I 



DEVELOPMENT OF AGRICULTURE IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES 1 243 



being given a superficial cultivation, the seed is sown broadcast, and weed- 

 ing is continued until harvest. Paddy is treated in the following manner : 

 from the end of May to June the seeds are sown; the plantlets are transplant- 

 ed one by one when they have reached a height of 6 to 8 inches ; the rice 

 field is kept free from weeds and is flooded. With the weeds which have 

 been pulled up and afterwards stacked small d^'kes are made. The crop 

 is got in from December to March. To sow i acre, from 11 ^/^ to 12 bushels 

 of rice are used. The average crop is from 44 34 to 47 bushels per acre. 

 The market price is is. 2 14 ^- per gallon for the paddy, and i s. 7 14 <^- per gall, 

 for the rice not in husk. There are also grown : Zea Mays, Pennisetum 

 typhoideum, Andropogon Sorghum, etc. 



Leguminous Crops. — Beans are chiefly grown. 



Starch Crops. — Sweet and bitter cassava and the sweet potato 

 are chiefly cultivated. 



Textile Plants. — The cotton plant is grown, though to a limited 

 extent, in the regions of Farim, Bolama, Bafata, Buba and Cacine in conse- 

 quence, undoubtedly, of a distribution of seeds made some years ago by the 

 Government. In the region of Farim, the writer observed specimens of 

 Gossypium herhaceiim and G. harhadense of excellent growth and abundantly 

 productive. With the cotton the natives manufacture certain articles for 

 their personal use. 



Crops yielding Oil. -— Arachis hypogea in cultivated to a large ex- 

 tent on the following method : After the first rains, that is from the end of 

 May to the month of July, the soil is superficially dressed, after which sow- 

 ing is done in rows at the rate of 40 to 44 14 ^^s. of seed per acre, the seed 

 being afterwards covered. The crop is taken off from December to 

 March. The average unit production is i 3.4.0 to i 600 lbs. per acre. The 

 average selling price on the market is 0.73 d. per lb. The ground nut 

 is not cultivated by the natives alone, but also on lands granted to 

 whites. Sesamum indicum is used, but is not cultivated. 



The trees or shrubs producing oil seeds or fruits are: Elaeis guiueen- 

 sis, Carapa Touloncoima, Ricinus communis, and, in addition, a shrub 

 termed by the natives " arcus ", etc. Elaeis guineensis forms very extensive 

 forests. It is not very productive however (13.2 lbs of kernels and 0.66 

 gallons of oil per tree), and is poor in growth owing to the incisions made 

 with the object of extracting the sap, with which palm wine is manu- 

 factured. The exportation of coconuts is carried on to some small extent, 

 but could be verj^ much extended. 



Rubber Plants. — The wild rubber producing plants [Landolphia 

 Hendelottii and L. senegalensis) are utilised direct by the natives in the re- 

 gions of Farim and Batafa. The latex is gathered from November to May, 

 by the use of primitive and destructive methods, namely, by inci.sion, re- 

 moval of the bark or felling of the trees. It is coagulated by leaving it 

 exposed to the air in the presence of salt and tamarind juice which is found 

 in abundance. It is dried in the sun, then shaped into balls and sold in 

 this form. The dried rubber fetches 3.S. and the " green " rubber is. ^d. 

 per lb. There are no rubber plantations in the true sense of the word. The 



