﻿142 JAS. J. STMPSON — ENTOMOLOGICAL 



These ports, however, are only the foci of the trade of the Colony, so that it 

 is necessary to go further afield and consider the routes along which this trade 

 comes, the potentiality of these various regions as regards diseases transmitted by 

 insects, and the distribution of the insects implicated. The major features of the 

 geography of the Colony, so far as they concern the investigation in hand, have 

 been briefly dealt with in the various sections of the report, so that it is 

 unnecessary to enter into any discussion of them at this point. 



(&) Physical Configuration. 



The trade of Southern Nigeria has always been intimately associated with the 

 River Niger and its delta, and consequently, not until very recently have the 

 parts of the country removed from this river been traversed by Europeans. The 

 construction of the Government Railway served to open up the Western 

 Province, and within the last few years large tracts of country, particularly in 

 the north-east, have been gradually brought under European influence. This 

 region is known as the Munchi country and is inhabited by a very truculent 

 and vindictive tribe of that name. Consequently our knowledge of the physical 

 characteristics of Southern Nigeria is very limited, but an exhaustive survey of 

 the whole Colony is rapidly progressing. It might be well, however, to note a 

 few of the leading topographical features ia so far as they are likely to influence 

 the distribution of the fauna. 



There are three distinct river systems in Southern Nigeria and these roughly 

 correspond with the three Provinces : — the Cross River in the Eastern Province, 

 the Niger in the Central Province, and a number of small rivers, the largest of 

 which is the Ogun, in the Western Province. 



There are no mountain ranges of any great height in the Colony, the highest 

 being the watershed between the Niger and Cross Rivers, in what is known as the 

 Sonkwala Country, which has only recently been opened up. This range consists 

 of several peaks rising from an extensive plateau, the height of which has been 

 variously estimated, but which, in all probability, does not exceed 4000-5000 feet. 

 Next in importance are the Oban Hills, which lie to the east of the Cross River 

 and form the watershed between it and the Kwa River. The various peaks in 

 this small range are very imperfectly known, but average about 3000-3500 feet 

 in height. The lofty Kameruns in the German Colony of that name constitute 

 the main catchment area for the Cross River and are the only large mountain 

 range on this part of the coast. 



In the Ondo district are the Idanre Hills, which consist of several peaks of 

 about 3,000 feet in height. These form the watershed separating the Niger 

 basin in the Central Province from the system of small rivers in the Western 

 Province. Almost continuous with these are the Efon Hills in the Ilesha 

 District ; they run nearly east and west and send their waters on the northern 

 side to the Niger in Northern Nigeria, and their southern waters to the rivers in 

 the Western Province of Southern Nigeria. Of less importance are the Shaki 

 Hills in the north-west and the Tapa Hills between the rivers Awon and Afiki, 

 both tributaries of the Ogun. 



