256 



THE GARDENERS' 



CHRONICLE. 



[April 20, 1912. 



GARDENING IN WEST AFRICA. 



It has been said that the first thing an English- 

 man does on arriving in a new country is to make 

 a cricket ground, and perhaps his countrywoman 

 first turns to the garden. 



She meets with many handicaps in West 

 Africa, mainly connected with the climate and 

 conditions of life. For so small a colony as the 

 Gold Coast climatic conditions vary considerably. 

 In the western, the rainfall is at least twice as 

 heavy as in the Eastern Province, being no less 

 than 70 inches on the coast and even heavier in- 

 land, so that in one of these places your garden 

 may be parched up one month and washed away 



the next. 



I remember the latter catastrophe happening 



at Seccondu. After a night of very heavy rain, 

 on going to look at our carefully-cherished seed- 

 lings, which had been transplanted the previous 

 day, 'we found them carried several yards out of 



their beds. 



At Axim, where 9 inches of rain have been 



known to fall within 24 hours, we made our tiny 



flower garden entirely ourselves, breaking up the 



ground at first with a pick and extracting from 



it a surprising amount of broken glass, tins, &c. 



The soil here was apparently as unpromising as 



soil well could be, being a sort of yellow clay, 



such as the natives use for building their houses, 



and commonly called " swish." During rain, 



which fell almost daily in the wet season, the 



ground received the overflow from the bungalow 



roof, and the garden became so swampy that we 



had to make little gravel paths in order to get 



into it at all. 



It was very gratifying, therefore, to find that 

 all our seeds 'flourished amazingly. If vegetables 

 or flowers will grow at all they grow very quickly 

 when frequently watered; I have seen French 

 Beans, sown in a small box, grow several inches 

 in four days, and be ready for table in as many 

 weeks. Apart from watering, the secret of suc- 

 cess is to have seed fresh from England, for seed 

 left in an open packet becomes mildewed and 

 unfit for use in a few weeks. 



It is not every vegetable or flower that will 

 flourish where there is no winter season. There 

 is no attempt at market gardening among the 

 natives, and the residence of Europeans is not 

 usually of long enough duration in any one place 

 for gaidens of any kind to be universal. A great 

 deal more, however, in the way of gardening can 

 be done than is at present: Tomatos do well 

 everywhere, also Beans of all kinds, Radishes, 

 Lettuces and Cabbages, Cucumbers and Pump- 

 kins, but not root crops. Then, as regards 

 flowers, I have grown the following with success : 

 several varieties of Roses, as the La France and 

 the William Allen Richardson (but they require 

 to be pruned severely every season or they 

 soon deteriorate) Balsams, Zinnias, Petunias, 

 French Marigolds, Mignonette, Dahlias, Nastur- 

 tiums, Sunflowers and others. I have never seen 

 any English fruit trees, but I see no reason why 

 Grapes should not be cultivated. 



Very many of the natives describe themselves 

 as farmers, but a native farm is quite different 

 from a farm in England. In the neighbourhood 

 of every village the natives make rough clearings 

 in the bush, in which, when the first rain comes, 

 gay about April, they plant corn, i.e., Indian 

 Corn, Cassada, Yams and ground nuts ; in a few 

 months the crops have matured, and in August 

 there is the " Yam Custom " or " Black Christ - 

 mas," extending for several weeks. Next spring, 

 if corn is to be grow T n, a fresh clearing is made 

 in the bush. In the Eastern Province there is a 

 large cultivation of Cocoa, started by the Basel 

 Mission, while in the Western Province the white 

 man has recently introduced the systematic plant- 

 ing of rubber. 



There are, of course, certain native fruits and 



vegetables, but few of these are really indigenous 

 to the soil; the Cocoanut, for instance, which 

 grows all along the beach, originally came, I 

 think, from the West Indies. In some places, 



notably at Chama, there are excellent green 

 Oranges, and there are also Mangoes, much ap- 

 preciated by the natives, Plantains and Bananas, 

 Guavas, Papaw, Avocada Pears, Pineapples, 

 Limes and Custard Apples. Yet all of these 

 grow better in other countries where they are 

 properly looked after. The Papaw grows male 

 and female side by side, the male plant producing 

 flowers only, the fruit being on the female tree. 



The bush is unrelieved green, except for a few- 

 Lilies and Orchids, but where they have been in- 

 troduced, certain brilliant tropical flowers give 

 colour to the compound. In the Commissioner's 

 garden, at Cape Coast, which is an old one, the 

 Bougainvillea over the bungalow was magnificent ; 

 there also grew many fine Flamboyant, with its 

 huge scarlet blossoms, and its sister, the Pride of 

 Barbadoes, with the less showy Oleander ; these, 

 of course, were perennials. But the very exis- 

 tence of flowers and vegetables requiring daily 

 attention depends upon the European. His seeds 

 mysteriously vanish while in the ground, are bit- 

 ten off by insects while they are sprouting, and, if 

 by chance they survive, are damaged by sheep 

 and goats. These animals are ubiquitous, and 

 make up in numbers what they lack in size. 

 They are turned out in the streets where there 

 is no pasture for them, and seemingly subsist on 

 leaves and refuse. It is characteristic of the 

 native that unless compelled to do so, he does 

 not keep any animal under control. At Axim, 

 our garden having been invaded, the police 

 organised a raid upon the flocks and herds, and 

 we were awakened at six o'clock in the morning 

 by the loud outcry of nanny goats, whose young 

 were in the arms of the law, en route to the 

 pound. After this there was a marked absence 

 of these animals round our quarters, and it was 

 amusing to see the Hausas returning with the 

 redeemed beasts on a string. 



I am bound to say they bore us no ill-will, and 

 made no attempt to steal our own pet sheep. 

 The native attitude as regards gardens is sum- 

 med up in a remark which one of the boys made 

 to me. " Missus," he said, " you go make gar- 

 den again? " " Yes/' I answered. " Well," he 

 continued, "you go make fine garden for 

 Axim, then you go leaves him. Now you make 

 one here for some other man." 



Such are some of the amenities of gardening 



on the Gold Coast. Agnes Lamond. 



RED SPIDER ON VINES. 



A correspondent writing in Gardeners 9 

 Chronicle some time ago on the subject of red 

 spider attacking vines (see vol. lx., p. 284) em- 

 phasised the need for the vine to be the sole 

 occupant of the Grape house. There is, of course, 

 no doubt of the desirability of this course ; but 

 in how few cases is it possible? Certainly it 

 has never been my good fortune to be able to 

 preserve the vinery for Grapes only, and I think 

 this must be the common experience. Otherwise, 



an 



atmosphere, caused by a faulty arrangement 

 of hot-water pipes, favours the spread of the 

 insect. It is remarkable that pipes are frequently- 

 placed in a cluster of two, three, or four, as the 

 case may be, according to the size of the vinerv, 

 although this method is faulty and wasteful of 

 heat. The result of such a concentration of pipes 

 under the plants in the front of the vinery is that 

 the leaves in that place are always in a dry atmo- 

 sphere favouring an attack of red spider. Unless 

 great care is taken to prevent attack, the vines 

 in this part of the house suffer regularly every 



year. 



Various remedies are suggested for the exter- 

 mination of the pest. Some growers recommend 

 a frequent and vigorous syringing with clear 

 water; but this is not effectual, and the 

 risk of spoiling the Grapes is so great that 

 very few carry it out. I do not mean to imply 

 that clean water will actually do harm to the 

 Grapes, nor will it hinder their ripening, but the 

 bloom is sure to be removed by the action of a 

 considerable quantity of water applied with force 

 from a large syringe. If the Grapes are required 

 for exhibition, syringing is out of the question. 



Another method is to sponge the affected leaves 

 with an insecticide, such as tobacco-water or soft 

 soap. Sponging, however, is a laborious process, 

 and attended by a certain risk to the bunches of 

 fruit in the neighbourhood. 



A remedy which is often recommended is that 

 of applying sulphur to the hot-water pipes, and 

 thus fumigating the house. This, I consider, both 

 dangerous and ineffectual. I have known cases 

 where the foliage of the vines has been entirely 

 crippled by the fumes, when the sulphur has 

 been applied too early, whilst the berries are fre- 

 quently scalded from the same cause. Another 

 danger lies in the great difficulty of effectually 

 cleansing the pipes when the fumigation is 

 finished. The least trace of sulphur left on the 

 pipes is sufficient to cause an attack of " rust 

 on the berries in the following season, especially 

 those in the immediate vicinity of the pipes. 



After condemning the foregoing remedies, it 



is only right that I should suggest some means 



which I consider efficient for ridding the vines of 



this pest. The method which I recommend is to 



sprinkle flowers of sulphur of a brown colour on 



the affected leaves (either on the under or the 



upper surface). This should be done on the first 



appearance of the pest ; it is a great mistake to 



wait and see whether it will disappear of itseii, 



and thus risk being too late. The best way to 



apply the sulphur is to use a small pair of nana 



bellows, holding these in one hand and the leaves 



firmly in the other. The affected parts oftne 



leaves should be quite covered with the sulpnur , 



if it is properly applied the insects cannot 



survive, and one dressing should be s ufficient ' 



If the application is done with care, none ol w 



fruit even in the immediate vicinity will 



spoiled. r f - nn 



Much has been written about the app"<* u 



of moisture to vines. This, in some form ^ 



another, is an absolute necessity, but i t « ca ^ 



to excess it becomes a serious evil. ^ art 

 excrescences of various kinds are °J en , se JJ wn . 



get rid of red spider, thrip, and that worst of all the un der-side of the leaves of BlacK ^ 



burgh and Muscat of Alexandria, these i 

 mainlv caused by an excessive quantity oi 

 spheric moisture, coupled with insufficient ^ 



entirely responsible for the introduction of the lation. Experienced Grape growers a ^ , g 



prone to these errors of culture; b ut, ^^ jt 

 more for beginners that I am writing, H j thv 

 well to draw attention to these P° ints ' and if 

 vines bear leaves of a dark-green colour, ^ 

 ample space is allowed for development 



be saved which is now expended on attempts to 

 get rid of red spider, thrip, and that worst of all 

 vine pests, mealy bug, for the growing of other 

 plants in the vineries, such as French Beans, 

 Azaleas, and various stove plants, is almost 



pests I have mentioned. 



If vines become infested with red spider prompt 

 measures must be taken to check the pest, or the 

 growth of the plants will suffer almost incalcul- 

 able harm. The berries will fail to colour, the 



vines become weakened by the loss of foliage, 

 and the future crop seriously impaired. Happily 

 the detection of red spider is not very difficult to 

 the experienced eye ; it is usually first found on 

 two or three of the leaves nearest to the main rod, 

 and may be perceived by the pale colour of the 

 leaves when the observer looks upward towards 

 the glass. Occasionally the presence of this pest 

 on the vine is to be accounted for by other causes 

 than the contamination by other plants ; a too dry 



should follow. * moment of 



I have already alluded to the fjangeme ^ 



too often neglected. They are 



often 



where* 5 



the sake of convenience, in a cluste , ^ jf 

 the results would be much more »w» ^ g ^ gle 

 they were spread over the border ^ tbe 



layer, with, say, five flows to one retu ^ 



case of a vinery with six 4-mcn f r 

 Molynntx. 





