8C6 THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [June 1, 1904. 
.sown, and progress bas not been so quick as was 
hoped. There was also a deficient rainfall in 1903. 
The needs of the futnr'i are the extension of the rail- 
way beyond Ibadan towards lloiin, and if the colony 
cannot afford to carry out this work, it is distinctly a 
case where Imperial assistance, either by funds or 
gnarautee. should be given. 
Cotton has been grown here for export in the past, 
but, owing to the fall in the price of American cotton, 
the trade ceased to be profitable, llr. Hoffman, one 
of the experts to whom I have alluded, reports most 
favourably of the care given to the cultivation of the 
plant in the Ekiti conotry in Yorubaland, but he 
insists on the want of means of transport in the 
interior, and on the consideration that the price paid 
to the native for cotton must not fiuctnate, " as 
the people are not in a condition to meet such 
changes." 
Adjacent to Lagos ie Southern Nigeria. An expert, 
Mi. Princs, was sent out there, and he cleared and 
cultivated a plantation of 50 acres close to Onitsha on 
the Niger river. A large sample of this cotton has 
been sent home, and is said to be exactly what is 
wanted in Lancashire. It is in contemplation to make 
a large plantation on the Sobo plains in Southern 
Nigeria. The Government has offered to defray the 
cost of making a scientific analysis of the soil, and 
bas also placed at the disposal of <he British Cotton- 
Growing Association the services of Mr. Hitshens, who 
has had a large experience of the agricultntal possi- 
bilities of the colony. 
I may perhaps explain at this point, that it is not 
the intention of the Association to develop cotton- 
growing by a system of large plantations. It is obvi- 
ous that it is impossible to supply the huge quantities 
of cotton that are required by any such method, As 
soon as slavery was abolished in the United States 
cotton ceased to be grown in large plantations even 
there, and in Africa a system of native farmers on 
small plots is desirable if such a system is feasible. 
This suggested large plantation in Southern Nigeria 
must be regarded rather as an object-lesson and a 
technical school than the beginning of an attempt to 
supply by this method the deficiency from which we 
suffer. 
NORTHERN NiaERIA. 
I now come to the last, but by no means the least, 
of the British possessions in which there is great 
expectation of an increased yield of cotton. I allude 
to Northern Nigeria, of which Lady Lugatd gave us 
such a graphic account three weeks ago. It is not too 
much to say that our greatest asset there is the Gover- 
nor, Sir Frederick Lugard, who has shown such a 
splendid combination of energy and pluck, of patience 
and endurance, of firmness and fairmiudedness in 
that country, qualities which have quickly achieved a 
remarkable success. 
Northern Nigeria has a territory of 320,000 square 
miles, and a population of perhaps 10,000,000. That 
population is much less than it was, and much less 
than the country will support, and is composed princi- 
pally of Haussas, the most intelligent and among the 
most civilised of the inhabitants of West Africa. By 
nature, peaceful and industrious, by inclination, keen 
and businesslike, it is impossible to over-estimate the 
commercial possibilities of this interesting race. As 
regards cotton it is indigenous in the country, and has 
been cultivated and manufactured there lor a thou- 
sand years or more. It is a long way, however, from 
any part of Northern Nigeria to the coast, and the 
first imperative necessity is the building of a railway 
into the interior and the making of roads. A light 
railway can be built from a suitable place on the 
Niger to Kano for from half-a-million to a million 
pounds, and seeing that the British taxpayer is 
already paying a subvention of £400,000 per annum, 
it is aately worth nbile to adrauce a little more to 
develop the country, and it will, probably, quickly 
pay for itself. If no railway is built, it is impossi- 
ble to carry cotton down to the Niger at a rate which 
would leave any reward to tbe cultivator at all, and it 
will be useless to expect any large increase of trade 
with the interior. If a broad gauge railway is 
attempted it will take many years to build and cost 
millions of money. A light railway can be quickly 
constructed, and would soon test, in a practical way, 
the commercial possibilities of the country. 
I may now sum up the general considerations which 
arise from the work already done by the British 
Cotton-Growing Association. In the first place, it in 
proved that there is a vast territory in many different 
portions of our possessions where cotton can be suc- 
cessfully grown. Secondly, whilst it is too soon to be 
certain in which of these possessions suitable cotton 
can be grown at a price to compete with the 
American and Egyptian supplies on which we now 
depend, there is every reason to suppose that when 
the Suakim-Berber and the Shire-Nyassa railways are 
completed, cotton can be grown cheaply enough in the 
Soudan and British Central Africa to make it a com- 
mercial success^ and there are strong hopes that this 
may be done in other parts of the Empire. Thirdly, 
tbe chief difUcnlties in the way are 
LABOUR, TRANSPORT, AND PLDCTUATI0N3 OF PRICE. 
As to labour, it is a very doubtful policy to draft 
native labour from British Central Africa (where 
12,000 acres are said to be already under cotton, and 
where labour is always shurt in the vfet season) to the 
mines of South Africa. But there, as elsewhere, 
labour difficulties can only be met by patience and by 
just and reasonable treatment of all who can be in- 
duced to work. As to transport, our Governments must 
be more ready than they have been in the past, to make 
railways and roads where necessary. As to fluctu- 
ations of price, the British Cotton-Growing Association 
must minimise the effect t'> the native as much as 
possible. Fourthly, it is obvious that the increased 
growth of cotton in Africa will be best achieved in the 
long run, not by native labour in large plantations, 
but by native farmers. No system of large planta- 
tions can possibly meet the case nearly so well as a 
system of small farms cultivated by native owners. 
The problem is vast and, if the native can be induced 
to undertake cotton culture on his own account, his 
interest will be stimulated much more than it can be 
by an offer of wages. I am aware this is a disputable 
point, and I ought not to treat it dogmatically. 
Africa is large and one type of native varies from 
another much more than one European from another. 
Fortunately the native African is for the most part a 
born trader and, in many cases, willing to work if he 
is sure of a satisfactory market for his produce. 
In spite, therefore, of the partial failures of the 
past, the new movement may be said to have 
every reasonable prospect of success. The moat 
hopeful fields of the future are now possessions 
or protectorates of the Empire, which could not 
have been exploited before, because of lack of 
transport facilities. We have got beyond the old 
ideas of laissez-faire run mad, which argued that 
it was never the business of a Government to 
make a railway which private individuals would not 
undertake. All this is to the good, and a sound 
combination of private enterprise and Government 
assistance should carry us far on the road to achieve 
the ends we have in view. 
That there are great difficulties to aurmoant, no 
one will deny ; that progress may be slower than 
some ardent souls desire is probable ; but we must 
never forget the urgency of our needs, and we must 
not lose sight of the consideration that the Soudan 
and British Central Africa, and Nigeria, have each 
sufficient tertitory tc grow, and a soil and climate 
suitable for growing millions of bales of cotton 
every year. 
