THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[Nov. 2, 1903. 
that a tree is a living organism, the growth and 
development of which are subject to adverse 
or favourable conditions. He should further 
have some idea of the enemies and diseases 
by which trees are liable to be attacked, 
and of how these attacks can be met. All 
thia a man of ordinary intelligence can acquire^ if 
he poBsesaes » real taste for nature virithout rising 
to the level of the professional botanist, which it 
would be absurd to demand of him. There is the 
same fallacy underlying the view that mere admi- 
ristrative efficiency is sufficient for a good forest 
officer, as in thinking that mere mechanical drill, 
without resource or initiative, will make a good 
soldier. As I have felt it my duty to urge these views 
officially I shall be glad to state them more publicly. 
I should like to take the opportunity of expressing my 
regret at the untimely death of Mr H C Hill, the 
late Inspector-General. Largely as the result of my 
personal persuasion, he accepted a mission in 1900 to 
initiate a scientific forest Administration in the Straits 
Settlements. His reports were of the highest value 
and will be a permanent basis for the future forest 
policy of thst part of the Empire.— Signed, W. T. 
Thiselion-Dyeri Ketv, 28th August. 
♦ 
AGRICULTUEAL ETHIOPIA. 
ITS ECONOMIC FUTURE. 
Agricultural Ethiopia is divided into two parts, 
north and south, of which the imaginary line 
will follow about the lattitude of Adis Abeba. 
IiJorth of this line lies old Ethiopia, with small 
landowners, who cultivate barley if they inhabit 
the table lands of average altitude, or cotton and 
coffee if ihey are near the deep, warm valleys. 
The agricultural productions of the Ethiopian 
tablelands vary with their very different altitudes. 
The complete deforestation of the north gives a 
melancholy aspect to the landscape ; the natives 
have cut down for building, or for firewood, all 
the trees, without making any attempt at re- 
planting. In the vicinity of Adis-Abeba, for 
example, it is impossible to find any shade. The 
pasture lands stretch out indefinitely, with herds 
of cattle and horses, or flocks of sheep. At long 
intervals, the round huts of the natives may be 
seen grouped on the banks of a stream in the 
bottom of a valley ; all round are fields of wheat, 
barley and lentils, but 
LIVE STOCK IS THE GPEAT RESOURCE OF THE 
PEOPLE. 
In fact, in a country like Ethiopia, completely 
deprived of natural means of communication and 
not yet provided with railways, cereals and other 
produce of the soil can be sold only in the region 
where they grow, while herds of cattle can be 
taken to the trade centres, and even the ports of 
the Red Sea without great expense. Thus the 
country is furrowed with caravans of merchants 
who, according to the Bulletin de Oeographie 
Commerciale, come to the small local markets 
to exchange cotton, cloths, silks, weapons, hard- 
ware, hats, and military stores, for coffee, cattle, 
sheep, horses and mules. The Galla country or 
Southern Ethiopia, does not present the monotony 
of vast undulating plains. The mountain groups 
which compose it are covi-red to their summits with 
busy foie«ts, and abound in picturesque sites. 
The nuiiioer of valleys is very good ; in fact, every 
little stream has hollowed out its valley, where 
everything seems to grow without cultivation. 
TWO CROPS IN THE YEAR. 
The marvellous richness of the soil is aided by 
abundant ani regular rains, and by an ideal 
climate. The ground is said to yield, almost 
without cultivation, two crops a year. In the 
lowlands cotton flourishes, farther up on the slopes 
are fields of maize, sorghum, barley, wheat, lentils 
and beans. In the kitelien gardens, besides the 
usiial vegetables— potatoes, onions and peas — 
tobacco and cabbages are grown, the latter more 
than three feet high. 
MILES OF EXCELLENT COFFEE. 
Farther to the west, the country is richer, more 
cultivated, and more populous. For miles in the 
valleys, of the Gabba, God jibe and Boro there are 
only coffee trees. The undergrowth of the forests is 
entirely composed of cuffee shrubs, and millions of 
pounds of excellent coffee ripen there every season. 
The natives gather only a small quantity, the rest 
fails and decays on the spot. Northern Ethiopia 
is already a consumer of manufactured articles. 
The people have a certain idea of comfort ; living 
in a temperate country with cool nights, they are 
obliged to dress warmly ; they buy woollen stuffs, 
cotton cloths, silks, &c., even hats and shoes. To 
profit by the natural wealth of this country, means 
of communication must be created. The Abys- 
sinian plateau could be approached by railways on 
three sides — on the north east a line could start 
for the Italian port of Massowah. on the north- 
west one could ascend the Blue Nile as far as 
Khartum, and on the east a line should run by 
Djibouti. Which one can most easily become the 
chief artery of trade? The line by Massowah 
would serve only the northern provinces ; there 
leniain Khartum and Djibouti. By Khartum, says 
the Bulletin, Englanfl could easily construct a 
railway the length of the Blue Nile, and then by 
the valley of the Didessa, penetrate to the heart 
of the table lands. This line would be well situated, 
but in order to have the traffic of the Gallas 
provinces it would have to be pushed as far as 
Leka. It would then be more than 620 miles long. 
But Djibouti is exactly 652 miles distant from 
L6ka, in passing by Adis Abeba, the capital of 
the empire - that is to say, merchandise over 
the Djibouti line would reach the Red Sea after 
a passage of 652 miles, while goods whieh would 
take the Khartum line, would, at the end 
of the same distance, be 1,516 miles from Alex- 
andria and from the sea. Djibouti is the natural 
port of the central table lands of Ethiopia, and it 
is destined to be the distributing point for the 
products of the southern provinces, which have 
before them every prospect of prosperity. — Society 
of Arts Journal. 
Shark Liver Oil— His Excellency the Gov- 
ernor has received a despatch from the Court en- 
closing a letter from Messrs. Hugh Higbgate & 
Co. of Prtisley in which they ask for information 
regarding a supply of oil made from the livers of 
sharks. Four jars of the oil have been sent to the 
Court with the information that sharks are ex- 
tremely plentiful in these waters, that there is no 
use made of sharks' livers though the fins are 
highly valued by the Chinese which they dry and 
export to Hongkong obtaining as much as $70 per 
pikul for the white sort ; and that another fish with 
an oily liver is the Borneo skate or ikan pari which 
might also be put to a commercial value. We 
hope Messrs. Hugh Highgate & Co. of Paisley 
may be able to report favourably upon the oil sent 
to them as it will no doubt furnish the basis of 
a very important industry. — British, North Bor- 
neo Herald. 
