FIELD CROPS 85 



pineapples, paw-paws, guavas, oranges, custard apples, 

 sour-sops, and limes may be found growing in the places 

 near the older European settlements. 



Plantains and yams seem to form the chief food of 

 the people in the interior, but maize is largely used by 

 those near the coast, who are better cultivators. Plan- 

 tains are prepared by roasting or by chopping up and 

 boiling. In some parts, especially in the Krepi country, 

 the fruits are split and cut in pieces, after which they 

 are dried in the sun. They become hard and white in 

 the process, and can be kept for some time. Yams of 

 several kinds are cut up after peeling, and boiled with 

 peppers or made up with palm oil, when they form a 

 favourite dish. They are sometimes pounded in a wooden 

 mortar and made into balls. Maize is ground on flat 

 or grooved stones by means of a stone hand-roller, after 

 which the flour is made into dough and baked, a little 

 palm wine having been added to make it rise. Cassava 

 is treated in the same manner as yams, but the former 

 requires long soaking before cooking. Palm oil or ground- 

 nut oil is generally used for cooking, and the pulp of the 

 palm fruit, after the oil has been removed, is eaten. A 

 fermented drink is made from maize, which is said to 

 taste like weak beer, but the chief intoxicant made 

 locally is the fermented juice of the oil and the fibre 

 palms. 



With the exception of cotton, which has been separately 

 referred to, groundnuts appear to have been the only field 

 crop of importance that has been exported. In 1908 a 

 substantial figure was reached, but has since declined. 



PART II. THE NORTHERN TERRITORIES 



Tribes. The country which is included under the 

 Northern Territories is inhabited by a number of tribes, 

 now chiefly located in the northern half ; the central portion 

 being liable to inundation at certain times, and therefore 

 almost unoccupied, and the southern being, perhaps, con- 

 sidered unsafe owing to the proximity to the warlike 

 Ashantis. The more important tribes are the Mamprussis, 

 under the king of Gambaga ; the Gonjas, under the king 

 of Kombe ; the Walas, under the king of Wa ; and two. 



