of five frasilas each. (N.B. The frasila on the mainland ='
36 lbs., or 1 lb. more than the Zanzibar frasila, which equals
35 lbs.) I made arrangements with a contractor in Mombrui
and Melindi to supply the number of camels required from
time to time, and the arrangements worked very satisfactorily.
The weight a camel can carry is surprising; on one occasion
six camels each carried a load of 540 lbs. from the shambas
to the nearest store-shed !
I ascertained that the camels in use all came from Kismayu,
and are valued at from $40 to $50 a head— about the same
price as a-good Muscat donkey. They are fed on dates,
grass, and green leaves. Mombrui having more bush, suits
them better than Melindi. They require care, and do not
thrive well at any distance from the sea.
I also cleared a road 10 feet wide to the Sabaki. This
road, about five miles in length, was easy and well adapted
for camels, and shortened the distance to the river considerably.
The cutting of a 20-feet-wide road all round the shambas
was another task. This also served as a fire boundary, much,
damage having been caused just before my return from
Zanzibar by a fire spreading to one of the plantations from
outside. One or two other much-needed roads were made-
through the shambas, and these, together with the systematic
work now in force, soon caused the plantation to assume a
new appearance.
The establishment, under regulations, of an Indian shop
both at the village of Boma-Upandi and at Magarini, for
the benefit and encouragement of the Wanika, was another
project worth mentioning, and one in which the Liwali of
Mombrui took an active interest.
We hoped that the display of cloths, etc., at their very
doors would stimulate the people to work in order to obtain
them, either by their wages or from the sale of their produce.
Mr. Weaver was now living in a temporary hut on
Magarini Hill, this being most conveniently situated for the
supervision of the cotton and other experimental cultivation
and the Wanika labour. I had my quarters in the outlying
Nghanima shamba, on a low krioll commanding a distant
view of the sea and the Mombrui Hills. I was driven from