705 



pUcatiUs which yield '' Cape " or " S. African Aloes " and Aloe 



Perryi, Baker, '* Socotrine Aloes." 



Plant 3 ft. or more high, in sandy soil, Nupe (Barter, I.e.). A 



bush plant with orange yellow flowers and a cultivated plant 



(" Zabon dafi ") having bright red flowers, groAvn near houses, 



have been noted in Sokoto (Dalziel I.e.). Sometimes planted in 



villages or on tombs of the Kissi (French Guinea) among the 



Sombas (Haut-Dahoniey) and in Upper-Oubangui (Chevalier, 



Bull. Soc. Xat. d'Accl. France, 1912, p. 343). Introduced into 

 cultivation at Kew in 1892. 



Allium, Linn. 



Allium ascalonicum, Linn. Amoen. Acad. iv. (1759) p. 454. 



A bulbous perennial, well known in gardens everywhere. 



Vernac. names. — Busl or Buol (Hadramaut, Lnnt) ; Sabulah 

 (Accra, Easfuon); Ango (Fanti, Easmon). — Shallot, Eschalot. 



Native of Palestme : widely cultivated in tropical, sub- 

 tropical and temperate countries. 



Grown to a large extent in localities where manure is scarce, 

 N, Nigeria (Dudgeon, Agric. & For. Prod. W. Afr, p. 154); 

 in N. Nigeria, Nigerian Soudan, Dahomey, Ivory Coast, Senegal, 

 etc. (Chevaher, Bull. Soc. Nat. d'Accl, France, 1912, p. 344), 



Propagated by bulbs, the strongest and best being usually 

 selected ; planted in well-prepared beds, moderately well 

 manured, at distances of about 12 in. by 8 in., just deep enough 

 for the crown to be at or near the surface. They are ready for 

 gathering when the tops begin to fall, in or about 6 months. 



4 



Allimn Cepa, Linn. Sp. PI. (1753) p. 300. 



An annual plant, with a bulb varying in size from that of the 

 shallot to about 3-4 in. in diam., according to variety . 



Vernac names. — Albassa (Hausa, Dudgeon)] [Albasa, Guda 

 (Kano), Gudagi (Sokoto), shafa — spring onion (Kano); safa — 

 spring onion (Sokoto) Hausa, Dalziel], — Onion. 



Widely cultivated in tropical, sub-tropical and temperate 

 cQuntries. 



The principal commercial sources of onions are Spain, Egypt, 

 Canary Islands, Bermuda, Holland, France, Belgium, Germany, 

 Portugal, Malta & Gozo, 9,105,164 bushels being imported in 

 1913, Spain contributing over 5,000,000 and Egypt nearly 

 3,000,000 bushels, and there is also a large trade in home-grown 

 produce (Kew Bull. 1919, p. 76). 



In view of such imposing figures it would, jDerhaps, be idle to 

 recommend or attempt export to this country from Nigeria, 

 but there may be ample scope for development in the cultivation 

 — already of considerable importance in the Northern Provinces 

 for local consumption and for supply to the markets near the 



coast. The onion cultivated largely throughout Northern Nigeria, 

 especially in Kano, is a red variety (Dudgeon, Agric. & For. 



