37 



The ultimate result, however, of all these praiseworthy efforts to 

 make the plantations at Onitsha pay evidently did not succeed to 

 the extent anticipated, as will be shown in the course of the 

 following record* : — 



"The total area of the Onitsha plantation is 450 acres (1904). 

 The bulk of this is planted with coffee, only a few acres being 

 devoted to cocoa." 



" The total expenditure for the three years 1901-2, 1902-3, and 

 1903-4 was £3,258, while for the same period the revenue was 

 approximately £1,260, showing a loss on working of £1,998, or 

 calculated on an average for the period there was an annual 

 recurrent expenditure of £900, with an annual loss of about 

 £400." 



" In considering the value of this plantation it would be unsound 

 to pass judgment on the ' will-it-pay ' principle, for experience 

 gained as to the unsuitability of specific products to local climate 

 and soil conditions may form a good investment, although the 

 actual financial results may at first sight seem disappointing. It 

 has, however, been deemed prudent to carry out experiments on a 

 somewhat restricted scale and to put the plantation in charge of 

 the Forestry Department." 



" With the abandonment of the coffee plantation the work of 

 experimental cultivation will not however cease. Arrangements 

 have been made and ground prepared for carrying out a com- 

 prehensive series of experiments." 



" Plots of ground will be sown with native cotton, with and 

 without manure, with ground-nuts alone, and with native corn. 

 Various native beans, indigenous and exotic, tobacco, tea, and 

 indigo will also be subjects of experiment." 



During 1905 we are toldf that the Onitsha plantations yielded 

 38,100 lbs. of coffee, of which 20,180 lbs. were cleaned and ready 

 for shipment at the end of the year ; that the cultivation of cocoa 

 had not been a success, owing to the unsuitability of the soil ; 

 that the planting of Hevea braslliensis, Ficus elastica, and 

 Funtumia elastlca was commenced, but the latter proved a 

 failure, probably owing to the unsuitability of climate, — the other 

 two species were doing well : that cotton was a complete failure ; 

 that castor oil, Virginia tobacco, and several kinds of English 

 vegetables and flowers had been grown successfully, and that 

 coffee plants (1,400), cocoa (400), and fruit trees (40) were dis- 

 tributed from the nurseries. 



Following on the formation of the plantations at Onitsha came 

 in 1899, the establishment of the Model Farm at lbadan, under 

 the superintendence of Mr. Cyril Punch. Its main object was 

 primarily the propagation of rubber trees, but it was hoped that 

 it would be possible to introduce the plough, drawn by oxen, to 

 raise better breeds of animals, and generally to improve the 



* Col. Rep., Ann.. No. 459, 1904, S. Nigeria. Sec also Rep. on Govt. Plantations 

 at Onitsha, in S. Nigeria Gove. Gaz., No. 22. J uly 21st. 1905, pp. 388-393. 

 t Col. Rep.. Ann., No. 512, 1906, p. 25. 



