5 
The Forests : their Constitution and Locality. 
species in regeneration and probably much more abundant now than before cultivation began. But unlike the majority of assertive weeds, this tree as it increases in 
forests a^disoX tn Jf « J nat ' VL '' S P ° int ° r Vie "' and f '° m that ° f ,he Euro l ,l;an utilitarian. This tree is absent from the l.ouren/o Marques 
been praled^ at some foler bme " Q “ ' ane ^ " Ga “ “ d ,here are “ *»“« thcre “ where cultivation has 
likelv alwa B vfto h mmat e so in hT'i" 8 for . cu | tivati . on gives th * I™** H « ‘™« «>at he acts on a list of reserved trees -reserved by native traditional practice, and 
cl hewTare reseneT h .f “ “‘f " 8 y P racl,cal ; if a lrce does not >' ield f °° d <Mnk i« has to go. Trichiha (Mafurreira) and Anacardium 
allowed * resened « ver y wb <™. Mango and Orange where they occur, several creepers under the names n-ltaloga, tinta, shangala, dtc. from whose fruits wine is made 
the r f0 ™ suberect bushes m the tulttvated fields, and pineapple borders every field- reserved for the sake of the spirit distilled front its fruit rather than for 
the fruit itself. A Ficus is also reserved, or even cultivated, for the cloth made from its bark, hut a timber tree is hardly required in tile domestic economy of the native, 
and consequently is cleared as a weed. Even such a useful tree to him as the Brachystegia is cleared without hesitation, since the uncultivated areas contain it in 
The general character of the aboriginal forest in this locality is of a dense evergreen nature, rather undergrown as might be expected from the light sandy soil 
on which it has to develop, but containing many valuable species not frequent elsewhere. In a few spots, especially coastward, one might have been tempted by the 
vegetation to believe he was in Natal, Natal species forming the jungle almost to the exclusion of more tropical kinds, but the bare sandy soil, the absence of ferns, 
lickens or mosses, and the intrusion of Brachystegia and Dracaena were distinctly non-Natalian. In the neighbourhood of certain lakes in Manjacase and Zavalla, on 
sour and rather wet sand, Eugenia cordata was the only tree, and an Erica the only shrub. As Inhambane is approached the Baobab (first seen at Inharreme), makes a 
frequent appearance and near the rivers cocoa-nut palms become abundant in cultivation, along with fine specimens of the Tamarind and other exotic leguminous trees 
and the Jujube, which, however, was not noticed wild here. Inhambane coffee is a natural product of the forest, and makes an early regrowth after fire. 
°n the tidal mud of the estuaries extra-tropical mangroves are abundant, but being mostly Avicennia are of little value. Landolphia Kirkii is abundant in 
many parts of the district, and the Banyan traders do a considerable business in buying its rubber from the natives ; rubber or gutta is probably also obtainable from the 
various other Apocynaceous trees, shrubs and creepers present, as also from a species of Mimusops ; the scented timber of Excaecaria may also form an article of com- 
merce, and the seeds of Trichiha do so at present, for the oil obtained therefrom. An Euphorbiaceous tree seen only along the Inharreme River gave an enormous flow 
of thin latex, which may be found of value. This district, despite the enormous extent of present and past cultivation, holds a high value of forest products, and only 
requires a railway to make these available. 
(3) Mamca and Sofa la, being administered by the Companhia de Mozambique, did not fall within the scope of my investigations, and I only saw the bush immediately surround- 
ing the three ports, Bazaruto Island, Bartholomew Dias, and Bcira. I had, however, the good fortune to meet Mr. YV. H. Johnson, F.L.S., Director of Agriculture to 
the Companhia, and who has also the forestry in charge, from whom I learned that except what has been taken up for cultivation, the whole territory is practically open 
forest, though in many favourable localities it becomes more or less dense. The species present are perhaps in accordance with the soil and rock formation, and also 
the climate more or less identical with those of Inhambane as far north as Beira, whence they correspond more with those found on the Zambesi and northward. I11 
the forests the Company is mainly interested in the collection of rubber, cf which over 800 tons have been exported during the past 14 years, some of the forests being 
worked by private enterprise, and some by the Company itself. The rubber is mostly the product of Landolphia Kirkii, but Landolphia Buchanani, Landolphia florida 
and Mascarenhasia elastica probably also yield a quota, while Diplorhynchus mossambicensis and a Ficus are also latex-yielders. Dalbergia melanoxylon is said to be 
one of the best timbers, but was not seen by me. As seen from on board ship the whole coast is composed of sandy dunes, on which Casuarina is the prominent and 
often the only tree, standing erect and tall even when solitary in the most exposed situations, and making more or less open bush where gregarious. In the estuaries 
mangroves abound, including the more tropical kinds, but the industry in mangrove bark is limited, mostly through the scarcity of the better kinds. 
Diospyros, Sophora, Suriana, Elaeodendron, &c., constitutes a very distinct litoral bush flora behind the mangroves at Bartholomew Dias, which was not seen 
elsewhere. 
(4) Quelimane, and northward and westward.— Although the immediate neighbourhood of Quelimane presents little of interest in the nature of natural forest, consisting entirely 
of mud flats cleared of the original bush and now under cocoa-nuts, rice or manioc, in accordance with its dryness, the back country consists of unbroken forest of high 
technical value and of much botanical interest. It is mostly evergreen and broad leaved, dense enough to yield straight clean timber, open and level enough to be 
easily worked, and on sufficiently good soil to yield good crops where it is cleared. 
