TEE SAVANNA..-FOT the support of the population of this region, which in places is very dense, the chief food crops cultivated are Guinea corn (Indian millet or juar) and other varieties of millet, wheat, maize, and rice. Guinea corn is grown throughout the country, maize in the wetter districts of the south, wheat in the drier districts of the north, and rice in various places where the land is swampy. In years of deficient rainfall, the inhabitants of the northern districts frequently suffer from famine.
Cotton has always been grown by the natives for domestic manu factures, and attempts are now being made to induce them to grow it for export to Lancashire, where there is a ready demand for it. In order to improve the quality, various exotics have been introduced, but these appear to be more subject than native varie ties to insect pests, besides being unsuited in other ways to their new environment ; and it is probable that more progress will be made by the improvement of the indigenous plants. The British Cotton Growing Association has established a number of gin neries in the country, and the prospects of an increased output appear on the whole to be good. The climate and soil are favour able, the agricultural population is industrious and experienced, and the demand is likely to prove steady. On the other hand, the methods of cultivation are generally somewhat primitive, and, as a result, much of the land is required for the production of food crops, though, with the extension of railways, it is probable that new areas, especially in the north, will be opened up in the near future. Other products of an agricultural nature which are
exported include Shea butter, fibres of various kinds, ground nuts, and Kano leather (which is known in Europe as Morocco leather). Tin, which is the most valuable mineral of Nigeria, is found in various places, the most important of which is the Bauchi plateau, a region in the central part of the crystalline area, with an elevation of between 3,000 and 4,000 feet. It occurs in the alluvial deposits which cover the plateau and its northern margin, and it is these deposits which are at present being exploited ; but the ultimate success of the field will probably depend upon the discovery of pay ing lodes in the underlying rock. With the extension of the railway to the mineral districts, a rapid increase in the output is probable in the immediate future. Iron ore occurs in various places, and was formerly smelted by the natives ; but, with the importation of cheaper foreign iron, these works have been abandoned. The ore itself seems unsuitable for export.