SUGAR-CANE AND LEGUMINOUS PLANTS 157 



reddish tint remains. All the rice appears to be of the 

 same type, and is held in high estimation for its nutritious 

 quality. The imported white rices, which occasionally 

 enter the country, are regarded with less favour than 

 the local kind. 



It is possible to develop the cultivation of the crop 

 in the valleys of all the large rivers, and it seems probable 

 that, with improved methods of irrigation, two crops 

 might be grown annually. 



A sample of rice from Ilorin examined at the 

 Imperial Institute proved to be about equal in quality 

 to average Bengal rice (Bulletin of the Imperial Institute, 

 vol. vii. [1909], p. 149), but it is improbable that it 

 would at present prove remunerative to export this rice 

 to Europe. A good market might, however, be found 

 for it at the coast ports of Southern Nigeria, where 

 imported rice is in demand. It might be necessary, 

 in order to compete with the present trade, to grow 

 and prepare a cleaner (less red) variety, which would 

 resemble more nearly the imported kinds, and to this 

 end the acclimatised American rice of Sierra Leone 

 might be tried (cf. Bull. Imp. Inst., vol. xv. [1917]). 



SUGAR-CANE. The cultivation of sugar-cane (Sac- 

 charum officinale) is confined to small patches or strips of 

 land on the edges of rice fields, where it may be said to 

 be under irrigation. The Haussa name is " Reke." The 

 preparation of sugar does not appear to be known in 

 the country, and the sole use to which the plant is put, 

 seems to be the consumption of the green stalks by the 

 inhabitants and their cattle. The variety seen in Kano 

 district appears to have a reddish stalk, and cane is said 

 to be a feature in the Maigana district. 



LEGUMINOUS PLANTS. Several kinds of small beans 

 are grown, of which the most valuable appears to be that 

 known as " Wanki." This is a white-skinned kind, 

 similar to, but about half the size of, the white haricot 

 of Europe. The cultivation of these beans is somewhat 

 irregular ; a few being occasionally sown among the 

 millet and Guinea-corn crops. They are apparently 

 never grown as a sole crop. A similar bean of a brown 

 colour is common in the Bassa Province, but the white 

 bean is generally distributed throughout the whole 

 country. 



