NYASALAND The British Protectorate of Nyasaland consists of a strip of country which lies along the west and south shores of Lake Nyasa, and extends southwards as far as Chiwonga on the Shire River. The lowlands increase in height from 125 feet at Chiwonga to over 1,500 feet along the shores of the lake. Behind them the country ascends in a series of plateaus which have an average elevation of between 3,000 and 4,000 feet, but rise in the Mlanje, in the Shire Highlands, to over 6,000, and in the Nyika, in the north, to over 7,000 feet. The climate of Nyasaland, accord ingly, varies greatly from one place to another. At Fort John ston, at the southern end of Lake Nyasa, the mean annual temperature is 76° F., with a range from 68° F. in June to F. in December ; while at Lauderdale, on the Mianje, 2,540 feet above sea-level, the annual mean is only 70° F. ; the coldest month is June, with a mean of 62° F., and the hottest January, with a mean of 74.5° F. Over the greater part of the country the rainfall is between 40 and 60 inches.
Though it is still doubtful whether the uplands of Nyasaland can be colonised, British settlements have existed there for a number of years, and have played an important part in the economic development of the country. Coffee was formerly one
of the principal crops grown by the white planters, but, as for various reasons it has proved less successful within recent years, it has been superseded to a great extent by cotton and tobacco. The cultivation of cotton is also being taken up by the natives, and, as the quality is good, there is every prospect of an increased output in the near future. Tea and rubber planta tions have been established, and appear to be doing well. Maize, which is grown by the natives, is also exported.
The want of a proper outlet for the products of the country is at present the chief obstacle to its development. The only rail way in the Protectorate runs from Blantyre in the Shire Highland to Port Herald on the Shire River, whence goods are sent by steamer to Chinde, at the mouth of a distributary of the Zambesi. The Lower Shire has, however, become silted up to such an extent recently that it is only navigable for a few months in the year ; and it is proposed to carry the railway from Port Herald to Villa Bocage, the head of the permanent fairway on the river. Other proposals involve lines from Villa Bocage to Beira, and from Blantyre to Lake Nyasa.