IMPLEMENTS 125 



thus obtained against local enemies ; and, as the realisation 

 of the necessity for this becomes less each year, so 

 will the inhabitants spread out into the richer lands 

 towards the south. At a radius of thirty miles from 

 Kano, it may be said that every available acre of ground 

 is cultivated. It may also be said that nearly all the 

 cultivation is continuous, and has been so for a long 

 period, the renovation of the soil being secured each 

 year by manuring. The mode of cultivation in these 

 localities is for the most part shallow, and in many places 

 the crops grown subsist entirely upon the manure applied. 

 The Director of Agriculture, in the Bulletin of the Imperial 

 Institute, vol. xi. (1913), p. 626, refers to the lack of 

 fertility in the soil and to the common practice of 

 cropping without a fallow for a number of years in 

 succession. He also mentions, among other matters 

 of interest, the recent expansion in cultivation of cow- 

 peas and groundnuts ; these being respectively third 

 and fourth in order of importance among the cultivated 

 crops. 



Implements. An illustration is given showing the 

 method of using the three important agricultural imple- 

 ments employed by the Haussa cultivator (Fig. 27). The 

 first of these is locally termed " Fatainya," and is a 

 curved-handled hoe with a blade of variable width. It 

 is used for all operations of cultivation with the exception 

 of turning up broad ridges and drilling. The implement 

 shown in the centre is termed " Garma," and is a broad, 

 spade-like hoe, composed of an iron W-shaped frame, 

 with several strips of iron riveted on the face, filling the 

 interval between the arms. In the Zaria Province the 

 iron strips are generally omitted, and the implement is 

 called " Owya." It is used for throwing up large 

 spadefuls of soil in the preparation of the broad ridges 

 which are made for nearly all kinds of crops. The last 

 implement is the " Sangumi," which is a thin rod with a 

 small blade placed near one end and at right angles 

 to it ; its use is entirely for making drills for sowing 



All the fields for growing ordinary food crops, with 

 the exception of cassava, rice, and sugar-cane, are pre- 

 pared in ridge formation ; the latter appearing to average 

 about 8 in. high from the original surface. The furrows 



