Practical West African cookery

The black soil found near rivers is very good but sometimes too heavy unless mixed with about an equal quantity of ordinary soil. The ground must be well dug up ; the hoes of the natives are of not much use for deep digging and they take a little time to learn the use of a spade. The shade required by the transplanted seedlings should also be prepared. Forked sticks fixed round the beds at intervals and supporting other sticks will serve to hold up mats or palm leaves which will shelter the plants during the hottest hours of the day. Seeds must be sown lightly in the (boxes and almost on the surface, covering them with only a little fine earth. The earth must be kept just damp. Transplant with great care, using a spoon if you have no trowel. Transplant only in the evening, after a cool grey day if possible, water immediately and give shade during the whole of the first two or three days. In watering the beds take care that the earth does not cake on the surface, thus preventing the water penetrating to the roots of the plants. If a plant develops too slowly and poorly, push the earth a little away from its base, spread some manure very lightly around it and re-cover. It must be remembered that quick development is essential to the success of any Nigerian plant, otherwise it will surely fall a victim to its countless insect enemies. The following list of vegetables comprises only those that are easy to grow and give the most certain results. The directions given for their cultivation have been obtained from the Fathers of the Mission Africaine de Lyon. The most suitable varieties are given in brackets. They can all be obtained from Vilmorin Andrieux, Quai de la Megisserie, Paris, but Messrs. Sutton & Sons, Reading, could probably procure any of them or give similar varieties. TOMATOES (Mikado and Peach Bloom. Golden Nuggets grow easily but are of a small variety, very good eaten raw. Peach Bloom and Golden Nuggets are only obtainable from Sutton’s). — Sow end of March in boxes, keep moist and in the shade. Transplant to beds early and often ; the oftener the young plants are transplanted the more vigorous they will become. They should be put deep in the ground, covering the lowest leaves. When finally bedded out, the plants should be three feet apart and firmly tied to a stick four feet high. To prevent the plant spreading outward, all side shoots should be pinched off with the fingers, never cut with a knife, so as to have only the one strong central stem. When the plant has fruited to a height of three or four branches, pinch off also the top of this central stem. By doing this the fruit will be much larger and the plant will continue to bear longer. Tomatoes can also be allowed to run like cucumbers over a mat or trellis of branches raised a foot off the ground, but this method is not so good.