148 NIGERIA NORTHERN PROVINCES 



rubber makers of Ilorin and Nupe add it to the latex 

 of Landolphia florida or L. Thompsonii to make paste 

 rubber. The two liquids are boiled together for some 

 time, until the mixture attains a consistency of birdlime. 

 The dried resin is here used for torches, and in the 

 Egyptian Sudan for incense. 



KOLA. Although a large quantity of kola nuts is 

 annually imported from Lagos and the Gold Coast, such 

 a great demand exists that the price of kola in Kano 

 and Zaria is very high. The kola tree is seldom seen 

 in any part of the country except on the west bank of 

 the Kaduna river, where the famous plantations of the 

 Emir of Bida are situated. The kola nuts produced from 

 these plantations are said to be more appreciated than 

 any other, and, in order that the variety might not be 

 grown elsewhere, stringent measures are said to have 

 been enforced by the Emir, and the nuts were always 

 exported to the north, where it was impossible to grow 

 the tree, and where a very remunerative price was ob- 

 tainable. This particular kind of kola nut is referred to 

 as " Laboji," and is said to be white. 



The cultivation of kola could be undertaken in the 

 Kabba and Bassa Provinces, especially in the moist 

 valleys protected from severe winds by high plateaux, 

 such as are commonly found in these localities. 



In the export table of 1907 a small quantity of kola 

 is shown, but this probably represents the re-export of 

 produce from the south. 



COTTON SEED. The Lokoja Ginnery has exported a 

 small quantity of cotton seed each year, but the trade is 

 not a lucrative one, and the larger part of the cotton seed 

 which is turned out of the ginnery is valueless for shipment. 



POOD CROPS. The products which have been referred 

 to above are those which have hitherto been exported 

 from the country, but by far the most important agricul- 

 tural products are those upon which the population itself 

 subsists, and in relation to which the exported products 

 are merely in the position of a surplus. 



Before referring to the products regularly cultivated 

 for food, it is necessary to mention that the seasons, 

 which in the temperate zones are closely associated with 

 a rise and fall in the temperature and its effect upon 

 vegetation, are in West Africa determined to a much 



