Edible Products, 



lopnient in the future. The following 

 figures show that there are already signs 

 of a developing industry in this grain 

 in West Africa :— 



Imports into the Untied Kingdom of 

 Maize from British West Africa. 



Nigerian 

 Gold Coast. Lagos. Protec- 

 torates. 



254 TMarch, 1909. 



of statistics. In 1907 the exports of 

 maize from Southern Nigeria were 9,891 

 tons, valued at £28,521 ; of this 6,990 tons 

 valued at £19,620 went to the United 

 Kingdom. 



Value of Maize exported from Southern 

 Nigeria, including Lagos :— 





Tons. 



Tons. 



Tons. 



1902 . 



0-5 



2 





1903 . 





40 





1904 



! 95 



3,035 





1905 . 



8 



5,195 



335 



1906 . 





7,100 



400 



Year. 

 1900 

 1901 

 1902 

 1903 



320 

 161 

 2,215 



Year. 

 1904 

 1905 

 1906 

 1907 



£. 

 16,114 



32,503 

 37,386 

 28,521 



The total exports of maize from 

 Southern Nigeria in 1906 were 13,074 

 tons, valued at £37,386 ; of this 7,792 tons 

 valued at £21,948 went to the United 

 Kingdom- In the course of 1906 Lagos 

 was amalgamated with and included in 



'Southern Nigeria," which explains the 

 apparent discrepancy in the above sets 



Exports of Maize from South Africa. 



During the five years 1902-6, the im- 

 ports into the United Kingdom from 

 Australia, New Zealand, the Cape of 

 Good Hope and Natal were intermittent 

 and not very considerable — the largest 

 annual import recorded being 1,475 tons 

 from Australia in 1903 ; but now South 

 Africa has entered the field as an 

 exporter of maize to the United King- 

 dom, as the following table giving the 

 exports for 1906 and 1907 shows : — 



Destination. 



Via Cape Colony. 



Via Natal, 



Quantity. 



Value. 



Quantity. 



Value. 



United Kingdom ... 



New South Wales ... 



Victoria 



Belgium 



Germany 



Holland 



Canary Islands 



Other places, ex- ) 

 eluding British S. J- 

 African Colonies ( 



1900. 

 Tons. 



— 

 45 



1007. 

 Tons. 

 2,446 



513 



O'l 



133 



1906. 

 £ 



349 



1907. 



£ 

 8,731 



3,434 

 879 



1906. 

 Tons. 

 0-5 



o-i 



423 



1907. 

 Tons. 

 17,164 

 491 



13,489 

 5,924 

 259 

 826 



120 



1906. 

 £ 



2. 

 1 



2,501 



1907. 



£ 

 77,676 

 2,612 



58,958 

 26,263 

 940 

 3,955 



•765 



Total 



45 



3,092 



349 



13,044 



424 



38,273 



2,504 



171,169 



The exports via Beira and Delagoa 

 Bay are not included in the above, but 

 they only amounted to 6 tons in 1906, 

 and 26 tons in 1907. 



The prices in 1907 for mixed American 

 maize, ex ship, ranged from 20s. to 29s. 

 per 480 lb-, and for La Plata maize, c.i.f., 

 from 20s. 3d- to 28s. per 480 lb. 



Maize (Zea Mays, Linn.) is the largest 

 of the cereal plants, growing to a height 

 of some 10 or 12 feet, but sometimes 

 reaching 20 feet or more. The male 

 flowers form a tassel at the top of the 

 stalk, whilst one or more spikes of 

 female flowers are formed lower down, 

 and when fertilized and ripened form the 



ears or cobs ; these are compact cylinders 

 some 6 to 9 inches long, composed of 

 eight or more longitudinal rows of 

 grains, yellow or white in colour, adher- 

 ing to a fibrous core ; the cylinders being 

 covered with leaves forming a sheath or 

 husk. Different varieties, however, 

 vary greatly in their colour and dimen- 

 sions. 



Composition. — The grain of maize is 

 covered with a smooth hard skin, inside 

 which is the germ in juxtaposition to 

 the main portion or endosperm, which 

 is partly opaque white and partly trans- 

 lucent ; the translucent portion being 

 yellow in the yellow variety. The 



