E.—GEOGRAPHY 115 
it is often grown solely for the beer that is brewed from it. Such ‘ beer 
crops ’ are those secondary to manioc in Chiengi and Fort Rosebery, and 
that of Kasempa, subsidiary to sorghum. 
To understand the geographical significance of these crops it is necessary 
to examine the manner of their cultivation. The preparations for millet- 
growing appear to vary but little. The lopping of trees and heaping of 
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Fic. 3.—Cartogram of Northern Rhodesia, showing Distribution of 
leading Food Staples. 
(t) Small Millet, generally Eleusine; (2) Sorghum; (3) Maize; (4) Manioc 
(Cassava). For sake of visibility, rulings have been drawn over European 
as well as Native areas. 
the branches on the cleared garden site are completed by the end of the 
dry season and the burning takes place, usually on the chief’s signal, 
just before the first rains ; if this is done too early there is a risk of the 
precious ash blowing away. The seeds are then planted in the ash- 
covered soil during the early rains; and the millet crop is directly 
dependent upon rainfall for its water and upon wood ash for its nourish- 
ment. Hence it is the only cereal which flourishes on poor, lateritic soils. 
It is therefore the characteristic grain of the savanna away from the alluvial 
strips of rivers, which are devoted in general to sorghum or maize. The 
same conditions govern the cultivation of ground nuts, which are generally 
