The seeds are sown upon ridges with flattened tops, and the crop occupies the ground for about four months—July to October—corresponding to the period of heavy rainfall in the country. When the branches commence to wither, the whole plant is carefully pulled up, so that the pods, which are then mature, remain attached. The plants are then stacked in the fields, and are often covered over with the leaves of the fan-palm. The green parts dry into a hay, which, when the pods have been beaten out, is used as horse-fodder. The advent of rain after stacking often does great damage to the crop, but the occurrence is so rare that it has been found difficult to induce the native to take common precautions against it. During the last two years, however, the Government have taken steps to enforce a regulation with regard to this, and in consequence drains are now generally cut around the stacks, and coverings of palm-leaves are left on until the nuts are ready to be beaten out. In the Jolah country raised platforms are constructed for stacking this crop as well as others. After the nuts have been beaten out from the dried plants, they are winnowed by allowing them to fall from a slight elevation in a gentle breeze. A good crop of nuts in the Gambia is estimated at about 44 bushels per acre, equivalent to over half a ton, but larger yields are frequently obtained. The Government standard bushel is used throughout the country, and may contain from 25 to 31 lbs. of undecorticated nuts. Experiments have been made from time to time, to establish a three-kernel nut instead of the two-kernel one, but the results obtained have not shown that any advantage could be gained in this way. Other varieties of nuts have been introduced and cultivated, but no extensive planting of new kinds has yet been found worth adoption. The plant seldom suffers from severe attacks of disease, although a white fungus was prevalent in some localities in 1906. This affection was termed “tio jarankaro” by the Mandingoes. In the succeeding year it completely disappeared, and has not been reported to have occurred since. The extermination of this disease was doubtless in a large measure due to the careful way in which the selection and distribution of seed had been carried out. For several years the Government has been accustomed to purchase a certain quantity of the best nuts each season, and to distribute these at sowing time to the cultivators, on credit. Without this precaution, in a season when the prices for nuts were high, the thriftless native would be induced to sell every nut, reserving nothing for sowing the next year. The system adopted is greatly appreciated by the cultivators and merchants alike, and has without doubt contributed largely to the prosperity of the country. Seed is not only interchanged, in this manner, with advantage between different districts, but fresh seed is sometimes also provided from Senegal.