CROP-PLANTS 371 



crop is grown mainly by natives, and the plantings are strictly 

 controlled by the agricultural department (Philpott 1935). Selec- 

 tion is carried out at Bukalasa and Serere. 



In West Africa tobacco cultivation is limited to local needs, but 

 in the Gold Coast and Nigeria the agricultural departments are 

 trying to encourage growers to improve their methods of cultiva- 

 tion, in the hope of producing local tobacco in sufficient quantities 

 to compete with the imported article. A large increase in the local 

 consumption is expected as the standard of living of the 20,000,000 

 Africans in Nigeria improves. In that country the cultivation of 

 tobacco on up-to-date lines has been started at Ilorin. B. Laufer, 

 W. D. Hambly, and R. Linton (1932) have provided a general 

 book on tobacco and its uses in Africa. 



Rubber from wild sources has been mentioned in Chapter VII. 

 The principal centre of Para rubber from plantations of Hevea 

 brasiliensis is Liberia where the Firestone Company has a large 

 organization. There are plantations under European manage- 

 ment in Uganda and the Cameroons, and the African Lakes Cor- 

 poration has an estate in Nyasaland. There are also some native- 

 owned plantations in West Africa. Little development has taken 

 place in recent years in view of overproduction in the Far East. 



Ginger {^angiber officinale) is grown in small quantities in parts 

 of West Africa for local consumption as a medicine. The export of 

 ginger from Sierra Leone is an old-established trade. The produc- 

 tion of peeled and sun-bleached ginger for export is growing 

 rapidly also in the Northern Provinces of Nigeria, and is providing 

 a source of revenue for the pagan tribes. Cultivation and selection 

 trials have been carried out by the agricultural department, and 

 the sale of improved varieties to the growers has led to a marked 

 increase in the size of the roots (Nigeria, Agriculture, 1934, D.R.). 

 A grading system has also brought about the production of a better 

 quality of ginger (Stockdale 1936). 1,500 tons a year are exported 

 from that territory, but the methods of planting and preparation 

 could be improved. 



The native indigo industry of West Africa has been mentioned 

 above [see p. 339). 



Sugar-cane {Saccharumspp.) is of importance in a belt of land about 

 235 miles long and 10 to 25 miles broad along the coast of Natal. 



