118 
EUROPE AND AFRICA 
tion of Kismayu there was no harbor worthy of the name. 
In the interior there are some fertile districts, like the valley 
of the Webi Shebel, but they are relatively insignificant. 
The southern half has been administered since 1905 directly 
by Government officials who have applied the most scientific 
methods to the agricultural problems, but with no great 
success. 
German East Africa had an area of 384,000 squaré miles 
and an estimated population (1913) of 7,666,000. It was 
thus larger and more populous than the British sphere; its 
territory has also a longer coast-line and greater prospects of 
mineral wealth, but the climate is on the whole less healthful, 
the highlands are more scattered, and the country is lacking 
in fertility, in good natural harbors, and in navigable rivers. 
The Imperial Government spent large sums on the Pro- 
tectorate and made earnest efforts to develop its trade, and 
this despite the fact that its revenues hardly exceeded 
£390,000 at any time. In 1900-01 Germany contributed to 
the budget of East Africa as much as £618,000, in addition 
to ship subsidies and other special aids; but this amount 
steadily decreased until only £181,000 was voted in 1912. 
A fine harbor was constructed at Dar-es-Salaam, and an 
imposing city laid out there with stately government build- 
ings, substantial residences, and a splendid hospital. A 
railroad 788 miles long was completed from Dar-es-Salaam 
to Kigoma on Lake Tanganyika in February, 1914; and a 
shorter line ran from Tanga through the Usambara high- 
lands to Mount Kilima-Njaro. Serious efforts were made 
to open up the country in all directions; and the greater part 
of the colony was accurately surveyed and mapped at con- 
siderable expense. The educational work of the Germans 
was on a par with their scientific labors, so that by 1914 the 
most commendable progress had been made in the training 
and education of the native peoples. The budget of that