Why nurseries in Senegal leave pricey plants unguarded

the baking asphalt and dusty curbs of Dakar, the capital of Senegal, are dozens of small oases. In garden nurseries shapely shrubs, bright bougainvilleas and potted palms leaven the heat. Along some roads scores of nurseries cluster together, giving motorists the momentary sensation of zooming through a botanic garden. At night these green-fingered traders simply go home, leaving their leafy assets rustling in the breeze, vulnerable to any passing thief. How odd. The value of this unattended flora quickly adds up. Pierre, a nursery owner, says that each of his plants is worth 10,000 francs ($16) on average. He has about 300. With perhaps 30 other plant purveyors on the same stretch of road, some $150,000 of shrubbery is left by the green-fingered to the mercy of the light-fingered. That is a fortune in a country where the average income is only about $4.50 a day.