NIGER 465 NIGHTINGALE important, and pottery and glass are manufactured. Capital, Nevers. NIGER, JOLIBA, ISSA, MAYO- QUABBA, or KWARA, a river of cen- tral Africa, rising near the W. coast; its length is estimated at about 2,900 miles; area of basin and that of its tributaries is 1,023,280 square miles. It rises in the region inland from Liberia and Sierra Leone. The Niger flows N. E. as far as Timbuktu. After passing Tim- buktu, it flows E. for 200 miles; then turns S. E. through a rock country. Finally, bending more to the S., it is joined by a tributary of first-class size, the Benue, or Mother of Waters, a rival in volume which has come from a source 860 miles to the E. The united stream now passes through a series of bold picturesque hills by a narrow gorge, and eventually breaks up into one of the most remarkable mangrove-covered deltas of the world. In its course it passes through much fertile valley land, while numerous towns and villages stand on its banks, and a considerable canoe commerce is prosecuted. The exploration of the Niger has been principally accomplished by English travelers, and Great Britain holds the protectorate of its border-lands as far as Timbuktu. Above this city the control is in the hands of the French, who have steamers on the upper stream, and forts on its banks. Slaves were formerly nearly the only article of export from the Niger, but palm oil is now the prin- cipal staple, the delta outlets being known as Oil rivers. NIGERIA, colony and protectorate of, a British possession in west Africa, con- structed Jan. 1, 1914, and comprising districts formerly known as Lagos, Northern Nigeria, which includes the territories formerly in the occupation of the Royal Niger Company, and Southern Nigeria, formed from a part of the Niger Coast Protectorate and a part of the ter- ritories of the Royal Niger Company. Its boundaries are formed by the French Sudan, Lake Chad, Kamerun, the Gulf of Guinea, and Dahomey. There are three chief divisions: the colony itself, the Northern Province, and the Southern Province. The total area is about 336,- 000 square miles. Pop. about 16,500,000. The seat of the central government is at Lagos, the principal port. Other tovms of importance are Warri, Burutu, For- cados, Sapele, Brass, Degema, Port Har- court, Bonny, Opobo, Karo, and Calabar. The Governor-General in 1919 was Sir Hugh Charles Clifford. In 1917 slavery was legally abolished. The most impor- tant products are palm oil, palm kernels, hides and skins. Imports (1918) $36,- 121,000; exports (1918) $46,285,000. More than 11 per cent, of the exports go to the United States, almost 84 per cent, to the United Kingdom. There are about 1,000 miles of railways. The rev- enue in 1918 was £4,014,019; expenditure £3,459,774. The debt in 1917 was £8,470,593. NIGHT HAWK, a species of goat- sucker (Chordeiles virginianus) , a bird universally known in the United States, 9V2 inches in length and 23 in extent of wing. It is a bird of strong and vigor- ous flight, and its prey consists of beetles and other large insects. The other Amer- ican species are the "chuck-will's widow" (C caroUnensis) and the "whip-poor- will" (C. vociferxis) , both of which, like the night hawk, arrive in May, and leave the States in September. NIGHTINGALE, a European migra- tory species of birds, family of warblers or Sylvicolidx. The males of the night- ingale reach the S. counties of England sometimes in April, but more commonly not till the beginning of May; the females do not arrive till a week or 10 days after the males. Migrating from the S., they visit the N. countries for the purpose of breeding, and the famed song of the male is his love chant, and ceases when his mate has hatched her brood. If by accident his mate be killed, the male resumes his song; and will con- tinue to chant very late in summer un- less he can attract, as he commonly soon does, another female. The nightingale feeds chiefly on the larvae of insects. The nest is built near the ground; the eggs are four or five in number, of a uni- form dark-brown color; the young are fledged in the month of June, and are ready to accompany the parents in their migration S. in the month of August. NIGHTINGALE, FLORENCE, an English philanthropist; born in Florence, Italy, May 15, 1820. At an early age she manifested a keen interest in suffer- ing humanity, and from philanthropic motives she visited the chief military hos- pitals in Europe, and studied the chief nursing systems. From then on she de- voted her life to the uplift of the pro- fession of nursing and to the improve- ment and advancement of nursing and sanitation, both in hospitals and in the home. During the Crimean War (1854) the hospital accommodation was found to be very defective, and Miss Nightingale promptly volunte* :ed to organize a select band of nurses at Scutari. The offer was accepted by the Biltish War Office, and within a week Mi.- Nightingale was on
