January  3,  1901. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTA  OR  GARDENER. 
7 
TUe  Marct|  of  Civilisation. 
English  Vegetables  in  East  Africa. 
The  vegetables  shown  on  the  photograph  which  accompanies  these 
notes  were  grown  by  me  during  the  time  that  I  was  engaged  on  a  sugar 
estate  about  100  miles  up  the  Zambesi  River  in  Portuguese  East 
Africa.  The  manager,  Mr.  J.  P.  Homung,  took  a  keen  interest  in 
the  culture  of  vegetables,  and,  as  will  be  seen,  we  had  a  good  collection. 
Salads,  especially  Lettuce,  grew  remarkably  well,  as  did  also  Cauliflowers, 
Brussels  Sprouts,  Savoys,  Peas,  and  Tomatoes ;  in  fact  the  garden  well 
repaid  the  labour  bestowed  upon  it.  To  quote  Mr.  Hornung’s  words, 
“  It^was  the  envy  of  all  Europeans  who  visited  that  part.” 
These  vegetables  were  grown  in  the  cool  season — viz.,  from  April 
till  September.  Dnring  the  remaining  six  months  of  the  year  it  was 
almost  impossible  to  grow  English  vegetables,  as  the  hot  drying  winds 
from  October  till  December  parched  up  everything,  and  from  January 
till  March  high  temperatures  and  heavy  rains  prevailed,  the  thermo- 
meter  going  as  high  as  112°  in  the  shade  at  times.  Melons  were 
rapid  growth  were  not  well  flavoured,  although  they  formed  a  pleasant 
and  agreeable  change  from  the  Batatas  edulis  (Sweet  Potato) — our 
staple  vegetable  during  the  hot  season,  and  of  which  the  natives 
(Kaffirs)  grew  in  considerable  quantities,  both  for  their  own  consumption 
and  for  sale  to  the  Europeans.  English  Potatoes  would  not  keep 
long  after  being  lifted  ;  if  left  in  the  ground  until  thoroughly  matured 
they  suffered  considerably  from  the  depredations  of  insects,  especially 
the  white  ants,  which  are  very  numerous  in  Africa.  Another  reason 
why  Potatoes  could  not  be  grown  successfully  was,  in  my  opinion,  the 
difficulty  in  obtaining  good  seed  at  that  period  of  the  year.  The  “  sets” 
were  sent  from  Europe  about  January,  and  arrived  in  the  tropica  in 
the  hot  season,  probably  overheating  on  the  ship  while  en  route.  To 
anyone  who  has  studied  the  delicate  qualities  of  the  Potato  it  will  be 
obvious  that  the  tubers  must  suffer  materially,  and  it  could  not  be 
expected  that  they  would  produce  the  best  results.  The  Egg  Plant, 
Solanum  ovigerum,  grew  well,  was  very  prolific,  and  being  a  tropical 
plant  could  be  brought  into  beating  before  other  vegetables. 
Few  vegetables  are  grown  by  the  Kaffirs  ;  occasionally  some  plants 
of  the  Cabbage  tribe  are  seen  growing  on  the  river  banks  near  the 
ENGLISH  VEGETABLES  IN  EAST  AFRICA. 
practically  the  only  plants  that  could  be  produced  with  any  success 
in  the  hot  season,  and  these  required  great  care  and  protection  from 
the  heavy  rains. 
Unlike  the  majority  of  English  vegetables  grown  in  the  tropics  those 
mentioned  were  of  very  good  flavour,  owing,  I  believe,  to  the  compara¬ 
tively  low  night  temperature,  which  ranged  from  about  46°  to  66°  in 
the  cold  season.  Heavy  fogs  were  also  prevalent  at  this  period,  rising 
about  4  a.m.  and  often  lasting  till  8  or  9  a.m.  ;  these  of  course  helped 
the  vegetables  materially  by  keeping  them  cool  and  moist,  and  at  the 
same  time  lessened  the  labour  of  watering.  From  the  time  of  sowing 
seeds  until  the  plants  were  well  established  it  was  necessary  to  protect 
them  from  the  burning  sun ;  this  was  done  by  making  a  framework  of 
stakes  about  2  feet  above  the  ground  and  laying  grass  mats  over  them. 
By  adopting  this  plan  seeds  could  be  sown  in  March — provided  the 
heavy  rains  had  ceased — thus  forwarding  their  growth,  so  that  they 
matured  about  July  or  August  (the  coolest  period),  and  gave  the  best 
possible  results. 
Potatoes  could  be  grown  from  March  till  July,  but  they  were  not 
a  great  success,  as  the  tubers  were  never  very  large,  and  owing  to  the 
villages.  A  small  variety  of  Tomato,  too,  grows  on  their  plantations  ; 
though  small  they  are  of  excellent  flavour,  and  though  they  are  grown 
without  any  trouble  in  the  way  of  staking  or  cutting  out  superfluous 
growth,  they  fruit  abundantly  and  seed  themselves.  The  chief  products 
cultivated  by  the  Kaffirs  are  Sweet  Potatoes,  Mapira  (Guinea  Corn), 
and  Machuweira  (this  is  the  Kaffir  name  ;  I  do  not  know  the  botanical 
equivalent),  the  corn  from  the  two  latter  being  converted  into  flour  by 
means  of  pounding  in  a  mortar.  Maize  is  seen  in  small  quantities  only, 
and  is  usually  eaten  green  (they  are  excellent  if  boiled  or  roasted  and 
served  with  melted  butter,  and  in  this  way  are  muoh  appreciated  by 
the  majority  of  Europeans  living  out  there).  Rice  is  also  grown  in  the 
swampy  districts,  and  on  some  of  the  Kaffir  plantations  patches  of 
Manihot  Aipi  (Cassava)  are  seen. 
The  Kaffirs,  as  a  rule,  grow  only  enough  for  their  own  consumption, 
although  some  of  them  sell  a  portion  of  their  products  to  the  Indian 
traders,  instead  of  working  for  the  Europeans  to  earn  money  for  the 
hut  tax.  Others  again,  living  in  the  forest,  collect  rubber  from  the 
Landolphia  sp.  (which  grows  in  large  quantities,  the  vine  climbing  to 
the  tops  of  the  highest  forest  trees),  and  sell  it  or  exchange  for 
