342 SCIENCE IN AFRICA 



of his time to native food crops, the selection of grain sorghums and 

 pennisetums forms part of the work of the agricukural station at 

 Tamale. Similar studies have been made in the Gambia. 



The finger millet [Eleusine coracana) has been discussed by- 

 Clements (1933) and Moffat (1933) in connection with the 

 chitemene system of agriculture prevalent in Northern Rhodesia. 

 Selection work is in progress in Kenya, Uganda, Northern Rho- 

 desia, and Tanganyika, where collections of local varieties have 

 been made. 



The cultivation of maize {Z^^ mays) has now extended to most 

 parts of Africa where climatic conditions are suitable. It has been 

 the subject of research by the department of agriculture in the 

 Union of South Africa for a number of years. In particular Dr. 

 J. Burtt Davy, when Botanist to the Transvaal department of 

 agriculture between 1903 and 1920, devoted a large part of his 

 work to this crop and his text-book on the subject (1914) deals 

 with all aspects of its history, cultivation, handling and uses, while 

 more recently A. R. Saunders (1930) has discussed in detail the 

 factors affecting the yield of maize in the Union. Studies on maize 

 have made it possible for farmers to choose the varieties best 

 suited to their particular area and the fertilizer most likely to 

 succeed with any given type of soil. The breeding of drought- 

 resistant varieties is in progress at the Kroonstad experimental 

 station and at the Potchefstroom School of Agriculture. At Kroon- 

 stad valuable results have been obtained in the selection of yellow 

 dent, in fertilizer experiments and in crop-rotation with trials 

 maize and cow peas. At Potchefstroom a synthetic maize variety 

 has shown promise, and experiments have been undertaken to 

 demonstrate the advantages of winter ploughing. In Southern 

 Rhodesia, at the Hillside station, a strain has been found which 

 shows considerable resistance to infection by Diplodia and allied 

 diseases. It has also been shown (S. Rhodesia 1936, D.R.) that 

 yield and resistance to rust are increased by applications of lime. 



In the colonial territories research on maize is in progress at 

 several centres. For example, in Northern Rhodesia native varieties 

 of maize have been collected by the ecological survey and have 

 been subjected to selection trials, with a view to their suitability 

 for cultivation at different altitudes. In Kenya selection has done 



