. Southern Rhodesia. in a very few monthsall the main transport thoroughfares throughoutMatabeleland and Mashonaland were strewn withwhitening bones, the only relics of these unfortunatebeasts. When once the disease had taken hold ofthe cattle, all human efforts to intervene were use-less, nor could the most eminent scientists find acheck or a cure. In many places 98 and 99 percent, of the cattle died. The Government at lengthdetermined to close all roads, and only allow trans-port with mules and donkeys. After proclamationin the Government Gazette, all cattle were to beconfined to the immedia
. Southern Rhodesia. in a very few monthsall the main transport thoroughfares throughoutMatabeleland and Mashonaland were strewn withwhitening bones, the only relics of these unfortunatebeasts. When once the disease had taken hold ofthe cattle, all human efforts to intervene were use-less, nor could the most eminent scientists find acheck or a cure. In many places 98 and 99 percent, of the cattle died. The Government at lengthdetermined to close all roads, and only allow trans-port with mules and donkeys. After proclamationin the Government Gazette, all cattle were to beconfined to the immediate district where they were,nor might their owners, under penalty of a heavyfine, allow the beasts to stray off their farms. Cattleinspectors were stationed in each district, and thelaw was everywhere strictly enforced. Strange though it may appear, the result of thisfearful disease was to set in motion the first realstimulus towards progress in agriculture. The spiritof the Rhodesian settlers was not yet broken. The. HISTORY OF FARMING 199 old landowners, who for so many years had refusedto work their farms, finding a more profitable busi-ness in other directions, now collected together theremnant of their cattle, and as they were not allowedto let them stray on to other ground, set about tobreak up their land and put it under the African coast fever may be said to havedirected the agricultural industry into a channel ofsteady and rapid progress. It must also be mentioned that another stimulusto agriculture was given by the constant falling offof trading with natives. In the early years tradersmade enormous profits by selling to the nativesbeads, salt, and Kaffir goods in exchange for grainand meal, but as the traders increased in the countryand competition amongst them grew keener, theywere unable to buy as much grain with the sameamount of goods as formerly, and were furtherhandicapped by the great drop in the selling priceof grain and meal which occurred
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