The variety of large onion grown in Kano is pink upon the outside, and for this reason, according to inquiries conducted by the Imperial Institute, is said to be quite unsuitable for the English market; the white Egyptian onion being preferred. =Cultivation.=—The cultivation of onions is, perhaps, more carefully carried out than that of any other crop, and may be described from that seen at Lemu in Nupe. The seed is sown closely in beds of soil which have previously been enriched with manure, and the surface is covered with straw until the young plants are a few inches in height. Transplanting into new beds, which are strewn with cow and goat manure, is the next operation, the plants being put in at about 4-6 inches apart. The whole cultivation is done during the dry season, and the beds are irrigated by means of channels supplied with water raised from streams or wells, in the north by shadufs, or in the Nupe country by people conveying the water in calabashes. The market price varies greatly in different districts, and is immediately influenced by any reduced supply. There is said to be a very good demand for the large onions in the Southern Nigerian markets, and there should be no difficulty in getting them to Lagos, as they have been brought from Kano to London in good condition. =Minor Crops.=—Okra (_Hibiscus esculentus_), “Kubiewa,” a species of Solanum resembling a small tomato called “Yalo,” the sorrel Hibiscus (_H. Sabdariffa_) called “Yakwa,” a pumpkin called “Kubiwa,” and the aubergine (_Solanum melongena_), are grown upon a small scale, and chiefly in the vicinity of houses. =OTHER FIELD CROPS.= =Dye Plants.=—Indigo is the chief dye used in the country, and is prepared in the northern provinces from a species of Indigofera, which has not been accurately determined. In Ilorin and Kabba the plant used is _Lonchocarpus cyanescens_, and the wild trees of this species may be seen preserved in the cultivated fields. Camwood, a name applied to the red wood obtained from several species of _Pterocarpus_ and from _Baphia nitida_, in different parts of West Africa, is obtained chiefly from _P. erinaceus_ in Northern Nigeria, and is used by the natives for staining the skin. It is preserved in the fields cleared for grain cultivation. Henna is obtained from _Lawsonia inermis_, which is regularly planted as a sole crop in the northern provinces and Kontagora. The use of it is generally to replace camwood as a red dye where that tree is scarce. =Tobacco.=—The cultivation of tobacco (_Nicotiana tabacum_) is carried on in almost every part of the country, but for native use is generally made into snuff or into ropes, plaits, and targets, for sale in those places where it is smoked. (Cf. _Bull. Imp. Inst._, vol. xv. [1917], p. 32.)