. Travels in the coastlands of British East Africa and the islands of Zanzibar and Pemba; their agricultural resources and general characteristics . oper ferryand the numerous crocodiles, pack animals could not be first instalment of copra I sent down by porters. I could not reach my former estimate of a 60-ton crop. I do not think therewill be any difficulty in pushing the cultivation of ground-nuts — thepeople are eager enough. This plague of rats in 1894 proved very destructive to all cultivation,and Mr. Wea\er speaks of much damage being caused to the coco-nuts,cotton (quite ten ac
. Travels in the coastlands of British East Africa and the islands of Zanzibar and Pemba; their agricultural resources and general characteristics . oper ferryand the numerous crocodiles, pack animals could not be first instalment of copra I sent down by porters. I could not reach my former estimate of a 60-ton crop. I do not think therewill be any difficulty in pushing the cultivation of ground-nuts — thepeople are eager enough. This plague of rats in 1894 proved very destructive to all cultivation,and Mr. Wea\er speaks of much damage being caused to the coco-nuts,cotton (quite ten acres of the New Orleans variety having been destroyedthrough the seeds being eaten), and maize. His neighbours were in astill worse plight ; their rice and metamah had been eaten up, and theirmaize had been rc-so\vn no less than five, and in some cases ; timeso\er I We have gathered 120,000 coco-nuts as against a total of 90,000 for1893.—Mr. Weavers Report, June 1894. ^ ^^ COCO-NUT O/L.—Copr-ci or coppcrah, the dry albuminous pulpcontains 54-3 per cent, of oil; dried at 100 it yields 66 per cent. —.Simmonds, Tropical Ai^ XIV TRAVELS IN EAST AFRICA 263 have loaded it in bags and sent it down by camels, but thewear and tear of the frequent loading and unloading whichthe crossing of the river would necessitate was against thisplan, to say nothing of the risk of heavy loads of over fivefrasilas being upset and damaged. I therefore arranged asystem of camel transport, by which the copra was carried inloose mats, one set of camels working between the shambasand the river on one side, and another set between Melindi andthe other bank. Two sheds were erected at the river, one toreceive and store the copra as the camels brought it down,whilst at the other, after being ferried across in canoes, it wasweighed, packed,and sown up by m}-own people in makandas,^ These makandas were made locally. All the mats and mat-bags inuse locally for exporting grain—including th
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