EASTERN ETHIOPIA 
II 
Zoology, Botany, Geology, and the native arts of the 
British East Africa and Uganda Protectorates. 
Nairobi is a centre for settlers. Jt is situated in the 
midst of a fertile country from which supplies of fresh 
fruit and vegetables are readily obtained. There is a 
local market for meat, fruit, and vegetables. 
The surrounding country contains wild animals in 
profusion, and an official who lives on the outskirts of 
the town informed me that his wife found snakes in the 
garden, that he had shot a kongoni (hartebeest) in 
the same garden, and sometimes amused himself by 
shooting a zebra from the verandah. 
That portion of the town lying along the river was 
formerly a papyrus swamp, and this beautiful rush still 
grows along its margins, but the land adjacent to the 
river is now a fertile garden where mealies, cabbages, 
French beans, bananas, and pomegranates flourish. 
Castor-oil plants, coffee trees, and Cape gooseberries 
grow wild. Land has risen in value and Nairobi is 
destined to become a big and prosperous town. The 
streets are lighted with electricity and electric trams 
will replace the jinrickshas which are now the common 
vehicle for the conveyance of passengers to and from 
the station. 
VVe spent delightful days in Nairobi, making the 
acquaintance of many of the officials, all willing to 
relate their experiences and help us to obtain some 
knowledge on matters connected with the country, the 
natives, the animals, the birds, and the pests. In the 
woods there is a Ficus which, when fully grown, may 
measure six or even eight feet around the base of the 
trunk and attain a height of fifty or sixty feet; it throws 
out large branches with heavy foliage. When the head 
of the tree is carefully examined, the trunk of a dead 
tree will be seen projecting among the branches. 
The natural history of the tree is this :—The outside 
tree is parasitic in the beginning and, like an outrunner 
of ivy, climbs up a well-grown tree ; as the parasite 
