C H A P . HI
ZANZIBAR AND PEMBA 533
as many as four branching stems On leaving this I
crossed a small watercourse (bridged) and ascended a slig
ridge on the other side. The soil, on the slope, was brown
wit! much coral outcrop ; and on top of the ndge, a dark red
to chocolate. Then came open country, with rice cultivate
on the ridge side, which slopes gently down towards the
west, and opens out into a large plain thickly covered with
groves of coco-nut trees ; these, with alternate green rice-
fields, extend as far as the eye can see, a charming picture o
a rich and fertile plain. , . . ,
Proceeding along the top of the ridge, I found that the
soil varied from brown or chocolate loam to red and yellow
c la y ; and I noticed that the clove trees, both on the roadside
and in the plantations, presented a change coincident
with that of the soil, becoming larger in the more clayey parts
of the country. Besides cloves, orange and other fruit trees,
there were numerous fields of maize, rice, and cassava, several
gardens surrounding houses, thick clumps of bananas and
coco-nuts, areca palms, sugar-cane patches, and many
mangoes. The fertile appearance of this part of the country
is, however, much marred by large areas of uncleared land ,
more' particularly an extensive low-lying plain, which
crossed at 9.15 a.m., and which, with the exception of a few
scattered fields of cassava and some patches of rice in a
swampy hollow in the centre, was totally uncultivated and
thickly overgrown with tall grass, 3 to 4 feet hi&h-
Having crossed a third small river and another low ridge,
I came upon scattered houses, with fine clumps of bananas
and numerous coco-nut trees, whilst jack trees became more
plentiful, taking the place of the disappearing mangoes.
Changes of soil were frequent, generally from red and darker
chocolate to a sandy grey loam. At 10 a.m. I came to the
end of the ridge and crossed two more streams, which, like
most of these rivers, had a thick growth of large-leaved aquatic
plants on their banks ; here I again passed through some very
fine, extensive clove plantations, and noticed many young
plants. There was occasional open cultivation, chiefly cassava ,
and the soil for the remainder of my journey to M’Po was