COTTON 135 



by sorting the gum into different grades, cleaning it, 

 and spreading it in the sun to bleach. The quantity 

 of gum exported in 1908 is given as 789,949 Ibs., and 

 that for 1909 as 894,287 Ibs. 



Investigations carried out recently at the Imperial 

 Institute show that Nigerian gum is little, if at all, inferior 

 to Sudan gum, except that its mucilage is not quite so 

 strong. Gums of the better class are mainly employed 

 in confectionery, and for this purpose the cleaner, lighter- 

 coloured gums of Northern Nigeria are quite suitable. 

 (Bulletin of the Imperial Institute, 1908, pp. 29-60 ; 1910, 

 pp. 352-65 ; and 1914, pp. 27-31.) 



COTTON. Three distinct forms of cotton are found in 

 cultivation in the Northern Provinces. The best of these is 

 that grown by the natives of the Bassa and Nassarawa 

 Provinces, and possesses lint of rather long staple and 

 a good colour, covering a clean seed. The seed-cotton 

 from these Provinces is brought into Lokoja for sale. 

 This variety seems well suited to the localities mentioned, 

 but, although it has been tried in other parts of the 

 country, it does not seem to thrive so successfully. In 

 making a comparison of the lint for Liverpool market 

 requirements, the standard employed is " Moderately 

 Rough Peruvian," which is a grade of higher price than 

 " Middling American," with which most of the West 

 African cottons are compared. 



In Ilorin, a woolly-seeded tall cotton plant is commonly 

 cultivated, and, although yielding a fair quality of lint, 

 it is not equal to that mentioned above. A small pro- 

 portion of the cotton grown in the Ilorin Province finds 

 its way to the Ogudu Ginnery of the British Cotton 

 Growing Association, on the Niger, but the main crop 

 is carried to various points on the Lagos Government 

 Railway, and is sold for delivery to the Southern Nigerian 

 ginneries of the Association. Small quantities of cotton 

 belonging to this same variety are grown in Nupe, Kabba, 

 and Kontagora, but the low ground of the Niger valley 

 does not appear to be very suitable for cotton-growing. 



In Zaria, Kano, and Sokoto Provinces, where the 

 climate is drier, excellent conditions exist for the pro- 

 duction of large supplies of cotton, but the population 

 requires to become more distributed into the districts 

 remote from the towns. In the above-mentioned Pro- 



