— 201 



Burutu is entirely delta country, the land surface for many miles 

 round being little more than a foot above high-water and covered 

 for the most part vvith mangrove and other trees, many of which 

 are very lofty. There is little or no grass, and creeks of varying 

 sizes intersect the muddy deposit which forms the ground. 



Abutschi is situated on almost the first pièce of rising ground 

 which one meets in travelling up the Niger, though even hère the 

 surrounding countrv is very flat. Being delayed hère ten davs I 

 was fortunate in finding a very quiet neglected plantation of 

 rubber, cofiee, cinnamon and other product-bearing trees which 

 proved to be full of bird-life,in fact quite a nursery of the birds of 

 the surrounding country. Hère in September were the nests of 

 Pyrenestes ostrinus ostriniis, Pyromelana hordacea hordacea, 

 Sperniestes cuciillatus cncidlatns , and Hyphanturgus ocularias 

 brachypterics,vvh.\\e the young oiTurdiis liboniatus saturatiis, Ter- 

 psiphoiie, Cossypha melauonota, and other species were numerous. 



Agoulerie is situated in a more hillv country some twenty miles 

 above Abutschi, on the extrême eastern bank of the Anambara 

 Creek, though the western bank is quite flat between this water 

 and the Niger. This creek is formed by a somewhat sluggish 

 stream discharging into the Niger at Onitscha, but towards the end 

 of the rains the waters of the Niger rise so much more than those 

 of its tributary that they actu'ally flow up the Anambara, and the 

 large V-shaped tract of country between the two rivers becomes 

 inundated with the overflow. 



The Anambara district is almost entirely covered with open 

 forest of the dry desiduous type, the ground between the trees 

 bearing tall rank grass. The banks of the creek and the bottoms of 

 the numerous ravines which run from the creek into the hills con- 

 tain a type of forest of a damper kind which is more dense than 

 the dry forest. The principal crops grown are yams, cassada and 

 Indian corn. In 1905 little or nothing appeared to be known of 

 the upper parts of the Anambara, as the natives bore an evil repu 

 tation for lawlessness. There are apparently however extensive 

 forests in the neighbourhood, vielding rubber in considérable 

 quantities. 



