Miscellaneous Economic Products. 
141 
£ ^Portuguese Z V * *"* "* ^ ~ « '*«** **• 
about 32 /* Per ton.” It would appear that a considerable amounT o^ Man^v " rH 7 *"? ° f ‘ t0 "* The freight 10 Hiotag a ‘ that time was 
principally to be used by dyers, and the process of making Mangrove^tracH^des^bed in^de^ad U fin ^ ^mg unported into Britain from British North Borneo, 
lines for the manufacture of Mangrove extract, and with a sufficiently lime canuritv hi ’ nisnng u j } . " Il 1 ' ie l ° lal cosl of a snia11 P ,ant arranged on modern 
y large capaut) to be remunerative in working, would probably be from /4C0 to /'eoo.” 
Apparently the dark-red colour of leather tanned by Mangrove bark or extract is objectionable, and to get over this difficulty it is used along with several other tanning 
varying froiUri' per clt up lo 11 ^ ^ ^ ^ to “ b °^ Ai> Mangrove barks lid ZltS 
Sd no. £££ pi ZZTI TT" “ traCt W0U 'j - P« -t, of the 
8 p tage 01 saIt as h, 6 h as ls contained m the early liquors ol a tanyard tanning heavy South American salted hides.” 
, I he e *P° rt of Mangrove bark from this Province was carried on most largely from Quelimane and Mozambique and such small ports as ilajon and Port Amelia 
Although I saw much of the varrous Mangroves I saw little in good condition for barking, and consider the Government has acted wisely in placing a temporary ,« iction on 
the export. The only d.fficulty is that the cotnpatat.vely worthless Avicennia is taking possession where better kinds should he growing and the future crop i ZKSS 
the planting of seed can be actively carried on in all suitable localities. 1 y uniC5S 
Another bark which may possibly come into commerce as a tan agent is that of the various species of Brachystegia. I have no analysis to give, but understand that 
samples tested ga^e about 18 per cent. This is too low for a commercial article of export as bark, but considering the enormous quantity of bark of these species that exist, 
especially in M Chopes and the ease and rapidity with which ,t renews itself when destroyed, it appears to me that the establishment of extract plants by Government o 
Concessionaires should be taken in hand, especially if these can be of a movable nature and carried forward as work proceeds. 
An extract showing 60 per cent, tannin would be worth freight and attention even under present conditions but much more so if a railway from Chai-chai to Inhambane 
were constructed and this extract plant erected on a railway truck so as to be movable to any locality along the line. The timber of the same tree will supply the sleepers for 
this railway, so a locomotive engine working a movable extract plant and saw bench should be fit to form the line and find traffic in each direction as it proceeds- rails inward 
and bark extract outward. There are probably many other tan barks especially among the Acacias and other Leguminous trees, but if so, this has still to be ascertained. 
HI*— CLOTH, SACKING, FIBRES, &c. 
Cloth is perhaps hardly the right word to use for the various materials used as clothes and blankets by the natives in most parts of the Province ; they arc not woven 
fabrics, but simply the cambium layer of the bark stretched and beaten till it is clean and dry and consists of fibre only. This can be done with several species and probably in 
all localities, but it is curious that certain districts have practically a monopoly of the manufacture, and supply the other districts. Two species are selected as the best, viz., 
F icus ut,lls and Brachystegia spicaeformis, though other species of Brachystegia are also occasionally used. These two species occur throughout the Province from the Limpopo 
northward, and the Ficus southward also, and it is consequently curious that in the M’Chopes district, where both are abundant, the Ficus only is so used ; while north of the 
Zambesi, where also both are present, the Brachystegia only is used. In M’Chopes the manufacture is quite an industry ; in the neighbouring districts, both north and south, no 
cloth is made, but supplies are obtained from M’Chopes, while in Lourenzo Marques where the Ficus is plentiful, it appears to be not known that it is the same tree, or that 
cloth is obtainable from it, European fabrics being in general use there. 
The manufacture is of an exceedingly simple nature. In the case of the Ficus a stem about 9 inches diameter and without branches is selected ; the bark is cut all 
round at the base and at the required height— usually 6 or 7 feet— a straight cut down one side is made and the bark peels ofT easily in one piece ; the latex flowing freely 
meantime. The outer rough bark which contains the latex is shredded off, leaving the cambium only, which is kept quite entire if possible. 
A dry log, without bark, lying on the ground, is used as a table on which to heat, and small wooden mallets with grooved faces are used. About four natives sit on 
each side of the log, the bark is placed on it with the rough side upward and beating begins, the part being beaten at any one time being kept flat by all pulling tight with one 
hand and beating with the other. One part after another receives attention and by the end of a half-hour or an hour in accordance with the industry used, a blanket 6 or 7 
feet long and 5 or 6 feet wide, soft and pliable, untorn and only requiring a little drying, is produced. These may be worn complete as dresses by the women, or one such may 
be cut into 2 or 3 loin-cloths for the men, and are the only clothing used except beads, strings and trinkets. As blankets they are the only thing used, and are soft and comfort- 
able. At first they are open and porous, and can almost be seen through, but after being worn a few days they get filled up with dust fixed either by perspiration of the 
wearer or by the oil with which most of them rub their bodies, and are then considered warmer and more comfortable. 
