Page:The empire and the century.djvu/920

fibre, and copra; ostrich feathers and wool show a promising commencement I am told by a well-informed person recently returned from the country that a considerable number of sheep have been imported, and that the wool obtained from the first cross has elicited some very hopeful quotations. He also says that the cultivation of ramie fibre in Kikuyu promises to be a certain success. Land is rising rapidly in value, and he thinks that some of the best land near the railway will touch £20 per acre. The timber on the Mau is reported to be excellent both in quality and quantity, and a large concession is being arranged for working the forests, which will probably involve the construction of a branch line. The only crop which has been a failure is cotton, from which great things were expected. It would appear, however, that this failure must not be considered as final. The climate and soil are suitable, and in some places the crops have done well, but, unfortunately, the area selected for the principal experiments was on the banks of the Tana, and the seasons for the rise and fall of the river were not sufficiently investigated, with the result that the plantations were flooded and destroyed. It would appear, however, that inexpensive engineering works would suffice to prevent such disasters in the future, and, apart from this, there are many other places where cotton can be grown without danger of inundation—notably, the Lamu Archipelago, a group of islands close to the mainland, and somewhat resembling those of South Carolina and Georgia. The main difficulty for cotton-planting, however, as well as for other industries on the coast, is the scarcity of labour, but I think it can be met in two ways. Firstly, Indians should be induced to settle in the country. I do not think they should be allowed to hold land in the highlands among Europeans, nor are they likely to be attracted by either the climate or class of agriculture which is profitable there; but they are wanted on the coast where the natives are few and indolent, and where the country and its products strongly