PIONEER WORK IN NIGERIA : THE SOKOTO GARDENS. 341 
plot of ground with bananas, before the germination of the pahn 
seeds, two years later. It was the growth and shade of the bananas 
which alone made it possible for the palms to spring up and thrive. 
Since then palms have been freely planted amongst the bananas 
along the stream edge. As bananas should be removed in their 
fifth year, the palms will clothe the vacant places thus created. 
It was during this leave that Dr. Moiser became a Fellow of 
the Royal Horticultural Society, a fresh incentive to renewed effort, 
and through the kindness of its Secretary, the Rev. W. Wilks, was 
put in touch with tropical and other botanical gardens in Ceylon, 
Singapore, and elsewhere, from which he was able to obtain several 
specimens of flowers and fruits hitherto unknown in Nigeria. Among 
these many failed, but a special type of guava has thrived wonder- 
fully, also Torenia Fournieri, and scarlet Salvia, which had not 
succeeded from English seed. This further development of the 
garden necessitated improvising seed-pans and flower-pots. For 
seed-pans kerosene tins cut in two were made to serve, and entirely 
baflled the aggressive white ant. Flower-pots were made by the 
native potters from an English model. Native tools also had to be 
augmented by introductions from England, the digging-fork proving 
much more useful than the spade, and the long-handled hoe than the 
short native type. Success in cultivation could only be achieved 
at every step by repeated experiments and frequent disappointments. 
Plants obtained only with difliculty and at great cost very often 
died off, seed did not come up or failed to thrive, and had to be given 
other conditions of growth, until the favourable one was discovered. 
One such case, however, proved specially encouraging. A root of 
AUernanthera had been brought from Zaria ; it apparently withered 
away, one tiny sprig only surviving, and from that, in eighteen months^ 
the whole garden has been able to be supplied with handsome luxuriant 
edging, kept clipped like box edging. 
The lay out of the remainder of the valley head was now under 
consideration. The marked result in interest and health of supplying 
the Badminton court, suggested and justified the making and levelling 
of a Croquet-lawn (see fig. 198), flanked by a long 20-feet wide Terrace. 
The Terrace was continued as "The Rye" across and beyond the 
Grass Ride; a long winding curved walk, called the "Inner Circle," 
flanked by stones and AUernanthera edging, bordered this lawn, 
crossing the stream and leading across the opposite slope, still of 
long grass, to the "B-K Road." The lay out of these walks was 
tedious work, each stone being placed under the personal direction 
of Dr. Moiser, to ensure a uniform curve being maintained and the 
stone's best facet in each case being utilised. Masses of flowering 
bushes with broad borders of perennial flowers, amongst them being 
Marvel of Peru, which blossoms very freely in all its varieties, were 
planted in the space between the Croquet-lawn and the Grass 
Ride. Here the bananas will be transplanted when their five 
years' occupation of the stream edge is completed. Lastly, a broad, 
