r the Mahommedan races inhabiting the country. The province of Zaria
alone is estimated to produce annually 30,000 to 40,000 bales, all of
which is used locally. Northern Nigeria contributes to the cotton
exported from Lagos. The country offers a fairly promising field for
development, especially now that arrangements have been made for
providing the necessary means of transport by the construction of the
new railways. The profits obtained from ground-nuts (_Arachis hypogea_)
in Gambia, gold mining in the Gold Coast, and from products of the oil
palm (_Elaeis guineensis_) in the palm-oil belt serve to prevent much
attention being given to cotton in these districts.

_Exports of Cotton from Lagos._

1865 868 bales of 500 lb.
1869 1785 " "
1900 48 " "
1901 15 " "
1902 25 " "
1903 582 " "
1904 1725 " "
1905 2578 " "

_Exports of Cotton from British West Africa_, 1904, 1905 and 1906.

+----------------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
| | 1904. | 1905. | 1906. |
+----------------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
| | Bales | Bales | Bales |
| | (500 lb). | (500 lb). | (500 lb). |
| Gambia | 120 | 5 | 0 |
| Sierra Leone | 56 | 139 | 176 |
| Gold Coast | 115 | 50 | 186 |
| Southern Nigeria and Lagos | 2296 | 2771 | 5392 |
| Northern Nigeria | 574 | 250* | 712 |
| +-----------+-----------+-----------+
| Total | 3161 | 3215 | 6466 |
+----------------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
*Approximately.

_Nyasaland (British Central Africa).--_The cultivation of cotton on a
commercial scale is quite new in Nyasaland, and although general
conditions of soil and climate appear favourable the question of
transport is serious and labour is not abundant. The exports were
equivalent to 2 bales of 500 lb. in 1902-1903, 114 bales in 1903-1904,
570 bales in 1904-1905, 1553 bales in 1905-1906 and 1052 bales in
1906-1907. In the lower river lands Egyptian cotton has been the most
suc