234 
SOUTHERN PROVINCES. 
At Agege, Cacao, Hevea and Kola were being grown, and 
there is a small Cocoa-drying and fermenting plant as well as a 
rubber shed. The plantation, though small, ought to serve a 
useful purpose as a Demonstration Centre, but owing to the 
small staff of the Agricultural Department it can only be visited 
at rare intervals by an official, and the work has to be left in 
charge of a native overseer. 
It was clear from what could be seen at Agege and at 
Ibadan that the cultivation of Hevea brasiliensis by small 
native landowners appears to be a wasteful diversion of their 
proper agricultural activities. 
he prevalence of the Oil Palm is the remarkable feature in 
the landscape throughout the greater part of Southern Nigeria ; 
here and there a few Raphia and Borassus Palms can be seen, 
but with these exceptions the great belts of pure Oil Palm 
dominate the scenery. 
Laboratories of the Agricultural Department (Southern Provinces) 
and the residences of the principal officers are situated, is a far 
re ambitious undertaking and one from which the Colony should 
derive a great amount of benefit. Whether it has fully fulfilled 
its functions in the past may be open to question, but that it 
should be able to play a very important réle in the development 
and progress of Nigerian Agriculture in the future cannot be 
doubted. 
Here experiments have been conducted on the cultivation of 
Coconuts, Ceara Rubber, Cacao, Oil Palms, Abeokuta Coffee, 
Kola, Teak, Mahogany, Cedrela, native Phaseolus for green 
manuring, &c.; while in a large orchard plot Citrus trees in 
variety, Bananas, Pineapples and various Tropical fruit trees 
are under cultivation, which serve as a useful demonstration of 
the edible fruit trees likely to succeed in Southern Nigeria. 
The nurseries for the propagation of useful economic and orna- 
mental plants are well arranged and well stocked with good 
young plants for distribution. Experiments were also in progress 
in fallowing the ground, green manuring, etc., which should lead 
to useful results. 
