13 
The resources of the country may be roughly divided into three heads. 
(a) Native labour supply. 
{b) Minerals and means of generating mechanical energy. 
(c) Agricultural and pastoral possibilities. 
As regards (a) there can be no doubt that the question of the native labour supply is one of the 
most important problems with which we are at present confronted. In connection with native 
administration generally considerable progress lias been made. A Chief Native Commissioner has 
been appointed and an organisation sketched out for separating the native reserves for administrative 
purposes from the areas where white settlement is predominant. Legislation has been introduced for 
registration and also for the control of squatters ou European Farms. 
(b) Minerals.—In this direction a considerable amount of investigation has already taken place 
and it seems improbable that there are any deposits of the more valuable ores on a commercial scale 
in the Protectorate. Mica and graphite have been worked experimentally, but have not proved pay¬ 
able. !Soda at Lake Magadi is being extracted by a company and exported. 
Minerals which it would probably be. worth while to investigate are baryta, manganese, diato- 
maeeous earths and bituminous shales. The possibilities of salt manufacture have been treated in a 
monograph by Mr. Hobley and the subject might be pursued further. The production of cement 
seems, also, a practical proposition, as there are undoubtedly deposits of suitable limestone and a 
plentiful supply of this material would assist the development of the Protectorate enormously. 
Generally speaking, the carrying out of further topographical surveys is recommended and the 
extension of the Mineral Research Department. The activities of the Colonial Government in this 
direction have necessarily been curtailed through lack of funds. 
As far as East Africa is concerned the sources of mechanical power resolve themselves, 
for all practical purposes, into wood and water, neither coal nor oil having been discovered in 
payable quantities. Wood has been somewhat wastefully employed in the past for the generation of 
energy and an extended application of water-power is very desirable. Many estates are now making 
use of it, both in the way of turbines and of plant for the production of electricity, and this tendency 
is on the increase. The Acting Director of Public Works is of opinion that no unit or group of units 
exists large enough to justify its consideration by Government from the point of view of public 
utility. A Government Hydraulic Engineer has recently been appointed to consider the question of 
water supply, its conservation and utilisation both for power-production and irrigation. It is very 
probable that much might be done by sinking bores in suitable places. Investigation is also required 
into the possibility of treating the effluents from sisal, coffee, and flax factories by filtration or other 
means so as to render them innocuous. 
The Analytical Department occupies a position midway between the sub-divisions [b) and (c) of 
this enquiry. Considerable progress has been made in the examination of rocks, minerals, and.soils, 
and researches have been instituted into the effect of environment upon the anatomy and physiology 
of plants. A greatly increased staff, both in the Analytical Laboratory itself and for investigation in 
the field, is however required for the prosecution of this important investigation. A section devoting 
itself to meteorology and climatology should also be formed and attached to the Department. At 
present the only meteorological officer belongs to the agricultural staff. 
The Government has not neglected the agricultural possibilities of the Colony. On the practical 
side we have experts in coffee, pig and dairy products, horticulture, cereals, flax and tobacco. T here 
is an Economic Plants Division and there are experimental farms at Mazeras, Kabos, Kabete and 
Naivasha, while a fifth farm is shortly to be established on the TIasin Gishu Plateau. On the scientific 
side there is a Division of Entomology and a Mycologist. All these services, particularly the latter, 
could however be greatly extended, were funds available, as the field of investigation is a very wide 
one. The creation of a separate division of scientific botany is advocated. 
The same remarks apply to the sphere of veterinary activities. It has long been recognised that 
the stock industry is one of our most important and valuable assets and considerable sums of money 
have been spent upon it. A well-equipped laboratory has been established at Kabete and much useful 
work has been done in connection with the diseases of cattle and other animals and the preparation 
of preventive sera. The Colony has also supplied large quantities of the latter to neighbouring 
Governments. The possibilities in this direction are however infinite, and further expenditure and 
increased staff would enhance the value of the institution and produce even greatei results. On tin 
practical side there is a similar need. To prevent the spread of disease and to encourage the develop¬ 
ment of an export and cold storage trade, the stock industry requires more supervision and control 
than the Department, short-handed as it is, can exercise at present. 
In the domain of forestry the work so far accomplished has been mainly of a conservative nature. 
Considerable areas have been demarcated and measures taken to prevent destruction by native 
encroachment or external agencies, such as fire. The energies of the Department have however, 
necessarily been directed mainly to the supervision of cutting operations and the control ot wasteful 
exploitation. So far local demands have absorbed all available supplies, and there is still such a 
shertage of seasoned timber that large quantities have to be imported. There are prospects, however, 
of an export trade in pencil cedar ( Junipcrus procera ) and bamboo pulp foi papei-making. 
The Conservator is anxious to extend his experiments in methods of forest regeneration, and 
presses for the establishment of a Bureau of Forest Research, at an estimated expenditure of ±3,000 
initial and £1,500 recurrent. There is no doubt that such an institution would be extremely useful. 
Note —It may be remarked that immediate development is confined within narrow limits by the 
scarcity of labour. The Economic Commission draw special attention m their report to the need for 
more vigorous measures to cope with preventable diseases among the native popula ion. 
NYASAEAND. 
The Governor reported that the recent appointment of a Geologist had enabled the Protectorate 
Government to proceed with a more extensive investigation than had been possible 111 P st , ® 
Geologist had completed his enquiry and report on mica, and would next give his attention to coa 
deposits, and to lime, clays and earth suitable for the manufacture of cement. 
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