FORESTRY OF WEST AFRICA. 451 



Industrial Arts, Manufactures and Commercial Pro- 

 ducts,' pp. 141 5 and 1823, &c. 



Distribution : Cultivated largely in \V. Africa. 



Rice {Oryza sativa, L.). — This plant is cultivated 

 in various countries of Western Africa, In Haussa, 

 Nufe, and Yoruba considerable quantities are annually 

 reared for the native markets. In the vicinity of 

 Rabbah and other Fellata towns near the confluence 

 of Tsadda, extensive tracts of land are constantly 

 irrigated for its production, while the swampy ex- 

 pansions and fertilized banks of the Kowara and its 

 tributaries are rendered available for its cultivation. 

 The Kroo coasts yield the largest amount of this 

 important grain, and the numerous rivers intersecting 

 the country between them and the Senegal north- 

 wards, ^vhere it is so plentifully sown as to comprehend 

 the chief article of food on which the inhabitants of 

 many localities have to subsist Converted by the 

 Fantes into kankie-cakes, and by the ilandingoes into 

 various preparations, it is considered to be one of the 

 most healthy and nutritious of farinaceous products 

 consumed by the natives. In the East, rice is one of 

 the most important articles of food of the poorer 

 classes. In India a coarse kind of confection is made 

 from it and sold in the bazaars, and in many 

 districts rice-straw is almost the only food which 

 cattle have. In medicine rice makes an excellent 

 demulcent refrigerant drink in febrile and inflam- 



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