454 SCIENCE IN AFRICA 



In some territories the trade in skins is responsible for large 

 exports; this is so particularly in Nigeria, where a scheme is in 

 operation throughout the Northern Provinces and more recently 

 also in parts of the Southern Provinces for the better flaying and 

 drying of hides and skins, and already a big improvement in 

 quality, with an increased price, has resulted. The development 

 of the export trade in goatskins, especially the red Sokoto skin 

 which has a high reputation on the European market for book- 

 binding and other high-class leather goods, is of particular impor- 

 tance to Nigeria. An attempt to improve the Nigerian goats by 

 imported Alpine stock from Great Britain failed, as the hides 

 proved inferior and more susceptible to some skin diseases. An 

 experiment is now being carried out in Sokoto Province designed 

 eventually to eliminate all goats other than the pure red (Nigeria, 

 Veterinary, 1935 and 1936, D.R.); male goats of other colours 

 are being castrated in large numbers and males of the pure 

 red breed are being issued for stud purposes by the native 

 administration. There is a difference of at least sixpence between 

 the price paid for the skin of a pure red goat and that of any other 

 colour. Approximately 5,000,000 goatskins are exported annually 

 from Nigeria at prices from two shillings to three shillings and six- 

 pence per skin, so it is clear that any increase in price even of only 

 a few pence would produce an appreciable improvement in rev- 

 enue. It is worth noting that the small thin skins are the most 

 valuable, so that the breeding of goats for their skins entails a 

 reduction in their meat and milking capacity. Local tanning may 

 likewise offer opportunities for development, since the native 

 method carried out with Acacia bark and pigeon dung appears to 

 withstand European conditions better than the chemical tanning 

 methods in general use. The damage to skins in storage by beetle 

 has been mentioned in Chapter X. 



PRESERVATION OF MEAT FOR MARKET 



With the extension of animal husbandry in Africa, it has been 

 necessary to develop means of preservation for storage and trans- 

 port. The African climate involves special conditions in this res- 

 pect, so that research on the most suitable methods has proved 



