490 WEST AFRICAN FORESTS AND FORESTRY 
or behind the very high fences or hedges which mark off one man’s 
compound from another. Apparently this is done in order to protect 
the plants from the wind, which otherwise tears their large leaves 
into shreds and prevents their proper growth. 
Some years ago, in the Ibadan district, a fierce tornado cut a path 
about 100 feet wide and nearly a mile long through a forest, but the 
agricultural land beyond was untouched. It goes without saying that 
had all the land been under crops in this locality most of them would 
have been destroyed, whereas the forest took the brunt of the storm, 
and the force of the wind outside was thus weakened and comparatively 
harmless. 
7. The forest protects the soil and its physical properties. In 
the open it is noticeable that the native rarely clears the land properly, 
many stumps both of forest trees and shrubs being usually allowed 
to remain standing. It is true some of the shoots from the stumps 
are left on purpose to be used as supports for the yam tendrils or other 
crops which may be grown. Nevertheless, it is a fact that the native 
always says that the land must not be absolutely cleared of all stumps 
and roots or it will be useless for the growing of crops. Then, again, 
the native speaks of a piece of ground as being “spoilt,” and that 
he cannot stay there any longer. As an example of this, in the Oban 
district, the people of Ekong left the village site because they said 
the ground was too stony and was no good, and they went right away 
into the forest. On an examination of the land being made, it was 
found that where they had cleared the forest and farmed for a few 
years all the humus, tilth and other soil had been washed away, 
with the result that boulders as well as the underlying rock had to 
some extent come to view. Needless to say no attempt had been 
made at farming under a rotation of crops, nor had any manure, green 
or otherwise, been applied to the soil. On the other hand, in the 
forest the soil is not washed away, the aeration of it is almost perfect, 
the mineral content is always high, and it usually has considerable 
depth, even where there are rock outcrops, for these become covered 
with dead leaves or humus, which in their turn help to weather the 
rock and thus make more soil. _ 
8. The forest tends to regulate the temperature, almost preventing 
extremes of heat and cold. Accurate measurements taken over a 
period of forty years have established the fact that in the warmest 
season the temperature of the forest is 5° to 10° lower, according to 
species (altitude taken to be the same), than the air in the open over 
agricultural land. In a similar way, in the coldest season of the year 
the temperature of the forest is 5° to 10° higher than in the open over 
agricultural land. Most readers will have experienced the feeling of 
freshness and coolness in passing through the forest zone near Oloke- 
meji on the Nigerian Railway, or, if on leave in England, in passing 
