490 WEST AFRICAN FORESTS AND FORESTRY 



or behind the very high fences or hedges which mark off one man's 

 compound from another. Apparently this is done in order to protect 

 the plants from the wind, which otherwise tears their large leaves 

 into shreds and jore vents their proper growth. 



Some years ago, in the Ibadan district, a fierce tornado cut a path 

 about 100 feet wide and nearly a mile long through a forest, but the 

 agricultural land beyond was untouched. It goes without saying that 

 had all the land been under crops in this locality most of them would 

 have been destroyed, whereas the forest took the brunt of the storm, 

 and the force of the wind outside was thus weakened and comparatively 

 harmless. 



7. The forest protects the soil and its physical properties. In 

 the open it is noticeable that the native rarely clears the land properly, 

 many stumps both of forest trees and shrubs being usually allowed 

 to remain standing. It is true some of the shoots from the stumps 

 are left on purpose to be used as supports for the yam tendrils or other 

 crops which may be grown. Nevertheless, it is a fact that the native 

 always says that the land must not be absolutely cleared of all stumps 

 and roots or it will be useless for the growing of crops. Then, again, 

 the native speaks of a piece of ground as being " spoilt," and that 

 he cannot stay there any longer. As an example of this, in the Oban 

 district, the people of Ekong left the village site because they said 

 the ground was too stony and was no good, and they went right away 

 into the forest. On an examination of the land being made, it was 

 found that where they had cleared the forest and farmed for a few 

 years all the humus, tilth and other soil had been washed away, 

 with the result that boulders as well as the underlying rock had to 

 some extent come to view. Needless to say no attempt had been 

 made at farming under a rotation of crops, nor had any manure, green 

 or otherwise, been applied to the soil. On the other hand, in the 

 forest the soil is not washed away, the aeration of it is almost perfect, 

 the mineral content is always high, and it usually has considerable 

 depth, even where there are rock outcrops, for these become covered 

 with dead leaves or humus, which in their turn help to weather the 

 rock and thus make more soil. 



8. The forest tends to regulate the temperature, almost preventing 

 extremes of heat and cold. Accurate measurements taken over a 

 period of forty years have established the fact that in the warmest 

 season the temperature of the forest is 5° to 10° lower, according to 

 species (altitude taken to be the same), than the air in the open over 

 agricultural land. In a similar way, in the coldest season of the year 

 the temperature of the forest is 5° to 10° higher than in the open over 

 agricultiu-al land. Most readers will have experienced the feeling of 

 freshness and coolness in passing through the forest zone near Oloke- 

 meji on the Nigerian Railway, or, if on leave in England, in passing 



