144 NIGERIA NORTHERN PROVINCES 



of the skin, which is worked and rolled until quite soft, 

 after which a polish is obtained by drawing the smooth 

 surface rapidly over a wooden upright blade. 



The finest and lightest skins are usually reserved for 

 making into yellow, green, or pale blue leather, and the 

 rest are converted into red, black, dark blue or dark 

 yellow kinds. The red dye is obtained from the stalks of 

 a species of Sorghum,* which is grown for this purpose, and 

 to which th'e Haussas give the name of " Karandeffi " or 

 "Karantudi." The dried stalks are pounded up and 

 placed in a calabash, to which a solution of " potash " 

 is added. A deep crimson liquid results, and in this the 

 skin is steeped until a sufficiency has been absorbed by 

 it to render it permanently deep red in colour. A pale 

 yellow colour is imparted to the skin by an infusion 

 made from the root of a kind of turmeric, which is pounded 

 up for the purpose. A dark yellow is obtained from the 

 root of a tree called by the Yorubas " Agbesi." A black 

 pigment is prepared from a mixture of honey and black- 

 smith's slag ; blue from Lonchocarpus cyanescens, one of 

 the indigo producers ; green or pale blue-green from 

 brass filings mixed with lime juice, common salt, and 

 other ingredients. More recently green aniline dye has 

 been imported into the country, and has almost super- 

 seded the use of brass filings in all the large leather- 

 producing districts. 



FIBRES. Owing to the demand for ropes among the 

 cattle-keepers of the northern districts and the canoe- 

 men of the Niger and Benue valleys, it is not surprising 

 to find that the wild fibres are considered insufficient to 

 supply so great a necessity, and that in consequence a 

 selected species is extensively cultivated and prepared 

 for sale in the markets. 



" Rama " or " Ramo " is the name which is applied 

 to such a plant in the Haussa- and Yoruba-speaking 

 countries respectively, but although used exclusively for 

 fibre made from plants belonging to the genus Hibiscus, 

 different species are indicated in various districts. The 

 plant to which the name " Rama " is given in Ilorin, 

 Nupe, Kontagora, Kano, and Zaria, is apparently the 

 same as that generally termed " Farm (white) Rama " 

 in Bauchi and Muri, and has been recognised as Hibiscus 

 lunariifolius ; that called " Rama " in the northern 



* Since named S. guineensis var. robustum, Stapf. 



