ABSTRACT
THE physical features of Ngoniland may bedenoted in a few words. Situated about 4000 feet above the sea-level it has little or nothing to suggest its being in the tropics, save the daily course of the sun and the periodic rains. There are no broad sluggish rivers whose muddy banks are covered with mangrove thicket, above which rise giant trees and stately palms such as are usually associated with pictures of tropical scenery. Leaving Lake Nyasa at an altitude of 1500 feet we have to cross the broken mountain ranges, rising in some cases to 7000 feet, which form the eastern boundary of Ngoniland. From the heights we behold hundreds of square miles of open undulating country, whose low wooded hills run north and south for most part, the broad valleys being traversed by streams which become roaring torrents during the brief rainy season, but at other times are small and easily forded. Looking over the
country at our feet, we are struck by its treelessness, save on the crowns of the low hills. Here and there we find single large trees and, at intervals, dark green patches which look like fields of green corn, but which are in reality patches of bush composed of fresh shoots from the roots of trees cut down, which features denote dry unfruitful soil not worth tilling. It is evident that, at one time, the whole country was covered by dense forests of large trees, which have been ruthlessly cut down for fire-wood, or, as is more frequently the case, to be burned on the ground as manure for new gardens. The intervening ground, if viewed in the dry season, appears as bare, whitish, or yellowish-red soil. as the extensive gardens are then empty and the grass burned up. It is not easy to pick out the villages as the colour of the dried thatch accords with that of the bare ground and renders them not readily visible. The most conspicuous feature of the district is the innumerable anthills scattered over the plains. Seen from a distance they resemble stacks of hay in a field. They are the product of the white ant, the most destructive pest we have, a full account of which is given in a most interesting way in Prof. Drummond's "Tropical Africa." The ant-hills in Ngoniland are larger than any to be seen
elsewhere. They are not the turret-shaped variety to be seen in the low countries, but are huge mounds in many instances 50 feet in circumference at the base and 20 feet in height. The clay composing these mounds is very suitable for brick-making, and from even one ant-hill a whole Mission station could be built.
