=BENNISEED.=—The oil seed which is exported under this name is the product of _Sesamum indicum_, Linn., and is identical with that known in India as “til” or “gingelly” seed. Although the specific name seems to imply that the plant is a native of India, there is evidence to show that it may have been introduced into that country from Africa, where several species of the genus occur in a wild state. The seed is pale or dark brown in colour, and contains a large proportion of oil, for the extraction of which it is exported. In the East, the dark seeds are said to produce the better quality of oil, but this does not appear to be recognised in Northern Nigeria, and the crop grown there is composed of a mixture of the two kinds. The oil extracted from benniseed is clear yellow and without smell, and is said to be capable of being preserved for a long time without becoming rancid. For this reason it is highly appreciated locally for alimentary purposes, and is said to be used in Europe for making butter substitutes and for mixing with olive oil. The seed cake furnishes a valuable cattle food and good manure. Although liable to fluctuation in price on the European market, dependent upon the extent of the supply of olive and groundnut oils, the seed is always in demand, and for this reason it is worthy of special attention for cultivation in the fertile and populated tracts of Northern Nigeria. A fair amount of benniseed is grown in the country, but the use of it is so appreciated locally that only a small quantity is yet shipped, most of this being apparently sent from Bauchi and Kabba, although Kano and Zaria probably produce much more. The value shipped from Nigeria rose from £5,225 in 1915 to £16,523 in 1916. Benniseed is grown chiefly in separate fields, and is seldom seen in those which have been employed for a long period under Guinea corn or millet. It is a sole crop, and grown but once a year in this country. In India, it may be remarked, the plant is cultivated in both the spring (Rabi) and autumn (Kharif) rotations, and it should be possible to do this in the agricultural parts of Northern Nigeria where irrigation is employed. =KANO LEATHER.=—A very large trade exists in the tanned and dyed goat and sheep skins prepared throughout the country, and generally known under the name of Kano leather, or, in Europe, “Morocco Leather.” It is said that from early times caravans have annually conveyed numbers of these skins from the Kano markets across the Sahara to the towns in North Africa, whence they were exported to Trieste and other ports of the Mediterranean. During recent years the caravan trade has almost entirely disappeared, but some quantity of skins now come to Liverpool by way of the coast ports. The value of skins in Kano itself averages about 5½_d_., but the cost of transport at present has made it almost impracticable to export remuneratively, and a very small trade exists in consequence.