a total of 1,600 fraslas. This gives an av- 
erage yield of over6J lbs. per tree. A good proportion, 
about one quarter, was left upon the trees ungathered 
through lack of labour. With sufficient labour we 
should, I think, easily have reached 2,000 fraslas ; the 
approximate yield per tree is therefore brought up 
to over 8 lbs. The trees at Dunga were just as 
heavily laden with buds, but they never ripened pro- 
perly ; at least half the crop failed. We reached 
about 350 fraslas, which from 3,000 trees gives an 
average of 4 lbs. per tree. 
Beturns.—Oni actual sales at the end of December 
amounted to 873 fraslas which realized 5,535 rupees, 
while we had on hand at the custom house unsold 
and in the plantation godown an estimated quantity 
of 424 fraslas which, valued at the current rate of 5J 
rupees a frasla, was worth 2,332 rupees. Our gross re- 
turns up to December 31st may therefore be taken as 
R7,867. Our expenditure to that date was 1,725 rupees, 
or about 22 per cent of the gross returns, and our net 
profit ia shewn as R6,142, 
ACCOUNT STATEMENT TO DECEMBER 3l8t. 
R. 
873 fraslas sold . . 5,535 
424 „ (approx.) on hand . . 2,332 
1,297 fraslas Total ..R7,8B7 
Expenditura to December 31 st .. 1,725 
Net returns .. 6,142 
Total ..R7,867 
Net returns ..R6,142 
This is equal to a net profit of 4 rupees 11 annas per 
frasla. 
The amount 1,725 rupees as the actual cost of 
? lathering 1,297 fraslas works out to 1 rupee 22 pice per 
raala and differs slightly from my first estimate of 
1 rupee i3 pice. This discrepancy may be accounted 
for by the alteration in the rating, which was at first 
per 300 pishi: I wanted the headmen etc. to receive a 
fair but not an excessive wage ; but as the season 
advanced I found that I had underestimated the 
daily pick, which was about 400 instead 300 pishi, so 
1 altered the rating accordingly. The spreaders were 
allowed 3 pice each per day, but at Kitumba where 
the qaantity of cloves to handle was proportionally 
much less, the spreaders were paid at a higher rate- 
This would introduce another slight error into the first 
calculation. The whole of the Kitumba staff of head, 
men etc. should in reality have been rated differently, 
but this would have led to confusion in the accounts 
which were kept by an Arab who, admirably as he did 
hia work, was not familiar with European methods of 
book-keeping. For tho same reason I abaudone'1 s t 
Machui the idea of paying the pickers at the rate of 4 
pice for every pishi picked after the first six. Where 
supervision is dif&cult as it is in clove pickii.g, thi'j 
system would most certainly have led to imposture 
by the people. It would, for instance, have been 
easy for two or three to have united their day's 
gatherings in order to make up the required quan- 
tity for the extra pice. At Dunga, which was I 
believe the only place where the system was adopted, 
we had not a auf&oient amount of cloves to judge 
of its efficacy. 
The net returns to December 31st are then shewn 
to be R6,142, Allowing now for the estimated 300 
fraslas still to pick and valuing them at 5 rupees a 
f raala, the price* to which cloves subsequently dropped, 
the total net returns are iucreaaed to B7i243, 
65 
ACCOUNT STATEMENT FOK THE SEASON (APPBOX. 
B. 
Net returns to Dec. 31st. .. 6,142 
300 fraslas at R5 . . 1,500 
Total ..R7,642 
Cost of gathering 300 fras. at R, p 22. 397 
Balance profit . . 7,245 
Total . .R7,642 
Balance profit.. R7,245 
Rupees 7,245 from 8,500 trees is equal to an income 
of 13 J annas per tree. 
The waste upon the> trees whish I have estimated 
at one quarter of the crop would, if collected, have 
sufficed to pay for the entire expenditure. My object 
here however is to compare our actual expenditure 
and receipts and to arrive at a fair estimate of 
what a clove plantation may be expected to yield. 
The unpicked surplus is, therefore, better left out of 
account. Treated thus it will help to neutralis* 
the effect of basing our calculation upon an abnor- 
mally large crop. 
Our cloves were not subjected to the usual 25 per 
cent export duty. 
This reduces the income per tree to 9^ annas ; or 
R54 (£3 123.) per acre : 90 trees to the acre. 
Cost of Tf- orldiig a Clove Plantation. — Beyond pur- 
chasing drying mats and paying the harvesting ex- 
penses, the Arab spends little or nothing upon hia 
clove trees. He employs hia available labour, for 
the most part, in growing manioc, sweet potatoea 
and bananas for food and for sale. Thus the re- 
sident Ara.b in charge of Marseilles, when we took 
over in May, was expected to make 34 rupees a 
month by the sale of fruit and annuals, and was 
in consequence compelled to keep his men culti- 
vating the open spaces and to leave the trees alone. 
This is a fair sample of Arab practice ; it is a policy 
of looking after the pence and neglecting the pounds. 
The weeds on this shamba were half way up the 
trees, in some cases climbing completely over them ; 
many were dying and 1000 had been killed outright. 
It cost us Ro per acre to clear the land reckon- 
ing 90 trees to the acre. We let out contracts giving 
four pice of each space between four trees. When 
the land has been once or twice thoroughly weeded 
over, the cost of cultivation will be much reduced. 
In addition to cleaning the land we hope this year 
to dig round each tree at a contract price of prob- 
ably 1 or 2 pice per tree. At Dunga we are now doing 
this work with two mules and a plough. Drying 
mats cost 30 rupees per 100 and baskets 3 rupees 
per score ; 800 of the former and 100 of the latter 
were purchased for use at Machui, but at least half of 
these will be available for use again next year. There 
are no other outgoings to note beyond the overseer's 
wages, the purchase of a few dozen hoes, and items 
such as thatching and repair of houses and aheda 
always incidental to the management of an estate. 
It seems to me indeed that clove planting aa an 
industry has been somewhat unworthily discredited. 
Over-production and the labour crisis have brought 
about the stagnation of all enterprise, but I believe 
that clove planting in Zanzibar would respond to 
European management and proper cultivation. The 
production of cloves must decrease as years go on, 
as no young plantations are being made to supply 
the waste among the old trees. Such a year aa this 
must exact a heavy toll ; the enormous yield, coming 
aa it has done in a year of drought, will exhaust 
the trees, while the drought itself will have killed off 
many thousands. It will always be to the interest of 
Zanzibar, if not to overproduce, at least to keep the 
markets well stocked in order to keep out opposi- 
tion and preserve the monopoly. As long aa the 
monopoly is maintained the clove industry will never 
hopelessly degenerate in the way, for instance, that 
sugar planting has. 
Maltreatment of the trees. — The rough handling which 
the trees receive during picking ia a very serioiia 
