Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1921.djvu/233

 COMMERCE, SHIPPING, COMMUNICATIONS, ETC. 181

ami many other useful species. The Aberdare forests (about 750 square miles) contain abundance of similar trees. The Mau forest (about 1,200 square miles) is incompletely surveyed, but is known to contain many ex- cellent timber trees. The forest on Mount Elgon (about 50 square miles) is little known.

The mineral resources are not yet fully explored, but do not appear to be very extensive. There are large deposits of natrou in the Rift Valley, particu- larly at Lake Magadi. Diatomite also occurs in large quant. ties in the same region. Gold has been discovered in S. Kavirondo, but not in sufficient quantities to warrant mining. Graphite and marble are found in the metamorphic rocks in various localities, and limestone is worke<l at various places for building purposes. Manganese is found in the sandstones near the coa*t ; opals have been found in some of the streams on the west side of the Rift Valley, but up to now have not been considered of commerr ial importance.

Commerce, Shipping, Communications, &c— Imports (excluding

government stores and treasure) and exports (including those also of Uganda and the Congo), and the gross tonnage entered and cleared (excluding coasting trade) : —

Years Import*

Exports

£ 1,482,876 1,004.796 1,469.210 1,613,853 1,741,939 2,493,574

Customs Tonnage entered and cleared

£ 1913-14 2,147,937 1914-15 1,469,210 1915-16 1,708.333 1916-17 3,024,123 1917-18 2,809,681 1918-19 3,397,810

196,197 3,565,795 145,545 2,362,317 185,249 1,635,457 311,496 1,441,877 254,256 1,170,472 270,561 922,653

In 1918-19 the chief imports were : cotton piece goods, 912,467/.; pro- visions, 125,814/. ; building materials, 45,531/. ; machinery and parts thereof, 114,044/.; spirits, wines, ale and beer, 218,155/.; haberdashery and wearing apparel, 68.379/.; hardware and cutlery, 31,030/.; iron and steel manufac- tures, 41,827/. ; leather and leather mauufactures, 33,639/.; grain and flour, 386,755/.; sugar, 104,614/.; vehicles and parts thereof, 101,952/.; tobacco, cigars, and cigarettes, 184,242/.; oil, petroleum, 64,799/.; soap, 59,968/.; bags ami sacks, 69.773/ : implements, agricultural. 83,246/.; cotton manu- factures, unenumerated, 58,863/ ; matches, 14.345/.

Of imports, 1918-19, 1,619,993/. came from the United Kingdom; 1,062,245/. from British Possessions ; 242,411/. from the United States of America ; 65,215/. from Japan, and 57,190/. from Holland.

Chief exports, 1918-19 (including those from Uganda, and the Congo): cotton, 1,100,980/. (mostly from Uganda); hides and skins, 150,012/.; car- bonate of soda 269,258/.; fibres, 234,814/.; coffee, 365,872/.; grain and oil seeds, 37,870/. ; wool, 33,067/.

Of exports, 1918-19, 1,335,582/. went, to the United Kingdom ; 939,591/. to British Possessions ; 58,507/. to Italy ; 94.902/. to Japan.

The shipping to this coast has been, during recent years, depend- ent on such ships as could be spared fmm time to time by the Ministry of Shipping, but arrivals from and sailings to Bombay by British India steamers have been fairly regular. Communication between the ports of Kenya kept up by small steamers owned by Messrs. Cawasji Dinshaw Brothers at Aden.

The Mombasa- Victoria (Uganda) Railway is a State railway, length