On the 2d the Zambesi suddenly rose several feet in height.  Three such floods are expected annually, but this year there were four.  This last was accompanied by discoloration, and must have been caused by another great fall of rain east of the ridge.  We had observed a flood of discolored water when we reached the river at the Kafue; it then fell two feet, and from subsequent rains again rose so high that we were obliged to leave it when opposite the hill Pinkwe.  About the 10th of March the river rose several feet with comparatively clear water, and it continued to rise until the 21st, with but very slight discoloration.  This gradual rise was the greatest, and was probably caused by the water of inundation in the interior.  The sudden rise which happened on the 2d, being deeply discolored, showed again the effect of rains at a comparatively short distance.  The fact of the river rising three or four times annually, and the one flood of inundation being mixed with the others, may account for the Portuguese not recognizing the phenomenon of the periodical inundation, so well known in the central country.

The independent natives cultivate a little cotton, but it is not at all equal, either in quantity or quality, to what we found in Angola.  The pile is short, and it clings to the seed so much that they use an iron roller to detach it.  The soil, however, is equal to the production of any tropical plant or fruit.  The natives have never been encouraged to cultivate cotton for sale, nor has any new variety been introduced.  We saw no palm-oil-trees, the oil which is occasionally exported being from the ground-nut.  One of the merchants of Tete had a mill of the rudest construction for grinding this nut, which was driven by donkeys.  It was the only specimen of a machine I could exhibit to my men.  A very superior kind of salad oil is obtained from the seeds of cucumbers, and is much used in native cookery.

An offer, said to have been made by the “Times”, having excited attention even in this distant part, I asked the commandant if he knew of any plant fit for the production of paper.  He procured specimens of the fibrous tissue of a species of aloe, named Conge, and some also from the root of a wild date, and, lastly, of a plant named Buaze, the fibres of which, though useless for the manufacture of paper, are probably a suitable substitute for flax.  I submitted a small quantity of these fibres to Messrs. Pye, Brothers, of London, who have invented a superior mode for the preparation of such tissues for the manufacturer.  They most politely undertook the examination, and have given a favorable opinion of the Buaze, as may be seen in the note below.*

   *
   80 Lombard Street, 20th March, 1857.