90 
A COLONY IN THE MAKING 
CHAP. 
such as roses, carnations, irises, and cannas, flourish 
in a way unknown in these islands, and in addition 
many semi-tropical plants, flowering shrubs, and 
creepers give an added variety. Labour also is so 
cheap that a beautiful garden is within the reach of 
everyone. During the two summer seasons in 
Nairobi the whole of the residential quarters of the 
town are a blaze of colour, such as the most 
expensively kept up seat in England could hardly 
match. 
It is not flowers and shrubs only that do well. 
Anyone situated near enough to Nairobi, any of the 
lesser towns, or the railway line, could make a very 
tidy little income from market gardening, as the 
demand for fresh fruit and vegetables still very 
largely exceeds the supply. With a minimum of 
skill or knowledge, good crops of peas, beans, 
vegetable marrows, potatoes, onions, cucumbers, 
asparagus, spinach, etc., can be obtained right through 
the year. The same applies to fruit, though these 
do not apparently grow so ubiquitously well and 
perhaps require rather more expert knowledge. Still, 
in many parts excellent crops of apples, plums, grapes, 
peaches, oranges, lemons, limes, loquharts, straw¬ 
berries, and wine berries are obtainable. 
I hope that I have shown enough to prove that 
the keen gardener need never know a dull moment, 
and, what is more, can actually make her hobby 
profitable. 
Poultry farming is another branch of the farm 
which may very well be in charge of a woman. 
English fowls and English eggs are in great demand, 
and have risen very considerably in price during 
the last few years. There is something most satis- 
