Chapter X
THE FORESTS AND TIMBER PRODUCTION OF THE BRITISH SPHERE OF THE CAMEROONS
Running parallel with the Nigerian boundary, a strip averaging 75 to 90 miles in width, and running back from the coast about 300 miles, we have the British sphere of the Cameroons, in all, an area of about 31,000 square miles. From the forest-zone point of view this land area can be divided into really three different zones. First of all, nearest the coast, there is Victoria, the Cameroon Mountains, followed by the bank of the Mungo. Past the crest of Kuppe and the Manengube Mountains and onwards along the Mbo, Foto and Bambuto Ranges round to the headquarters of the Cross River and to the Nigerian boundary, we have about 7,000 square miles of an almost unbroken evergreen forest zone.
The second area comprises a beautiful open grassland with only scattered trees, covering largely the Chang, Bamenda, Kontsha and more northern districts of the British sphere, in all about 17,000 square miles.
The third section comprises the heavy evergreen and deciduous forests on the banks of the more northern rivers, such as the Mo, the Cam, and covers approximately an area of 7,000 square miles.
From the forestry point of view, the most accessible, and therefore the most valuable, of these areas are situated in the first-named zone, therefore we will consider this area more in detail.
To begin with, it can be subdivided into three almost distinct forest divisions; following the watersheds or basins of (1) the Mungo River, (2) the Cross River, (3) the Akwayefe, Ndian, Moko, Meme Rivers and the Rio del Rey district. Taking the third area first, we have comparatively large areas of forest covering both level and hilly country up to an elevation of about 3,000 feet, but with the sides of the valleys less timbered than in the Mungo River forest zone. Amongst the species of trees which have been felled and exported from this area are the following: Mahogany Sarcocephalus, Bitter Bark, Saccoglottis Gabunensis, Light Mahogany, Khaya Euryphylla, Ebony, Diospyros Kamerunensis, Red Ironwood or Bongossi, Lophira procera, Long- capsuled Mahogany, Entandrophragma Rederi.
Amongst the more prevalent trees of the lower lying land, including the Tiko plain, are the following: Mahogany, Khaya Klainei, Long-capsuled Unscented Mahogany, Entandrophragma Candollei, Scented Mahogany, Entandrophragma utilis, Cedar, Guarea sp., Red Ironwood, Lophira procera, Canarium Schweinfurthii, Brown Ebony, Diospyros sp., Terminalia scutifera, Afzelia pachyloba, Berlinia sp., two kinds of Camwood, Walnut, Lovoa Klaineana, Pterocarpus tinctorius, as well as the valuable orange-coloured wood of Sarcocephalus sambucinus and Mahogany-like species of Guttiferæ and Uapaca Staudtii.
Some of the “stands” of this timber, and especially on the hill slopes of the Cameroon Mountains, are very thick and dense, more especially near Debundscha, with its annual rainfall of 423 inches.
One of the most interesting and unique stands on the mountainside is that of tree-fern, about 30 feet high, as an undergrowth, and heavy mahogany, Entandrophragma Rederi, and Ongekea Kamerunensis, chiefly at an altitude of 3,500 to 4,000 feet, also quite untouched except in the neighbourhood of Buea.
Only the smallest part of all this area, and in fact only that on the bank of the Meme, had been at all operated upon before the war, and the forests on the banks of the Akwayefe were quite untouched. All the higher slopes and the northern sides of the Cameroon Mountains, and beyond as far as Mount Gonistan, were also quite unused. All through this part the villages are comparatively few and far between, and even in those parts where they are closer together, the population in each is very small, and the forest growth is so thick that they make little impression upon it. Added to that, the chief crop grown by the natives is the cacao-yam, for which only comparatively small areas are necessary, and in many cases this is grown in small spaces in the shade of giant forest trees. Also, all through this area only comparatively small patches, compared to the whole, have been cleared and planted with cacao. Again, the area occupied by the European-owned cacao and rubber plantations is very small, and chiefly found near Victoria and a little both westward and eastward at the base of the Cameroon Mountain (Mount Fako).
Turning now to the Mungo River region, we have in some ways an even more valuable forest area. Here, indeed, one German firm had actually made a felling over an area of nearly one square mile and had sold nearly all the timber in Germany.
Amongst the more prevalent species found are the following: Bush Oak, Chlorophora excelsa, Black Ebony, Diospyros Gilgiana, Pearwood, Mimusops Djave (which is found in immense specimens on the edge of the Kumba road), Inoi Nut, Poga oleosa, with its light-reddish wood with wide medullary rays; African Greenheart, Cylicodiscus Gabunensis, a magnificent tree; Shinglewood, Scented Mahogany, Guarea glomerulata, Brown Teak, Brachystegia cynometroides, Long-capsuled Mahogany, Entandrophragma Candollei, the Oil Bean, Pentaclethra macrophylla, Red Ironwood, not quite so prevalent; Lophira procera, Paddle Wood, Uvaria Busgenii, Gum Copal, Pterogopodium sp., Wild Mango, Irvingia Barteri, Light African Greenheart, Piptadenia Africana, Camwood or Barwood, Pterocarpus santalinoides, Wood Oil Nut, Ricinodendron Africanum, Hard Yellow Wood, Coula edulis, and Ironwood, Bridelia stenocarpa. Although the Bakundu and Balong natives are more active in their farming operations near the banks of the Mungo, there are still very large areas of comparatively untouched forests, and more especially in the upper regions of the river. In four separate places beyond the crossing of the Bakossi Road there are four different rapids or waterfalls on the river, which would provide water-power for saw-mills, or other wood-using industries. On the left bank of the river, beyond the Bakossi crossing, there is an area almost without population in which there are large numbers of Oil Palms, as well as other forest trees. On this road, too, is seen the very picturesque waterfall and narrow gorge of a tributary of the Mungo, which is also suitable for generating power for one kind of mill or another.
Turning now to the Bakossi forests, which culminate in the more or less isolated peak of Mount Kuppe (altitude 6,300 feet), the land is all covered with forest with the exception of some rocky points on the eastern side. A small amount of land has been cleared at an altitude of about 3,000 feet, for the making of tobacco plantations, but the rest, with the exception of the taking of a few trees for local felling, remains intact. The Bakossis have made large farms in the valleys, and are very industrious, but still the forests situated higher up are largely untouched. It is interesting to notice that the walls of the round and conically roofed houses are made with about five circular rows of tree-fern stems, cut to the length of the height of the wall and placed one behind the other. These are most durable and are a most unique example of the utilization of the produce of these forests, although many of the tree-fern “stands” have been cut down and have quite disappeared; a few remain in isolated places.
Some of the more common species found in this forest are the following: Bush Maple, Triplochiton scleroxylon, Ebony, Diospyros, Mahogany, Khaya Euryphylla, Bush Teak, Chlorophora excelsa, Gum Copal (Copaifera Demeusii), Bilinga (Afzelia Zenkeri), Hardwood (Millettia sp.), Scented Mahogany (Entandrophragma Candollei), Light Mahogany (Canarium Schweinfurthii), Hardwood (Dialium Staudtii and Newtonia Zenkeri), Yellow Hardwood (Ongokea Kamerunensis), African Whitewood (Enantia chlorantha), Camwood (Pterocarpus Soyauxii).
There is less forest near the Manenguba Mountains, most of it being situated on the banks of the Mo and Mbu Rivers (tributaries of the Cross River). Continuing along the boundary line between the grass country and the tree-fern forest, we have the Mbo and Foto Ranges, with their dense evergreen forests up to an altitude of 5,000 feet. Amongst the more valuable trees are the Cola (Cola laterita), Camwood (Pterocarpus Soyauxii), Albizzia species, Ibadan, Ficus Vogelii. Below this point, at about 4,000 feet, Iroko, Chlorophora excelsa, Corkwood, Musanga Smithii, and tree-ferns reappear, as well as Acacia Farnesiana. The Wild Date, Phœnix sp., occurs again about this altitude. The Oil Palm occurs again in the valleys. On the lower slopes there are Ricinodendron, Bombax, Sarcocephalus, and Trema.
Continuing farther northwards we have the Bambuto Ranges, with their fringing forests on the banks of the streams, and the bamboo groves at an elevation of about 8,000 feet. Willows and small Abyssinian plants are found, and with the flowering of Delphiniums in the grass we might almost be in Europe. Toward the Cross River side, the mountains are very steep, and isolated peaks, such as that of Monkwa Rock, stand out in solitary grandeur amongst the lower forested mountains of the Cross River. In the Cross River basin we have mainly six large rivers, all joining the Cross River. On the right or northern bank these are the Manyu, Mo, Manya, and Oyi, above Mamfe, and on the left or southern bank the Mbu and Manja, as well as the Awa, joining below Mamfe. All except one of these rise amongst the forests, and it is on the banks of these that the finest forests are situated, although in some parts, such as near Tinto, the natives have been more active in farming and have cleared large areas of them. This is more the case nearer the villages, and nearer the roads, even where the forest has been cut down, there are almost continuous groves of Oil Palms, less than a quarter of its produce having as yet been collected or sold. Amongst the most valuable timber trees of these forests are the Ebony (Diospyros), Bush Teak (Chlorophora excelsa), African Whitewood (Enantia chlorantha), Camwood (Pterocarpus Soyauxia), Bilinga (Afzelia Africana), Hardwood (Millettia sp.), Sapeli Mahogany (Entandrophragma Candollei), Light Mahogany (Canarium Mansfeldii), Hardwood (Newtonia Zenkeri), Wild Mango (Irvingia Barteri), Mukonja (Terminalia superba combretaceæ), White Cedar (Pycnanthus Kombo), Red Oak (Berlinia acuminata), Berlinia species with very large pod, three species of Walnut, Albizzias, Red Ironwood (Lophira procera), African Wood Oil Nut Tree (Ricinodendron Africana), Parinarium sp. (Dialium).
The range of hills Nda Ali is also forest-covered and is situated in the Cross River basin.
More or less adjacent to these areas, and partly between these and the Meme River forest, are those of Gonistan and the Rumpi Mountains. These again are quite untouched, although, lying some distance away from navigable rivers, they may subsequently prove of greater value when eventually opened up with the forest tramway or other means of transport. The species of trees found here are very similar to those found in other parts. On the whole, Red Ironwood (Lophira procera) is most prevalent in Ogu and Mbu, as also both Mahoganies, Camwood (Pterocarpus sp.), African Greenheart (Piptadenia Africana), Corkwood (Musanga Smithii), False Iroko (Chlorophora excelsa), Hog Plum (Spondias lutea), Wild Mango (Irvingia Gabonensis), Hard Mahogany (Detarium Guineense). Numerous small Oil Palms occur in places. On the banks of the Fi, Cedar (Carapa procera), Hard Mahogany, Trichilia, an anacardiaceous tree; the hard whitewood Akboro (Benin), the brown hardwood, Microdesmis, African Greenheart (Piptadenia Africana), Heritiera sp., Scented Mahogany, Guarea Thompsonii, Chrysophyllum Africanum, and a very hard wood known as Alikongeba by the Yorubas are found. Near the Rumpi Mountains the following are more prevalent; the Sarcocephalus sp., Berlinia, Piptadenia Africana, Cylicodiscus Gabonensis, Oroko, Lophira procera, Satinwood, Zanthoxylum macrophyllum, Pattern-wood, Alstonia Congensis, Shingle- wood, Terminalia scutifera, Pear-wood, Mimusops Djave, Corkwood, Musanga Smithii, Scented Mahogany, Guarea sp., White Cedar, Pycnanthus Kombo, Camwood, Pterocarpus sp., brown hardwood, Microdesmis, Wild Mango (Irvingia Gabunensis), Gaboon Mahogany, Canarium Schweinfurthii, Bilinga (Afzelia pachyloba), and Walnut.
Out of the total of 14,000 square miles of forest, 6,000 must be deducted as being inaccessible for many years to come. Again, out of this 8,000 square miles, 4,500 square miles will be made accessible as soon as those areas lying nearest the rivers have been opened up for timber extraction. Therefore only these last areas will be taken into consideration at the present time.
The chief timber forests comprised in this area are those situated between the Mfu and Fi, the Fi and Mbu, and the Manja and Mak Rivers.
On the whole, in the Cross River basin there is an area of fully 2,000 square miles of exploitable forests, within reach of streams or rivers deep enough to float logs in the rainy season. In the Akwayefe, Ndian, Moko, and Meme River valleys there is another 700 square miles. Again, on the banks of the Mungo and its tributaries there is an area of about 800 square miles suitable for the extraction of timber. In all, then, there is an area of 3,500 square miles of forest which could be utilized at the present time. Assuming that only one tree on every four acres is of value for export, and that each tree is worth a nominal amount of £1, therefore the whole forest is worth £575,000. In addition to these there are many other trees which would become valuable either for export or for local use as soon as the forests were opened up and utilized, and this would at least double the value of the forest. This, also, is one of the last remaining large tracts of forest where the population is smaller and the requirements for forest products less than those to be had in the forest. There is thus a surplus for export. Up to the outbreak of war, out of all this area only 47,000 acres, or 73½ square miles, had been, or was being, leased as timber areas. Outside these areas some 285,000 acres, or 445 square miles, had been alienated, chiefly on the lower slopes of the Cameroon Mountains and in the neighbourhood of Mount Kupe. Under the old German law, ten marks per ton was charged on Ebony, Mahogany, Bush Oak, and one or two other species, and five marks on all soft woods, except certain trees which had proved unprofitable to export. Compared with those in force in Nigeria, these fees were very low, and despite the fact that on the average the Cameroon forest would be more difficult to exploit than the average one in Nigeria, there should still be more profit in the former; also, with the considerable number of water-power sites available, timber conversion could be undertaken, and thus the cost of transport cheapened in comparison with the value of the product to be transported. Well- squared logs, large flitches or planks of timber could be cut and transported. Under the German Colonial land law, with the exception of 15 acres per head allowed to each native, all the land could be declared Crown land, so that no difficulty would be involved in leasing land to timber companies; that is to say, it was first declared to be Crown land and then subsequently leased to timber companies. The natives, however, then received no royalties on the trees which were felled. Thus those in the immediate neighbourhood had no incentive to work in the forests as they do in Nigeria. Sufficient emphasis was not laid on the fact that a timber company should possess ample capital.
In afforestation a great deal had been planned, but only a small amount had been executed. In the north, at Fontwans, in the Dschang district, a 40-acre teak plantation had been made. At each of the stations themselves, Dschang, Mbo, Djutisha, various experimental plots of trees had been planted. Nearer the coast, at Kumba, valuable test plantations, aggregating some 400 acres, had been planted with Ebony, Diospyros suaveolens, Umbrella Tree, Musanga Smithii, Casuarina, Casuarina equisitifolia, Cigar-box Cedar, Cedrela, Iroko (Chlorophora excelsa), Djave Nut (Mimusops Djave), Teak (Tectona grandis), Para Rubber (Hevea Braziliensis), Cacao (Theobroma cacao), and Oil Palms (Elæis Guineensis), Red Ironwood (Lophira procera), Mahogany (Khaya euryphylla), and Heavy Mahogany (Entandrophragma sp.).
At Mussake at an elevation of 6,000 feet on the side of the Cameroon Mountains, there was a quinine plantation. At an elevation of 3,000 feet at Buea there were small experimental plantations of tea, Ceylon and ordinary, quinine and Casuarina. Several of the roads had been planted with avenues of cypress and Biota trees. On the coast at Victoria, small Casuarina plantations had been made. For the furtherance of all agricultural and forestal interests, the very extensive Botanical Gardens had been made. Not only is it the largest, but it contains the most extensive collections of plants of economic value and for ornament of any place on the West Coast of Africa. The very numerous test plots of most of the tropical commercially known plants, such as Nutmeg, Rubber, Cocoa, Cola, Cocoanut Palms, Oil Palms, Vegetable Ivory Palms, demonstrated how these grew in the Cameroons.
Then the agricultural areas of Cacao-yams, Casada, Sugar-cane, Rice, one and all were destined to demonstrate the value and possibilities of growing these products in the Cameroons. Then again the forest tree plots of Teak, Casuarina, Mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla), Trinkomalee Wood (Berrya ammomilla), Gum Copal (Copaifera Demeusii), Candle Nut (Aleurites Moluccana), Balsam of Peru (Toluifera Pereiræ), Terminalia sp., Dillenia Indica, show how these trees will thrive in this locality. In growth, an avenue of Indian Almond, Terminalia Catappa, could not be compared with those at Lome.
Again, all showed what forest products and forest trees were most suitable to that climate.
In the garden Museum, there were collections of timbers, fibres, rubber, gums, resins, as well as mineral products; also very full collections of the seeds, nuts and fruits of the trees and plants. Finally, there was the large and well-equipped building of the Experimental and Agronomical Institute, where chemical analyses of the soil and other processes could be undertaken and tested. Here also all the very full meteorological results were tabulated, as well as other observations on the spot. This served also as a centre to which planters or Government officers could send specimens or material to be named or to be examined as to their value. Allied with this, but having a separate building, was the Agricultural School, where pupils were trained in the elements of agriculture and forestry, so that they might subsequently act as instructors at the different Government stations and also serve as assistants on the plantations.
Although economically much more backward than Nigeria, and with a smaller population in a proportionate area than that in the Southern Provinces, the possibilities in the development of the forest products are even greater, especially in regard to that of palm kernels and all the various kinds of timber for which West Africa is gradually becoming well known. The main difference in working would appear to be that owing to the lack of population, much greater use of animal and mechanical means of transport, and especially mechanical appliances, as well as machinery, are necessary to make the labour most productive, as well as to economize without upsetting the present agricultural system and the very necessary production of food-stuffs for the local population, as well as for sending to the larger towns.
THE CONGO FRANÇAISE, OR THE FRENCH GABOON
To English-speaking mahogany producers and users the latter name conveys more, and reminds them of one of the chief products, Gaboon Mahogany, Oukoumea Klaineana, which had but a poor name in the London market. This rich French colony, however, should mean a great deal more to us with its huge extent, upwards of 300,000 square miles, and its comparatively large open waterways all flowing into the giant Congo. Its comparatively thin population per unit of area, and its almost impenetrable forests make it one of the largest of the last remaining primeval forests of Africa. Already before the war it was the largest timber exporting country of the West Coast of Africa. However, its somewhat ill-regulated timber trade had one or two drawbacks and laboured under several disadvantages. Most of the timber was shipped in the round—i.e. round logs. This means, of course, that in stowing these logs in the ship space is lost between them, and that space is charged for by the shipping company, despite the fact that it is often filled with “dunnage” in the shape of Ebony billets or even Camwood. In the round log, too, there is all the sapwood, and for this the merchant does not expect to pay much, if anything, and there is no doubt that it tends to depress the value of the timber, whatever it may be. The mere fact that the log is in the round is sufficient. Quite apart from that factor, too, a round log, even when it is a beautiful bit of redwood, never looks so well nor so workmanlike as a hewn squared log with clean- cut sawn ends. The sapwood, being softer than the heartwood, is more easily damaged than the heartwood in the squared log, so this is an additional reason why the round log often does not look as well as a squared one.
Amongst the most important timbers exported from the French Gaboon which are known and have been found suitable to the English market are the following:
1. Okoume or Angouma. Gaboon Mahogany. Oukoumea Klaineana.
2. Zaminguila or Ombega. Mahogany. Canarium?.
3. Duika. Mahogany. Irvingia Barteri?.
4. Kambala. Oak. Chlorophora excelsa.
5. Mandji or Bilinga. Afzelia Africana, or sometimes said to be Sarcocephalus Pobeguinii.
The first named has always sold at a cheaper rate in the London market than the timber obtained from the other genii of West African Mahogany, such as Khaya, Entandrophragma, Pseudocedrela and Lovoa. First of all, as with other timbers, the Gaboon Mahogany is shipped in round logs, which are cut none too straight at the ends, owing to the rough usage they get in the long transport by water; before and when reaching the port of shipment they are often much damaged externally, which gives them a bad appearance. The wood is not only lighter in weight but also lighter in colour than the other West African Mahoganies, and both these qualities detract from its value. The grain is more open; it rarely if ever shows any figure, in comparison to the highly figured logs from Benin and Bassam. Having been tested very thoroughly as to tensile, torsion and compression strengths since the beginning of the war, it has not proved to be nearly as strong as the other West African Mahogany. These tests having been conducted with scientific accuracy and impartiality, they are to be trusted. Thus, for some purposes, such as aeroplane propellor construction, Gaboon Mahogany has proved unsuitable. However, it is only the very best, very strongest and most durable kinds of mahogany that will stand the most severe strains, such as wood is subject to when used in this work. However, that does not preclude the wood from being used for similar purposes as the other kinds of West African Mahogany, where the strains and stresses are not so great and where the lighter colour is no advantage. In fact, in many positions a greater lightness in the weight of the wood would be a distinct advantage, which should be pressed for all it is worth.
Zaminguila is becoming better known, though previous to the war it could not be said that it had an established place in the market.
Duika Mahogany is scarcely known, and may be the wood of Irvingia Barteri.
Kambala or Oak, which is also known as African Teak, is much better known now, and in fact there is a steady demand for it, chiefly under the Nigerian name Iroko, which has been exported from Benin and Lagos in Nigeria in the form of “squared” logs.
Thus far very few forest regulations have been issued in the Congo Française and very little replanting has been done. However, for the present, the supplies appear to be very large, but they will no doubt get more costly as the timber has to be cut and obtained from the much more distant and inaccessible forests. Apparently there is little or no Khaya Mahogany in those regions, so that there is little fear of real competition between the main species of Mahogany found in the different West African countries. The natives work the timber chiefly, cutting and bringing it to the ports themselves.
THE BELGIAN CONGO
This, the greatest and largest river system in Africa, gives its name also to the largest compact forest area of that country. Of the 800,000 square miles, probably 700,000 are covered with forests of one type or another. From the mangrove swamps on the islands at the mouth of the Congo, through the dense evergreen forests of the Upper Congo to the dry-zone open deciduous or almost treeless areas of Katanga, an almost illimitable amount of unused sylvan wealth is to be found. Despite the obvious advantage of the Congo River, with its 3,000 miles suitable for timber transport and its hundreds of tributaries with many more thousand miles of streams, capable of floating logs, only the smallest quantities of mahogany are exported from the Belgian Congo.
No doubt the large size of the river and the great distance of some of the forests from the sea have hindered a more rapid and intensive exploitation of the forests. In fact, Mahogany (Khaya sp.) as an export timber is not really so well known as Redwood (Pterocarpus sp.), though the former has been shipped in the round. In the past a better known Belgian wood was blockwood or boxwood, known as Polyadoa umbellata or Dialium Guineense. Other forest products, however, such as Gum Copal (Daniellia sp.), are found in huge quantities, in large blocks weighing over a hundredweight, and have been exported for many years.
Large quantities of rubber, too, have been exported, and Oil Palm products, such as kernels and oil, are of increasing export importance, especially since Les Huileries de Congo have started working up the Oil Palm forests with modern means of transport and machinery on three different tracts of 10,000 hectares each.
The railways of the Congo, supplementing as they do the waterways, have also not been used to any extent for the shipment of timber, though vast quantities of firewood have been burnt on them as well as conveyed to the various stations both near and on the River Congo. To some extent the paucity and low density of population per unit of area has tended to hinder the working of heavy produce such as timber, which is difficult to transport compared to rubber, with its higher value per unit of weight. Owing to this fact, too, near the mouth of the Congo there is an almost savannah forest on the banks of the river, which has given the country the appearance of not being an afforested one. In the past the system of huge, exclusive trading concessions over specific areas being granted only to one firm also hindered any free development of the more lower-priced forest produce such as timber.
SPANISH GUINEA
From Eloby, a little-known port situated in the middle of the coast of the Spanish possession south of the Cameroons, a great deal of Gaboon Mahogany (Oukoumea Klaineana), Redwood (Pterocarpus Soyauxia), and several other timbers have been exported. Despite the fact that the forests are not extensive, but almost untouched, and very rich in mahogany, a comparatively small number of firms have been working these areas. Apparently there are no forest laws, and there is little or no security for any forest rights one may acquire from the natives. It would be perhaps advisable to work areas here in conjunction with those in the Southern Cameroons. It is supposed to be more unhealthy in this part than in others, though probably this is due to the local conditions. Khaya is less common than elsewhere, while Redwood (Pterocarpus Soyauxii), Gaboon Mahogany (Oukoumea Klaineana) and Bilinga (Afzelia sp.) are common woods. Again, Canarium Schweinfurthii and other species are also very prevalent.
NOTES ON THE CAMEROON TREES
=Palmæ.=
Raphia vinifera (Raph.). Wine Palm.
It is found in the district of Victoria. The leaves are 60 feet long. Palm wine (called Mimbo) is obtained from this tree, also piassava fibre.
Elæis Guineensis (Jag.). The Oil Palm.
It is found in the Buea and Victoria districts chiefly, but is one of the most widely spread trees of the Cameroons. Oil, kernels and cake are obtained from it, also palm cabbage from the growing shoots at the top. The oil is collected by the primitive efforts of the natives.
Phœnix reclinata. Swamp Palm.
It is largely used in the Dschang and Ossidinge districts for making palm wine, by tapping near the root.
=Commelinaceæ.=
Palisota hirsuta.
Found in the Victoria district.
=Iridaceæ.=
Antholyza Zenkeri.
Found in the district of Dschang.
=Ulmaceæ.=
Trema Africana.
Found in the district of Buea.
=Moraceæ.=
Chlorophora excelsa. Bush Oak. Vai (Bali); Abwang (Bare); Ntong (Fontem and Bangwa); Emang (Bakossi); Obang (Bafo); Bobang (Balong); Mokongo or Momangi (Bakundu); Momangi (Bakwiri); Bang (Duala).
One or two found on an area of 2½ acres in the districts of Johann Albrechts Höhe and Mbo. Height, 97½ to 162 feet. Time of flowering, December to February.
Musanga Smithii (R. Br.). Umbrella Tree. Ikomba (Bare); Ekombo (Bakossi); Ekomba (Bago); Bokombo (Bakundu); Lisengi (Bakwiri); Bosenge (Duala).
The wood is soft and like cork in texture. Found in the district of Dschang and along the coast. Height, 97½ feet.
Myrianthus arboreus. Bokukulende (Bakossi); Wokeku (Bakwiri); Bokeku (Duala).
Found in the Undu districts of Buea and Dschang.
Treculia mollis (Engl.).
Height, 48¾ to 65 feet. Found in the Bipindi district.
Treculia Africana. Boembe (Bakundu); Bwembi (Bakwiri).
Found in the districts of Buea and Dschang.
Myrianthus arboreus. Wokaka (Bakwiri).
Found in the district of Fako, Buea.
Ficus populifolia.
Found in the district of Johann Albrechts Höhe.
Ficus Capensis. Ekol (Bakossi); Ekolo (Bakundu); Monja (Bakwiri).
Found in the districts of Buea and Dschang.
Ficus courania. Wotenge (Bakwiri).
Found in the district of Buea.
Ficus Schimperia. Njondji (Bakwiri).
Found in the districts of Dschang and Buea.
Antiaris toxicaria.
Found in the district of Buea.
=Olacaceæ.=
Ongokea Kamerunensis (Engl.).
It grows to the height of 97½ feet and has a yellowish heartwood. Found in the district of Johann Albrechts Höhe.
Strombosiopsis tetrandra.
Height, 32½ feet to 97½ feet. Found in the district of Johann Albrechts Höhe and Bipindi.
Coula edulis. Bokumia (Bakundu); Bonwula or Woula (Duala); Wokomea (Bakwiri).
Height, 48¾ to 97½ feet. Found in the district of Johann Albrechts Höhe. Time of flowering, October. This is a good building wood.
Strombosia grandifolia (Hook.). Ifondo or Wofondo (Bakwiri).
Grows in the Dschang district chiefly, but spreads over the Cameroons.
Strombosia glaucescens (Engl.).
Height, 32½ to 65 feet. Found in the Bipindi district.
=Anonaceæ.=
Enantia chlorantha (Oliv.). The Yellow-wood Tree. Bopalo or Bololo (Bakundu); Woyoyo (Bakwiri); Nje or Banuke (Duala).
Height, 48¾ to 65 feet. The wood is a beautiful yellow and is used in furniture-making and carpentering, and the bark for building native houses. Found in the district of Johann Albrechts Höhe.
Uvaria Busgenii. Bopanda (Bafo); Bopande (Bakundu); Wofe (Bakwiri); Bope (Duala).
Found in the district of Johann Albrechts Höhe.
Uvaria microtricha (Diels).
Height, 65 to 97½ feet.
Monodora myristica (Dun.).
Found in the district of Fako, Buea.
Hexabolus megalophyllus (Engl. and Diels).
Height, 65 to 97½ feet. Found in the Bipindi district.
Hexabolus salicifolius (Engl.).
About 65 feet high. Found in the Bipindi district.
Hexabolus grandiflorus (Benth.).
65 to 81¼ feet high, widely spread over the Cameroon country.
Xylopia parviflora (Guill. and Perr.), (Engl. and Diels).
65 to 81¼ feet in height. Found in Bipindi and Johann Albrechts Höhe districts.
Isolona pleurocarpa (Diels).
Height, 48¾ to 81¼ feet. Found in Bipindi district.
=Myristicaceæ.=
Pycnanthus Kombo (Warb.). Nutmeg. Ngitsa (Fontem or Bangwa); Pitchong (Ossidinge); Ngosame (Bakossi); Bosambe (Bakundu); Esamba (Bakwiri); Bokondo (Duala).
Found in the district of Johann Albrechts Höhe. It is a tall tree. Used for building purposes.
Staudtii stipitata (Warb.).
Height, 97½ to 123½ feet. Found in the district of Johann Albrechts Höhe. The wood is hard.
Staudtii Kamerunensis (Warb.).
Height, 97½ to 113¾ feet. Found in West Africa. This tree has a hard reddish wood.
=Lauraceæ.=
Tylostemon crassifolius (Engl.).
Found in the Johann Albrechts Höhe district. This tree has a very hard yellowish-brown wood.
=Rosaceæ.=
Parinarium chrysophyllum (Oliv.).
Height, 48¾ to 81¼ feet. Found in the Bipindi and Johann Albrechts Höhe districts.
Parinarium (small). Ndikombo (Fontem or Bangwa).
Found in the Ossidinge district.
=Leguminosæ.=
Piptadenia Africana (Hook.). Redwood. Erundu or Wunga (Bakundu); Edundu (Balong); Jondo (Bakwiri); Bolondo (Duala).
Found in the district of Johann Albrechts Höhe. It flowers in October and changes leaf December to January. Height, 97½ to 195 feet.
Piptadenia Winkleri (Harms.).
9¾ to 39 feet in height. Found in the Duala district.
Millettia sp. Bongongi (Bakundu); Bongongi (Duala); Bongongi (Sanaga River).
Found in the Johann Albrechts Höhe district.
Hylodendron Gabunense (Taub.). Bokata (Bakundu).
Found in the districts of Johann Albrechts Höhe, Bipindi, Minifia and Gabun. Height, 65 to 97½ feet.
Platysepalum. Djengu (Bakwiri); Tada (Duala).
Found in the district of Buea.
Lonchocarpus Zenkeri. Sosong (Bakossi); Epuepue (Bakwiri).
Macrolobium Preussii (Harms.).
65 feet in height.
Macrolobium Mannii. Mokowa (Bakwiri).
Found in the district of Buea.
Macrolobium Zenkerii (Harms.).
65 feet in height. It grows in the Bipindi district.
Oxystigma Mannii (Baill.), (Harms.). Softwood. Bosipi (Duala).
Height, 130 feet. Found in the district of Victoria. The wood is used in building.
Pterocarpus Soyauxii (Taub.). Bo (Balong); Boa (Bakundu); Muenge (Duala); Hiol or Mbia (Bakoko).
Found in the district of Johann Albrechts Höhe. Height, 81¼ feet to 97½ feet. The wood is mediumly heavy, blood-red in the heartwood, difficult to plane; used in making heavy furniture.
Copaifera Demeusii. Bobanja (Duala).
Found in the district of Johann Albrechts Höhe. Height, 97½ feet.
To face p. 428.
Tetrapleura Thonningii (Benth.). Kombolo (Duala).
Found in the district of Johann Albrechts Höhe. Height, 48¾ feet.
Pentaclethra macrophylla (Benth.). Combolo (Duala).
A huge tree, over 65 feet in height, with tough, fibrous, reddish wood. Found in the districts of Johann Albrechts Höhe, Bipindi and Jaunde. It yields Owala oil.
Albizzia Welwitschii (Welw.). Goo (Bali); Esang (Bakossi); Elund (Balong); Isaka (Bakundu); Esakasaka (Bakwiri); Bobai (Duala).
Found in the Johann Albrechts Höhe district.
Albizzia Brownii (Walp.), (Oliv.). Isaka (Bakwiri).
Height, 65 to 97½ feet. The wood is hard and much used in building. It grows in the districts of Bipindi, Mimifia and Johann Albrechts Höhe.
Albizzia fastigiata (E. Mey.), (Oliv.).
Height, 97½ feet. Found in the district of Johann Albrechts Höhe. The wood is moderately hard.
Berlinia auriculata (Sol.).
Height, 32½ to 65 feet. Found in the Batanga and Bipindi districts.
Berlinia acuminata (Sol.). Mbava (Bakwiri).
Found in the district of Teko (Buea). Height, 48¾ to 81¼ feet.
Erythrophlœum micranthum (Harms.).
65 to 130 feet in height. Found in the Bipindi district.
Erythrophlœum sp.
Found in the district of Johann Albrechts Höhe.
Erythrophlœum Guineense (Don).
Height, 97½ feet. Widely found through West Africa. The wood is much used for house, bridge and ship building.
Ostryoderris impressa.
Found in the Johann Albrechts Höhe district.
Cynometra Mannii (Oliv.).
A high tree found in Victoria and Bimbi and on the coast.
Cynometra multynge (Harms.).
Over 65 feet in height. Found in the districts of Johann Albrechts Höhe and Bipindi.
Scorodophlœus Zenkerii (Harms.).
Found in the districts of Johann Albrechts Höhe, Bipindi and Urwald. Height, 48¾ feet.
Parkia Zenkerii (Mim. Harms.).
Found in the districts of Johann Albrechts Höhe and Bipindi. Height, 48¾ to 65 feet.
Wacuminata.
Found in the district of Johann Albrechts Höhe.
Baphia.
Found in the district of Rio del Rey.
Baphia Barombiensis.
Found in the district of Johann Albrechts Höhe.
Pterogopodium sp.
Found in the district of Johann Albrechts Höhe.
Afzelia Africana (Smith).
Height, 32½ to 65 feet. Found in the Batanga, Lokundje, and Bipindi districts.
Afzelia Zenkeri. Lom (Bakoko); Bobolo (Malimba).
Found in the district of Johann Albrechts Höhe. A giant tree with edible seeds.
Brachystegia cynometroides (Harms.).
Height, 113¾ feet. Found in the districts of Johann Albrechts Höhe and Mimifia.
Erythrina excelsa. Mokamu (Bakwiri).
Found in the district of Buea. Height, 65 feet. Time of flowering is December and January.
Dialium Staudtii (Harms.).
Found in the district of Johann Albrechts Höhe.
Dialium Guineense (Willd.).
Height, 81¼ to 97½ feet. Widely spread through the Cameroon country.
Dialium Zenkeri (Harms.).
About 32½ feet high. Found in the Bipindi district.
Distemonanthus Benthamianus (Baill.).
Height, 97½ to 130 feet. Found in the districts of Johann Albrechts Höhe and Mimifia.
Distemonanthus sp.
Found in the district of Johann Albrechts Höhe.
Calpocalyx Dinklagei (Harms.).
Found in the districts of Johann Albrechts Höhe and Bipindi. Height, 32 to 48¾ feet.
Newtonia Zenkeri (Harms.).
Found in the districts of Johann Albrechts Höhe and Bipindi. Height, 97½ to 113¾ feet.
Adenocarpus Mannii.
District, Fako, Buea.
Detarium macrocarpum (Harms.).
Height, 81¼ to 97½ feet. Found in the Bipindi district.
Indigofera Atriceps.
Found in the district of Fako, Buea.
Phutophyllum mirabile.
Found in the district of Rio del Rey.
Galium aparine.
District, Victoria.
Daniellia caudata.
District, Johann Albrechts Höhe.
Afrormosia laxiflora.
District, Johann Albrechts Höhe.
Cylicodiscus Gabunensis (Harms.). Edum (Bafo); Emang (Bakossi).
District, Johann Albrechts Höhe. A tree with enormous trunk and bark resembling the pine; the wood is reddish. Height, 97½ to 130 feet.
Trachylobium sp.
District, Johann Albrechts Höhe.
Fillæopsis discophora (Harms.).
Height, 48¾ feet. Found in the Bipindi district. Called by the Kameroon Holz Syndicate “Milletia.” A big tree with huge paper-like pods.
Stemonocoleus micranthus (Harms.).
Height, 81¼ to 97½ feet. Found in the Bipindi district.
Pithecolobium altissimum (Oliv.).
Height, 48¾ to 81¼ feet. Found in Bipindi.
Stachyothyrsus Staudtii (Harms.).
Height, 81¼ feet. Found in the Mimifia and Bipindi districts.
=Linaceæ.=
Phyllocosmus sessiliflorus (Oliv.).
Found in the district of Johann Albrechts Höhe. Height, 48¾ to 81¼ feet.
=Erythroxylaceæ.=
Erythroxylon Mannii (Oliv.).
Height, 48¾ feet. Found in the districts of Johann Albrechts Höhe and Bipindi.
=Rutaceæ.=
Fagara Rederi (Oliv.). Wongo (Bakundu); Woongo (Bakwiri).
Found in the district of Buea.
Fagara altissima (Engl.).
Found in the Bipindi district. Height, 48½ to 81¼ feet.
Zanthoxylum Senegalense. Nitone (Fontem or Bangwa).
Found in the Johann Albrechts Höhe district.
=Simarubaceæ.=
Irvingia Barteri (Hook.). The so-called Wild Mango. Bope (Bafo); Bopek (Balong); Weke (Bakundu); Bwiwa (Bakwiri); Bwiba ba mbale (Duala).
Found in the Johann Albrechts Höhe district specially, but widely spread through West Africa.
Irvingia Gabunensis. Etue or Etu (Bakossi); Botuba (Bafo); Bopala (Bakundu).
Found in the Johann Albrechts Höhe district.
Odyendea Gabunensis (Pierre).
Found in the Johann Albrechts Höhe district. Height, 65 to 97½ feet.
Klainedoxa Gabunensis (Pierre).
Found in the Johann Albrechts Höhe district. Height, 65 to 97½ feet.
Klainedoxa grandifolia (Engl.).
Found in the Johann Albrechts Höhe district.
Pierreodendron grandifolium.
Found in the Rio del Rey district.
=Burseraceæ.=
Pachylobus Zenkeri.
Found in the Johann Albrechts Höhe district.
Pachylobus edulis (G. Don). Bosao (Bakundu); Sao or Bosao (Duala); Bokuka (Etam).
Found in the Johann Albrechts Höhe district. A fruit tree of about 65 to 97½ feet in height, having dark-green, alternating, bipinnate leaves, smooth bark and reddish to grey-yellow wood. The wood is used to make axe-handles; the tree also yields resin.
Pachylobus var. (Mbafo according to Engler). Bosao (Bakundu).
A fair-sized tree with reddish and greyish-yellow wood. It has a good heartwood, used for the axles of wheels; also for calabashes. Found throughout West Africa.
Canarium auriculatum. Bweii (Bali); Wotua (Bakwiri).
Found in the Victoria district.
Canarium Schweinfurthii (Engl.).
Height, 113 to 130 feet. Found in the Johann Albrechts Höhe district principally, but is fairly common throughout West Africa. The wood is white and is used for building.
Canarium Mansfeldianum.
Found in the Ossidinge district.
=Meliaceæ.=
Entandrophragma Rederi. Njokubwele (Bakundu); Won (Bakwiri).
Found in the Johann Albrechts Höhe district.
Entandrophragma utilis.
Found in the Johann Albrechts Höhe district.
Entandrophragma Candollei (Harms.).
Height, 97½ to 130 feet. Found in the Johann Albrechts Höhe district. The wood is similar to mahogany.
Guarea glomerulata. Bobe ba ndiko (Bakundu); Lilualamombe (Bakwiri); Timba or timba nundi (Duala).
Found in the Johann Albrechts Höhe district. This wood is, like mahogany, used for furniture, also window-wood. This tree is frequently attacked by boring insects.
Trichilia rubesilus (Oliv.). Ifassoa (Bakwiri).
Found in the Buea district. Height, 17½ to 32½ feet.
Trichilia Prieureana (Juss.).
Found in the Johann Albrechts Höhe district. Height, 32½ to 39 feet.
Khaya Klainii (Pierre).
The most valuable mahogany is obtained from this tree.
It is abundantly found in West Africa.
Khaya euryphylla (Harms.).
From 97½ to 130 feet in height. Found in the districts of Johann Albrechts Höhe and Buea.
Khaya Senegalensis.
Found in the district of Victoria.
Turraeanthus Zenkeri (Harms.).
Found in the Jaunde and Buea districts. Height, 65 feet.
Carapa procera (D.C.).
Height about 65 feet. Found in the Johann Albrechts Höhe district. It yields a wood very like mahogany, useful in building and carpentry.
=Euphorbiaceæ.=
Ricinodendron Africanum (Mull. Arg.). Esango (Bakossi); Wonjasanga (Bakundu); Wonjangasanga (Bakwiri); Njangsang (Duala); Ehan (Bakoko).
Height, 48¾ to 81¼ feet. Found in the Johann Albrechts Höhe district.
Lepidoturus occidentalis. Longoso (Bakundu); Longoso (Bakwiri); Joloso (Duala).
District, Mbo.
Macaranga sp.
Found in the district of Buea.
Macaranga rosea. Boka (Bakundu); Njon bwele (Duala).
Found in the district of Johann Albrechts Höhe. Time of flowering, November.
Bridelia stenocarpa (Mull. Arg.). Esenge (Bakundu); Mosenge (Bakwiri); Tata (Duala).
District, Johann Albrechts Höhe. It flowers in February and changes leaf in December and January. The wood is light yellow with large, open pores.
Bridelia macrocarpa. Esenge (Bakundu).
Found in the district of Johann Albrechts Höhe.
Alchornea floribunda (Mull. Arg.).
Sometimes found over 81¼ feet in height. It is widely spread over the Cameroons.
Alchornea cordifolia. Dibobonga (Duala).
Found in the district of Johann Albrechts Höhe.
Antidesma laciniatum. Liwoma (Bakwiri).
It grows in the Buea district.
Claoxylon Preussii (Pax.).
It is found in the district of Buea.
Croton pyrifolius.
Found in the district of Buea.
Phyllanthus discoideus.
Found in the district of Buea.
Uapaca Staudtii (Pax.). Bosambi (Bakundu).
Found in the district of Buea.
Hevea.
A rubber-tree which needs less soil than the Funtumia. Its extension has been hampered by lack of seed. It suffers much from root diseases. The tree is found in the Buea district.
Sapium Mannianum (Mull. Arg.), (Bth.).
Height, 48¾ to 97½ feet. Widely spread over the Cameroon country.
Grossera paniculata (Pax.). Nama tubave (Bakundu).
It grows in the Bipindi district. Height, 48¾ to 65 feet.
=Anacardiaceæ.=
Sorindeia trimera (Oliv.).
Height, 48¾ feet. Very plentiful throughout the Cameroons.
Pseudospondias microcarpa (A. Rich., Engl.).
Height, 32½ to 48¾ feet. Found in the Buea district and throughout the Cameroons.
Trichoscypha Bipindensis (Engl.).
Height, 65 to 97½ feet. It is found in the Bipindi district.
=Sapindaceæ.=
Phialodiscus Zambesiacus.
Found in the Johann Albrechts Höhe district.
Deinbollia pycnophylla (Gilg.).
Height, 65 feet. It is found in the Bipindi district.
=Tiliaceæ.=
Desplatzia Dewewrei.
Found in the (Boanda) Buea district.
Grewiopsis globosa. Ebonga evodi (Duala).
This is a small tree having yellow fruit, the size of a man’s fist, used as food for elephants.
District, N.W. Africa.
Grewiopsis discophora.
District, N.W. Africa.
=Malvaceæ.=
Pavonia Schimperiana.
Dschang and Buea district.
=Bombacaceæ.=
Ceiba pentandra. Silk-cotton Tree. Monga (Balong); Mungongo (Duala).
Yields timber, bast, tanning materials, wool for stuffing, oil, etc.; fruit woody.
Adansonia digitata. Baobab. Sometimes called “Asses Bread.”
It yields timber, fibre, tanning materials, etc. The pulp of the fruit and the seeds are edible. Found in the savannah forests and also near villages.
Eriodendron. Silk-cotton.
District, West Africa.
Bombax buonopozense. Silk-cotton.
District, West Africa. The tree yields timber, wool for stuffing, fibre, oil, etc.
=Sterculiaceæ.=
Sterculia oblonga (Mast.). Engele or Ongele (Balong); Bongele (Bakundu); Ekonge (Bakwiri); Bongele or Bopum ba nji (Duala).
It grows in the district of Johann Albrechts Höhe. A large tree having opposite leaves and smooth bark, which rapidly turns red when exposed to the air. The wood is much used for planks.
Sterculia tragacantha. Poose (Bakundu); Ndototo (Bakwiri); Pio (Duala).
Found in the district of Johann Albrechts Höhe. It flowers in November.
Sterculia grandifolia. Kamdjok (Ossidinge).
Found in the districts of Johann Albrechts Höhe and Ossidinge.
Sterculia cordifolia. Lom (Bakoko).
Found in the districts of Johann Albrechts Höhe and Ossidinge.
Sterculia acuminata, syn. Cola acuminata (?).
Much cultivated in the Johann Albrechts Höhe district and on the mountain slopes. The nut of this tree is very much used in chocolate- making and is very refreshing.
Sterculia rhinopetala (K. Schum.).
Height, 81¼ to 113¾ feet. This tree yields an excellent building wood.
Cola sp.
Found in the districts of (Muea) Buea.
Cola sulcata.
It is found in the district of (Boanda) Buea.
Cola altissima (Engl.).
Height, 65 to 97½ feet. Found in the Bipindi district.
Cola marsupium.
Found in the district of (Boanda) Buea.
Pterygota Kamerunensis.
Found in the district of Mungo River.
Xeropetalum Dombeya.
Found in the Dschang district.
Triplochiton scleroxylon (K. Schum.). Nkom (Bakossi); Ejuong (Jaunde).
This tree yields a good timber and furniture wood. The leaves are very similar to those of the maple. Found very plentifully in the Cameroon country.
Theobroma cacao. Cocoa Tree.
There are about twenty species of this tree. The Cameroon country is the richest in the world for cocoa. It grows chiefly in the low-lying country of the Mungo, Wari and Sanaga Rivers, in the Duala and Yabassi districts and Edea; also on the slopes of the Cameroon mountains. It is much attacked by cockchafer grubs (brown rot) and bark bugs. The world’s supply from T. cacao has been going on for five hundred years, and consequently has developed varieties showing a marked difference from the original type.
=Scytopetalaceæ.=
Oubanguia Klainei (Teigh.).
District, Buea. Height, 48¾ to 65 feet.
=Ochnaceæ.=
Lophira alata (Banks). Ironwood. Boko (Bakundu); Ndonge (Bakwiri); Bongossi (Duala).
Found in the districts of Johann Albrechts Höhe and Mbo. Diameter, 7½ to 10½ feet. Height, 162½ feet. The time for flowering is December and January and February for ripe fruit. A good, very hard wood, used for stair treads.
Ouratea monticola.
Found in the Buea district.
=Guttiferæ.=
Endodesmia calophylloides (Bth.).
Height, 81¼ to 130 feet. It grows abundantly throughout the Cameroon country.
Garcinia punctata (Oliv.).
Height, 65 to 81¼ feet. Plentiful in Cameroon, specially in the Johann Albrechts Höhe district.
Pentadesma butyraceum (Dom.).
A very high tree. Common throughout Cameroon.
Haronga paniculata. Konkwa (Bali); Worolongo (Bakwiri); Tolongo (Duala).
Found in the districts of Dschang and Buea.
Symphonia globulifera (L. fil.).
Height, 65 to 97½ feet. Found throughout the whole of West Africa.
=Flacourtiaceæ.=
Flacourtia Ramontchii. Wondo (Bakwiri).
Found in the Dschang district.
Barteria aromatica.
Found in the district of Johann Albrechts Höhe.
Barteria fistulosa. Ant-trees (Musimba).
Found in the Buea district.
Lindackeria dentata.
Found in the Buea district.
Scottellia Mimfiensis (Gilg.).
Height, 48¾ to 97½ feet.
=Caricaceæ.=
Carica papaya.
Found in the district of Victoria.
=Thymelaceæ.=
Lasiosiphon glaucus.
Found in the district of Victoria.
=Rhizophoraceæ.=
Poga oleosa. Njove or Njole (Rio del Rey).
District, Johann Albrechts Höhe.
Poga conophora (named after Muller). Njove or Njole (Rio del Rey).
Found in the district of Johann Albrechts Höhe.
Rhizophora mangle (Roxb.). Mangrove. Tanda (Duala).
It grows freely on the coast of West Africa. The bark is much used in tanning.
=Alangiaceæ.=
Alangium begonifolium.
District, Buea.
=Combretaceæ.=
Combretum cinerea.
It grows in the Dschang district.
Terminalia superba (Engl. and Diels). Nkom (Bakossi); Bokome (Bafo); Bokome (Bakundu); Djombe (Bakwiri); Mukonja (Duala).
Height, 65 to 97½ feet. It grows abundantly throughout the Cameroon country, but especially at Johann Albrechts Höhe. The wood is hard, light yellow and close grained; much used for making windows and shutters.
=Melastomaceæ=
Amphiblemma polyneuron.
District, Johann Albrechts Höhe.
Memecylon macrodendron (Gilg.).
Height, 48¾ to 65 feet. Found in the Bipindi district.
=Araliaceæ.=
Schefflera Hookeriana (Harms.).
Found in the Buea district.
=Myrsinaceæ.=
Mæsa lanceolata.
Found in the Dschang district.
=Sapotaceæ.=
Mimusops sp.
Mimusops Djave (Laness), (Engl.). Nsab (Bare); Bonjabi (Bakundu); Njabi (Duala).
Found in the districts of Johann Albrechts Höhe and Mbo. Height, 178¾ feet. Diameter, 6½ feet. There is frequently a clear bole of 97½ feet, containing 6,380¼ cubic feet of wood (181 cubic metres). The nuts are much valued locally as food.
Chrysophyllum Africanum.
District, Johann Albrechts Höhe.
Chrysophyllum macrophyllum. Wonjanja (Bakwiri).
District, Johann Albrechts Höhe and Buea.
Omphalocarpum Radlkoferi (Pierre).
Height, 65 feet. Found throughout West Africa. This tree yields timber and a sort of gutta-percha.
Butyrospermum Parkii (Kotschy.). Shea Butter.
District, N. West Africa. This tree yields a gutta-percha-like resin, edible fruits, and from the seeds a fat (Shea butter).
Omphalocarpum Pierreanum (Engl.).
Height, 65 to 81¼ feet. Found in the district of Bipindi.
=Ebenaceæ.=
Diospyros suaveolens (Gurke). Ebony.
Height, 32½ to 48¾ feet. Found in the district of Johann Albrechts Höhe.
Diospyros atropurpurea (Gurke). Ebony. Efindofindo (Bafo); Findefinde (Balong); Epindepinde (Bakundu); Findefinde (Bakwiri); Epindepinde (Duala).
District, Johann Albrechts Höhe, Bipindi and Buea, and Muyuke. The tree flowers in April and May; the fruit is ripe in October. It yields timber, tanning and dyeing materials, mucilage, edible fruit (date- plums), fish-poison and medicaments. The wood is very hard and of a yellowish colour, the bark black. It is principally used for furniture.
Diospyros megaphylla (Gurke).
Height, 32½ to 48¾ feet. It grows near Bipindi.
Diospyros Bipindensis (Gurke).
Height, 48¾ feet. It is found in the Bipindi district.
Diospyros Kamerunensis (Gurke).
Height, 48¾ feet. Found in the Bipindi district.
Diospyros Dendo (Welw.).
Height, 48¾ to 65 feet. It is found throughout the Cameroon country.
Diospyros Gilgiana (Gurke).
Height, 48¾ to 65 feet. Found in the Bipindi district.
Diospyros nsambensis (Gurke).
Height, 48¾ to 65 feet. Found in the Bipindi district.
Diospyros mamiacensis (Gurke).
Height, 48¾ to 65 feet.
Diospyros aggregata (Gurke).
Over 65 feet in height. Found in the Bipindi district.
Diospyros incarnata (Gurke).
Height, 32½ to 39 feet. Found in the Bipindi district.
Diospyros mespiliformis (Hochst.).
The sapwood is yellowish-white and close-grained. It is very useful in turnery. The tree is found widely spread over West Africa.
=Loganiaceæ.=
Nuxia Mannii (Oliv.).
District, (Fako) Buea.
Anthocleista Zenkerii, also known as Bopolo-polo.
Found in the Johann Albrechts Höhe district.
Strychnos gnetifolia (Gilg.).
Height, 65 to 97½ feet. Found in the Bipindi district.
=Apocynaceæ.=
Kicksia elastica. Dinjongo (Bafo); Dinjongo (Bakundu); Manjongo (Bakwiri); Ebonga manyongo (Duala).
Found in the districts of Johann Albrechts Höhe and Buea.
Rauwolfia macrophylla or gonioclada. Enonge (Bakundu); Kanja (Bakwiri); Bandonge (Duala).
Found in the district of Johann Albrechts Höhe. The time of flowering is October and March.
Rauwolfia vomitoria.
Found in the district of Johann Albrechts Höhe.
Alstonia Congensis. Kuge (Bakossi); Bokuk (Balong); Kanja (Bakundu); Wokuka (Bakwiri); Bokuka ba mhale (Duala).
Found in the district of Johann Albrechts Höhe. The wood is used for making stools in the Kamerun country.
Polyadoa umbellata.
Found in the district of Johann Albrechts Höhe.
Funtumia elastica. Ireh Tree. (Lagos rubber.)
Found widely throughout West Africa. The chief rubber-yielding tree. The tree suffers from the attacks of stag-beetles.
Landolphia Dawei. (Savannah rubber.)
Found in the primeval forests of West Africa. Several species yield rubber, dyes and edible fruits (from which drinks are made).
=Convolvulaceæ.=
Ipomæa involucrata.
District, Rio del Rey.
=Borraginaceæ.=
Cordia Irvingia. Bola (Bakundu); Womba (Bakwiri); Bomba (Duala).
Found in the district of Johann Albrechts Höhe.
Cordia yombomba. Jom (Ossidinge); Yombomba (Bakwiri).
Found in the district of Johann Albrechts Höhe.
=Verbenaceæ.=
Avicennia tomentosa (Jacqu.). White Mangrove. Bunja (Duala). Found in the district of Johann Albrechts Höhe and very frequently among coast vegetation. Height, 32½ to 48¾ feet. The wood is very beautiful.
Vitex cuneata.
Found in the district of Johann Albrechts Höhe.
Vitex Bipindensis (Gurke).
Height, 32½ to 48¾ feet. Found in the Bipindi district.
Clerodendron. Mumbambe (Bakwiri).
Found in the district of Buea.
=Scrophulariaceæ.=
Selaginella Vogelii.
Found in the district of Victoria.
=Bignoniaceæ.=
Spathoidea campanulata. Jon (Bali); Etutu (Bakundu); Mbako (Bakwiri); Bwele ba Mbongo (Duala).
Found in the Dschang district.
Kigelia acutifolia. Sosong (Bakossi); Wulule (Bakwiri).
Found in the Dschang district.
Markhamia lutea. Abbe (Bakossi); Mawelu (Bakwiri); Mabanga (Duala).
Found in the Dschang district.
=Acanthaceæ.=
Thomandersia laurifolia.
District, Rio del Rey.
=Rubiaceæ.=
Adina macrophylla (Lepr. and Guill.), (K. Schum.).
Found in the district of Victoria. Height of tree, 48¾ to 81¼ feet. A yellowish wood, used in building and very good for furniture.
Sarcocephalus sambucinus (Wint.). Tabu (Bali).
A very common tree in West Africa. It is a good building wood.
Plectronia glabriflora.
District, Dschang and Buea.
Oxyanthus speciosus. Wyfongo (Bakwiri).
District, Dschang and Buea.
Canthium glabriflorum.
District, N.W. Africa. This tree has grey bark and is like a palm in appearance. It yields resin, and calabashes are made from the fruit.
Morinda citrifolia (L.).
Height, 48¾ to 65 feet. It has a yellowish wood. A very common tree in West Africa.
Randia cladantha (K. cladantha).
Height, 65 to 81¼ feet. Very common throughout the Cameroon country.
=Compositæ.=
Vernonia frondosa (Oliv.). Bopolopolo (Duala).
Found in the district of Rio del Rey.
Vernonia conferta. Bopolopolo (Duala).
Found in the district of Rio del Rey.
Helichrysum fœtidum (Cass.).
Found in the districts of Victoria and Buea.
SOME CAMEROON TREES ONLY KNOWN BY NATIVE NAMES
Abange (Jaunde).
Adom (Jaunde).
Akaka (Jaunde); Ikaka (Bakundu). The wood is soft and nut-brown; it smells like pencil-wood.
Akondog (Jaunde).
Ase (Jaunde); Njokubore (Bakundu). The fruit is similar to the Entandrophragma (Meliaceæ), the root buttressed, and the leaves with rosettes on the branches.
Awong (Jaunde).
Bosambai (Jaunde).
Dibanga (Jaunde). A mediumly hard, greyish-brown wood with brown medullary rays; it is used for making furniture.
Ebe (Jaunde); Borimba (Bakundu). A giant tree with oval leaves, smooth on the top and having brownish hairs underneath.
Ehemba (Jaunde).
Ejan (Jaunde).
Ekoah (Jaunde).
Enjog (Jaunde).
Esang (Jaunde).
Lawonong (Jaunde).
Lobog (Jaunde).
Otungue (Jaunde).
Ebunja (Bakundu).
Ekambamba (Bakundu).
Enjenju (Bakundu).
Esok (Bakundu).
Idjnake (Bakundu).
Mbonda pondo (Bakundu). A very close-grained, hard wood.
Mondoa (Bakundu).
Bowasa (Duala).
Bwiba ba njon (Duala). A hard wood used for stair treads. At the Basel Mission the timber worked at was £2 per 35 cubic feet—Steyer and Pingel, at the rate of 10 shillings per 35 cubic feet—the latter firm working all kinds of wood of medium size.
Ebon (Duala).
Etotum (Duala).
Palambanja (Duala).
Tabako (Duala).
Eselebaka (Bakoko).
Ewnon (Bakoko).
Mpang (Bakoko and Basa).
Sibugang (Basa).
APPENDIX I
CAMEROONS—FOREST EXPORTS
-----------+----------------+----------------+--------------- | 1908. | 1909. | 1910. Products. +------+---------+------+---------+------+-------- | Tons.| £ | Tons.| £ | Tons.| £ -----------+------+---------+------+---------+------+-------- Palm |11,198| 107,776|13,244| 130,550|13,689|177,678 kernels | | | | | | | | | | | | Palm oil | 2,983| 48,388| 3,305| 548,500| 3,140| 62,996 | | | | | | Rubber | 1,214| 238,987| 1,517| 377,096| 1,961|553,534 | | | | | | Cocoa | — | — | — | — | 475|152,769 | | | | | | Gum Arabic | 261| 7,049| 272| 4,827| 329| 2,866 | | | | | | Timber | 1,442| 7,953| 1,912| 8,855| 1,632| 7,193 (buildings,| | | | | | etc.) | | | | | | | | | | | | Bark | 1| 6| 2| 19| 3| 31 | | | | | | Dyewood | 2| 10| — | — | 8| 21 | | | | | | Ivory | 53| 45,018| 53| 43,941| 37| 31,269 | | | | | | Horns | — | 48| 2| 238| 1| 94 | | | | | | Honey and | — | — | — | 8| — | 20 beeswax | | | | | | | | | | | | Shea nuts | 123| 430| 198| 1,144| 186| 710 and Shea | | | | | | butter | | | | | | | | | | | | Kola nuts | 83| 1,213| 42| 1,391| 54| 900 | | | | | | Djave nuts | 182| 1,023| 30| 160| 343| 1,628 | | | | | | Copal | 5| 179| 3| 100| 3| 114 -----------+------+---------+------+---------+------+-------- TOTALS |17,547| 458,082|20,580|1,116,833|21,861|991,827 -----------+------+---------+------+---------+------+--------
[Continued]
-----------+----------------+---------------- | 1911. | 1912. Products. +------+---------+------+--------- | Tons.| £ | Tons.| £ -----------+------+---------+------+--------- Palm |14,937| 208,393|15,742| 220,307 kernels | | | | | | | | Palm oil | 3,333| 71,215| 3,537| 81,119 | | | | Rubber | 2,664| 551,513| 2,766| 573,611 | | | | Cocoa | 3,525| 165,368| 4,479| 212,114 | | | | Gum Arabic | 259| 2,135| 221| 2,218 | | | | Timber | 7,089| 19,409|11,109| 34,793 (buildings,| | | | etc.) | | | | | | | | Bark | 6| 127| 32| 29 | | | | Dyewood | 11| 36| 4| 11 | | | | Ivory | 40| 29,038| 34| 31,809 | | | | Horns | 2| 138| 2| 204 | | | | Honey and | — | 5| — | 6 beeswax | | | | | | | | Shea nuts | 65| 232| 105| 645 and Shea | | | | butter | | | | | | | | Kola nuts | 87| 953| 235| 8,348 | | | | Djave nuts | 45| 254| 189| 1,258 | | | | Copal | 2| 97| 2| 63 -----------+------+---------+------+--------- TOTALS |32,065|1,048,905|38,457|1,166,539 -----------+------+---------+------+---------
APPENDIX II
THE CAMEROONS—EXPORTS OF BUILDING AND OTHER USEFUL TIMBERS ACCORDING TO PORT OF SHIPMENT
[Qu.: Quantity]
---------------+------------+-------------+-------------+------------- |Rio del Rey.| Victoria.* | Nsanakang.* | Duala. | * | | | Kind of Timber.+-----+------+------+------+------+------+------+------ | Qu.,|Value,| Qu.,|Value,| Qu.,|Value,| Qu.,|Value, |Tons.| £. | Tons.| £. | Tons.| £. | Tons.| £. ---------------+-----+------+------+------+------+------+------+------ Abochia | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | | | | | | | Arajon, | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — Mahogany, | | | | | | | | Entandrophragma| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Afzelia, | — | — | — | — | — | — | 13| 32 Afzelia | | | | | | | | Africana | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Pear-tree } | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — (Orella), } | | | | | | | | Adja-tree, } | | | | | | | | } | | | | | | | | Njabi, } | — | — | — | — | — | — | 24| 74 Mimusops } | | | | | | | | Djave } | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Cotton-tree, | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1| 1 Bombax ceiba | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Bilinga | — | — | — | — | — | — | 53| 149 | | | | | | | | Bongossi, | — | — | — | — | — | — | 700|18,144 Lophira alata| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Bimbwa, | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2| 4 Irvingia | | | | | | | | Barteri | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Chlorophora | — | — | — | — | — | — | 16| 20 excelsa | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Ebony, | 14| 41| — | 3| 205| 530| 1,503|13,308 Diospyros sp.| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Mahogany, | 11| 44| 2| 4| — | — | 6,672|18,485 Meliaceæ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Mbang, | — | — | — | 2| — | — | 1,426| 3,114 Chlorophora | | | | | | | | excelsa | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Momangi, | — | — | — | 27| — | — | — | — Chlorophora | | | | | | | | excelsa | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | African | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2| 1 Walnut, | | | | | | | | Chlorophora | | | | | | | | excelsa | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Okoumea | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — Klaineana | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Odiki | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | | | | | | | Olim | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | | | | | | | Olong | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | | | | | | | Owango | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | | | | | | | Palmwood | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | | | | | | | Poana-Poana | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | | | | | | | Redwood, | 1| 2| — | 2| — | — | 59| 232 Pterocarpus | | | | | | | | sp. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Soppo | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 18 | | | | | | | | Satinwood | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | | | | | | | Misc. parcels | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — of wood | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Terminalia | — | — | — | — | — | — | 25| 176 (Mukonja of | | | | | | | | Duala) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Zimingela, | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — Terminalia | | | | | | | | superba | | | | | | | | Combretaceæ | | | | | | | | ---------------+-----+------+------+------+------+------+------+------ TOTALS | 27| 88| 5| 37| 205| 530|10,503|53,763 ---------------+-----+------+------+------+------+------+------+------
[Continued]
---------------+------------+-------------+-------------+------------- | Kampo. | Koibi. | Uroko. | Total. | | | | Kind of Timber.+-----+------+------+------+------+------+------+------ | Qu.,|Value,| Qu.,|Value,| Qu.,|Value,| Qu.,|Value, |Tons.| £. | Tons.| £. | Tons.| £. | Tons.| £. ---------------+-----+------+------+------+------+------+------+------ Abochia | — | — | — | — | 40| 17| 40| 17 | | | | | | | | Arajon, | — | — | — | — | 100| 500| 100| 500 Mahogany, | | | | | | | | Entandrophragma| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Afzelia, | — | — | — | — | — | — | 13| 32 Afzelia | | | | | | | | Africana | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Pear-tree } | — | — | — | — | 62| 54| 62| 54 (Orella), } | | | | | | | | Adja-tree, } | | | | | | | | } | | | | | | | | Njabi, } | — | — | — | — | 240| 137| 264| 212 Mimusops } | | | | | | | | Djave } | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Cotton-tree, | — | — | — | — | 12| 4| 14| 6 Bombax ceiba | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Bilinga | — | — | — | — | — | — | 53| 149 | | | | | | | | Bongossi, | — | — | — | — | — | — | 700| 1,814 Lophira alata| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Bimbwa, | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2| 4 Irvingia | | | | | | | | Barteri | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Chlorophora | — | — | — | — | — | — | 16| 20 excelsa | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Ebony, | — | 3| 29| 110| — | — | 1,753|13,994 Diospyros sp.| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Mahogany, | 1| 90| — | — | 156| 275| 6,845|18,900 Meliaceæ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Mbang, | — | — | — | — | 3| 2| 1,431| 3,116 Chlorophora | | | | | | | | excelsa | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Momangi, | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 27 Chlorophora | | | | | | | | excelsa | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | African | — | — | — | — | 897| 684| 899| 685 Walnut, | | | | | | | | Chlorophora | | | | | | | | excelsa | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Okoumea | — | — | — | — |10,992| 6,832|10,992| 6,832 Klaineana | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Odiki | — | — | — | — | 24| 16| 24| 16 | | | | | | | | Olim | — | — | — | — | 12| 5| 12| 5 | | | | | | | | Olong | — | — | — | — | 10| 9| 10| 9 | | | | | | | | Owango | — | — | — | — | 3| 6| 3| 6 | | | | | | | | Palmwood | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | | | | | | | Poana-Poana | — | — | — | — | 1| 3| 1| 3 | | | | | | | | Redwood, | 1| 13| — | — | 13| 10| 76| 260 Pterocarpus | | | | | | | | sp. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Soppo | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 18 | | | | | | | | Satinwood | — | — | — | — | 33| 21| 33| 21 | | | | | | | | Misc. parcels | — | — | — | — | 7| 2| 7| 2 of wood | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Terminalia | — | — | — | — | — | — | 25| 176 (Mukonja of | | | | | | | | Duala) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Zimingela, | — | — | — | — | 264| 145| 264| 145 Terminalia | | | | | | | | superba | | | | | | | | Combretaceæ | | | | | | | | ---------------+-----+------+------+------+------+------+------+------ TOTALS | 3| 107| 29| 110|12,877| 8,728|23,651|47,033 ---------------+-----+------+------+------+------+------+------+------
* These ports are in the English portion of the country.
APPENDIX III
THE CAMEROONS—EXPORTS OF TIMBER ACCORDING TO DESTINATION, 1913
[Qu.: Quantity]
--------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+------------- | Germany. | England. | France. | Holland. Kind of +------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------ Timber. | Qu., |Value,| Qu., |Value,| Qu., |Value,| Qu., |Value, | Tons.| £. | Tons.| £. | Tons.| £. | Tons.| £. --------------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------ Abochia | 40| 17| — | — | — | — | — | — | | | | | | | | Arajon | — | — | — | — | 100| 500| — | — | | | | | | | | Afzelia, | 13| 32| — | — | — | — | — | — Afzelia | | | | | | | | Africana | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Pear-tree | 300| 225| — | — | — | — | — | — (Orella), | | | | | | | | Mimusops | | | | | | | | Djave | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Cotton-tree, | 14| 6| — | — | — | — | — | — Ceiba and | | | | | | | | Bombax | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Bilinga | 53| 149| — | — | — | — | — | — | | | | | | | | Bongossi, | 600| 1,580| 100| 234| — | — | — | — Lophira | | | | | | | | alata | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Bimbwa, | 2| 4| — | — | — | — | — | — Irvingia | | | | | | | | Barteri | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Ebony, | 135|11,402| 397| 2,592| — | — | — | — Diospyros | | | | | | | | sp. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Mahogany, | 4,153|12,259| 2,622| 6,291| 13| 17| 57| 331 Meliaceæ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Mbang, | 1,428| 3,103| 3| 13| — | — | — | — Chlorophora | | | | | | | | excelsa | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Momangi, | — | 27| — | — | — | — | — | — Chlorophora | | | | | | | | excelsa | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | African | 545| 472| — | — | 21| 20| 152| 12 Walnut? | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Okumme, | 8,847| 4,881| — | — | 690| 526| — | — Gaboon | | | | | | | | Mahogany, | | | | | | | | Okumea | | | | | | | | Klaineana | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Odiki | 24| 16| — | — | — | — | — | — | | | | | | | | Olina | 12| 5| — | — | — | — | — | — | | | | | | | | Olong | 10| 9| — | — | — | — | — | — | | | | | | | | Owango | 3| 6| — | — | — | — | — | — | | | | | | | | Palmwood | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | | | | | | | Poana-Poana | 1| 3| — | — | — | — | — | — | | | | | | | | African | 7| 2| — | — | — | — | — | — Lignumvitæ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Redwood, | 76| 260| — | — | — | — | — | — Pterocarpus | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Soppo | — | 18| — | — | — | — | — | — | | | | | | | | Satinwood | 24| 7| — | — | 8| 13| — | — | | | | | | | | Terminalia | 25| 176| — | — | — | — | — | — | | | | | | | | Choraschora, | 1| 20| — | — | — | — | — | — Chlorophora | | | | | | | | excelsa | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Zimengela, | 157| 127| — | — | 2| 2| 54| 7 Terminalia | | | | | | | | superba | | | | | | | | Combretaceæ | | | | | | | | --------------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------ TOTALS |17,716|34,815| 3,123| 9,131| 834| 1,069| 264| 351 --------------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------
[Continued]
--------------+-------------+-------------+------------- | America. | Belgium. | Total. Kind of +------+------+------+------+------+------ Timber. | Qu., |Value,| Qu., |Value,| Qu., |Value, | Tons.| £. | Tons.| £. | Tons.| £. --------------+------+------+------+------+------+------ Abochia | — | — | — | — | 40| 17 | | | | | | Arajon | — | — | — | — | 100| 500 | | | | | | Afzelia, | — | — | — | — | 13| 32 _Afzelia | | | | | | Africana_ | | | | | | | | | | | | Pear-tree | — | — | 26| 40| 327| 266 (Orella), | | | | | | _Mimusops | | | | | | Djave_ | | | | | | | | | | | | Cotton-tree, | — | — | — | — | 14| 6 Ceiba and | | | | | | Bombax | | | | | | | | | | | | Bilinga | — | — | — | — | 53| 149 | | | | | | Bongossi, | — | — | — | — | 700| 1,814 _Lophira | | | | | | alata_ | | | | | | | | | | | | Bimbwa, | — | — | — | — | 2| 4 _Irvingia | | | | | | Barteri_ | | | | | | | | | | | | Ebony, | — | — | — | — | 1,753|13,994 _Diospyros | | | | | | sp._ | | | | | | | | | | | | Mahogany, | — | — | — | — | 6,845|18,900 Meliaceæ | | | | | | | | | | | | Mbang, | — | — | — | — | 1,431| 3,116 _Chlorophora | | | | | | excelsa_ | | | | | | | | | | | | Momangi, | — | — | — | — | — | 27 _Chlorophora | | | | | | excelsa_ | | | | | | | | | | | | African | — | — | 180| 180| 899| 685 Walnut? | | | | | | | | | | | | Okumme, | 513| 1,199| 941| 236|10,991| 6,842 Gaboon | | | | | | Mahogany, | | | | | | _Okumea | | | | | | Klaineana_ | | | | | | | | | | | | Odiki | — | — | — | — | 24| 16 | | | | | | Olina | — | — | — | — | 12| 5 | | | | | | Olong | — | — | — | — | 10| 9 | | | | | | Owango | — | — | — | — | 3| 6 | | | | | | Palmwood | — | — | — | — | — | — | | | | | | Poana-Poana | — | — | — | — | 1| 3 | | | | | | African | — | — | — | — | 7| 2 Lignumvitæ | | | | | | | | | | | | Redwood, | — | — | — | — | 76| 260 Pterocarpus | | | | | | | | | | | | Soppo | — | — | — | — | — | 18 | | | | | | Satinwood | — | — | — | — | 33| 21 | | | | | | Terminalia | — | — | — | — | 25| 176 | | | | | | Choraschora, | — | — | — | — | 1| 20 _Chlorophora | | | | | | excelsa_ | | | | | | | | | | | | Zimengela, | — | — | 50| 8| 263| 144 _Terminalia | | | | | | superba | | | | | | Combretaceæ_ | | | | | | --------------+------+------+------+------+------+------ TOTALS | 513| 1,199| 1,200| 66|23,651|47,033 --------------+------+------+------+------+------+------
To face p. 446.
XI. THE OIL BEANS, SEEDS AND NUTS OF THE FOREST
In a separate chapter the Oil Palm and its produce are more fully considered, so that we give here a detailed account of the other important Oil Seeds and Nuts. Oil-bearing nuts and seeds are usually found in great profusion in the Tropics, and West Africa is no exception to the rule.
Amongst the botanical families in which the plants yield oil-seeds or nuts are the Palmæ, Leguminosæ, Euphorbiaceæ, Ochnaceæ, Sapotaceæ, Rhizophoraceæ, Meliaceæ and Guttiferæ. As far as the Protectorates of Nigeria and Sierra Leone are concerned, the “Oil Bean” (Pentaclethra macrophylla) is one of the most important. According to the data in the Niger district, oil beans have been bought for some ten years from the natives. They are also known as Owala beans. The natives prefer a price of 1s. per case, but the minimum of 6d. and the maximum of 9d. per case was about the limit for the nuts in pre-war days. Even then only a small profit was made by the European merchant at the prices then ruling for the nuts in England. With the much greater, almost universal demand for all kinds of oil-nuts and seeds, it is probable that higher prices will be paid for these nuts now that the war is over, provided a reasonable charge for freight can be arranged. The natives themselves say that the nuts should be cooked for twelve hours to be good for eating. There are six or seven beans in each pod.
Now that many roadsides in the Owerri province and other districts have been planted with Oil-bean trees as a shade tree, there will be a continual supply of nuts each year. The tree starts bearing in the tenth year, and almost every year bears a fair crop. An example of one of these avenues is seen on the Ikpoba Road, just outside Benin City. The pods are used as a firewood, which makes a hot, rapid fire. In Sierra Leone they are known as Fai beans. The beans are large and flattened, covered with a hard brown seed-coat. They may be from one and a half to two and three-quarter inches in length, and from one to one and three- quarter inches in breadth, and one-third to nearly half an inch in thickness. The kernels are white and soft and contain a quantity of oil.
According to the very valuable investigations of the Imperial Institute:
The proportion of hard seed-coat (by weight), 20·7 per cent.
The proportion of kernel in bean (by weight), 79·3 per cent.
The amount of oil contained in the whole, 31·2 per cent.
The amount of oil contained in the kernels, 39 per cent.
When the oil is left to stand it deposits a quantity of solid fat. On trial, the oil was found to yield rather a soft soap, and was stated to be worth only about £21 per ton. The cold-pressed oil was of a golden yellow colour, and the hot-drawn oil a dull yellow and rather thick. From analysis it was found that the meal was very nutritious, containing over 39 per cent. of proteids, and if it could be used as a feeding-cake it would be worth from £5 to £5 10s. per ton (pre-war rates).
The constants of the oil from the Southern Nigerian seeds are:
Iodine value 87·07
Acid value 14·3
Titer test 50·15° C.
The composition of the meal after extraction of the oil is as follows:
Per cent.
Moisture 12·9
Ash 3·5
Proteins 34·8
Fibre 6·8
Sugar (dextrose) 6·2
Carbohydrates (other than sugar) 33·7
The oil on analysis gave the following results:
Specific gravity at 15·5° C. (60° F.) 0·9194
Saponification value 184·2
Free fatty acids, per cent. 0·7
Analysis of pressed cake:
Per cent.
Oil 12·0
Moisture 9·9
Crude proteins 33·2
Carbohydrates 34·8
Fibre 5·7
Ash 4·5
The oil would make a first-class edible oil. The value of the beans is stated to be about £6 per ton c.i.f. London, August 1909, and subject to being shipped in lots of fifty to one hundred tons at a time. No regular plantations have been made with this tree, but it is probable that with cultivation an earlier and quicker yield of nuts could be obtained, also with further grafting and seed selecting the thickness of the shell over the kernel could be considerably reduced, and also the thickness of the pod, and thus make the product more valuable in proportion to its size. A small tree will bear half to one bushel of beans, and a large tree will bear two. On the smaller and younger trees the pods are narrower and shorter than on the older trees, and the beans are much smaller, being only about half the size and a third of the bulk of those from fully-grown trees. The pods, which also contain a certain amount of oil, are not to be despised as a source of fuel, especially as time goes on and the population increases.
In this place also should be considered the beans of Xylia Evansii. This is also a Leguminous tree. The natives apparently have no use for the small, flattened round beans, which are about half to three-quarters of an inch in diameter and an eighth of an inch thick, and sometimes less. The beans have not been collected or sold, neither have they been examined chemically as to their oil or other content.
Another oil-bean-bearing tree of this family is Berlinia acuminata, which has large beans rather more than an inch and a half long, an inch broad, and a third of an inch thick. Further examination would show whether the oil content is such as to justify their commercial exploitation. The Benin name is Ekpagoi and Yoruba Apado.
Closely allied to this one is Macrolobium palisoti, the Ogaba of the Benis, which also yields a flat, almost square-shaped bean, nearly an inch in length and an inch in width. The exact oil content of this bean is unknown.
The beans of Cynometra Afzelii and Cynometra Mannii are much larger and stouter, but also contain a certain amount of oil of unknown value. The Benin name is Upakeka and Yoruba Eggi or Ekku.
Then we have the small, almost black, button-like beans of Brachystegia spicæformis, which, despite their large quantity, have remained uncollected and unused. A proper chemical examination would reveal the oil or other content of the beans. The Benin name is Okwan and the Yoruba Ako.
Still considering this same family of plants, the Leguminoseæ, there are the brown beans of Erythrophlœum Guineense and E. micranthum. These are of a brown colour, about half an inch long, one-third of an inch wide, and an eighth of an inch thick, and of a more or less round shape. Here, again, further investigation would reveal the oil content of these beans. The Yoruba name is Oginni or Inyi and Yoruba Erunor Obo.
It is also not known whether the nuts of the various Afzelias, known as Apa by the Yorubas and Aligna by the Benis, contain a valuable oil or other commercial product.
It has been stated that the beans and pods of Pithecolobium altissimum have been used as a kind of “Dividivi” for tanning leather, but further experiment with these would prove or disprove the point.
Finally, there is the Calabar bean or Eseri bean, Physostigma venenosum. It is known to the Efiks as Eseri. The deep furrow on the upper side of the bean is most typical of it, and differentiates it thus from the various Mucuna species. It contains two alkaloids, Calabarine and Eserine. These beans are comparatively well known. Besides being used locally as a medicine and for witchcraft, they are collected and sold for export. The bean used in games, Mucuna urens, has yet to be examined as to its value.
Amongst the other important families containing nut-bearing trees are the Rhizophoraceæ. The Inoy nut, Poga oleosa, is obtained from a common tree in the Owerri and Calabar provinces of Nigeria. The local people of the Oban and Calabar districts are very fond of the nut, and leave the tree standing when making their farms. The nuts sell in the Calabar market at the rate of 250 for 3d. They were examined in England and favourably reported on by the Imperial Institute in June 1905. The hard shell is against their general use, as it is so particularly tough and hard to crack. The shell on the nut itself is about one-fifteenth of an inch thick. The kernel is soft, white, and very oily. It has a better flavour than even the Brazil nut, and is pale-yellow in colour. The kernels were valued in May 1906 at from £9 to £10 in England. They contain about 60·8 per cent. of oil, which showed the following constants according to the investigations of the Imperial Institute:
Specific gravity of 15° C. 0·896
Saponification value 184·49
Iodine value 89·75
Hehner value 93·00
Reichert-Meissl value 1·45
Acid value 39·7
Titer test 22° C.
After extraction of the oil the meal gave the following result:
Expressed on Dry Material. Per cent.
Proteins 41·51
Sugars, reducing 1·32
„ non-reducing (sucrose) 2·50
Other carbohydrates 36·92
Crude fibre 9·00
Ash 8·75
“Inoy” kernels would yield a nutritious cake for feeding cattle.
Thus far no use has been found for the round small, pear-shaped, nut- like fruits of the Red Mangrove, Rhizophora racemosa. Considering the large quantity found floating about in the creeks and rivers, further investigation seems warranted.
In the Euphorbiaceæ family the Nsa-sana (Efik) or Okkwen nuts of the Benis have been found to contain 45·2 per cent. of oil by the Imperial Institute.[17] This nut is obtained from Ricinodendron Africana and R. Rautenii, and is known to the Yorubas as Erimado. In each fruit there are two, three, or even four nuts. The flesh of the fruit soon dries or rots away, leaving the uncracked nuts among the debris. The shell of these is hard and thick, and the inside a bright white colour. In some experiments carried out on a comparatively large scale at the end of 1907 and at the beginning of 1908, in Benin, it was found that more than half the kernels were broken in the cracking of the nut. However, in the Cameroons, where the nuts are used for alimentary purposes, they are boiled for a short time, and then it is possible to crack them quite easily without damaging the kernel inside. Further experiments at Benin showed that six boxes (gin cases) of green fruit yield one box of nuts containing actually 7,528, which weigh 35 lb. 4 oz. One box of fruit contains 418 seeds and yields 720 nuts. An average of 7,419 seeds is contained in each box, 155 nuts weighing 1 lb. Each fruit contains on the average two and one-ninth seeds. On the average 9d. per box was paid for fruit, and 1s. per box for uncracked nuts. Twenty boys cleaned and got ready 2½ boxes of uncracked nuts per day at the cost of 5s. Paying at the rate of 1s. a case for the uncracked nuts, the cost would be £17 per ton. However, with regular quantities being brought in, no doubt this cost could be reduced. In a similar way, if the nuts were boiled in quantity and immediately cracked, the kernels would be got out at a cheaper rate. The native working for himself, as with the palm nuts, would turn out greater quantities in a shorter time.
The yield of the oil pressed from the kernels was 47 per cent., or 14 per cent. on the whole nut. It is light yellow in colour and has a pleasant taste, very much like that of the ground nut. The chemical examination showed a resemblance to Tsung oil (Chinese wood oil). It possesses the same property of drying on exposure to air under ordinary atmospheric pressure. The oil could be used for similar purposes, or for the making of soft soap, and would be worth from about £18 to £20 per ton for this purpose, and it appears that the oil would have a ready sale in England, and have a value, equal to linseed oil, of about £21 per ton. According to the investigations at the Imperial Institute, the analysis of Nsa-sana kernels and Tsung oil showed:
---------------------+-------------------+-------------------------- | Oil from Nsa-sana | Commercial Tsung Oil. | Kernels. | ---------------------+-------------------+-------------------------- Specific gravity |0·9320 (at 20° C.) |0·933-0·942 (at 15·5° C.) | | Saponification value | 191·6 | 190-197 | | Iodine value | 147·7 | 149-165 | | Hehner value | 95·2 | 96·3 | | Titer test | 35·7° C. | 37·1-37·2° C. ---------------------+-------------------+--------------------------
Despite the large quantities of nuts available, especially in the Abeokuta, Benin and Calabar provinces, the difficulty of cracking the nuts satisfactorily and buying them cheap enough has so far precluded an export trade from being built up. Owing to the low percentage of oil in the whole nut it is evident that it would not pay to ship the uncracked nuts. So far no plantations have been made with this tree, but it comes up very readily and plentifully in old abandoned farms of the mixed forest zone. In open localities, with plenty of light, the tree begins to bear between the seventh and tenth year, and almost each year there is a large crop of fruit. From larger trees the yield appears to be over one bushel of nuts per tree per annum.
The curious nut-like fruits of Ubellu, Benin, supposed to be a species of Microdesmis, have not been examined as to their oil or other content. Soon after falling to the ground they break up into a white putty-like substance, which has a very peculiar, almost sulphurous, smell, and sometimes rather phosphoric. The nuts are spherical and rather more than half an inch in diameter. The tree is found chiefly in Benin, also in the Abeokuta and Calabar provinces.
Among the Euphorbiaceæ is the creeper, Manniphyton sp., known as Okwe to the Benis. The spherically shaped fruit with four raised ribs on its surface is cut open and contains one large round nut. It is about one inch in diameter. This is boiled for a few hours and is then edible, after the thin dark-brown husk has been removed. It can be peeled off with the fingers. The nut has a pleasant mealy taste and is very satisfying. Further examination would show whether it contains a valuable oil, and in what quantity. So far it has not been cultivated.
Of the Cucurbitaceæ, the seeds of Citrullus vulgaris, known as Ikpan by the Efiks or Egusi bara by the Yorubas, have been examined at the Imperial Institute[18] and found to contain from 40 to 41 per cent. of a pale-yellow oil. It is a common plant in the more open farms of the forest and does not demand a very high rainfall—45 inches. The natives use the kernels, after they have removed the hard skin, for making soup. It makes an excellent dish with rather a sweet taste. According to the investigations of the Imperial Institute[19] an analysis of the oil gave the following results:
Specific gravity at 15° C. 0·9184
Acid value 5·5
Saponification value 194·0
Iodine value 106·0
Hehner value 95·5
Titer test 36·0° C.
The oil could be used for soap-making, and was valued at £29 per ton.
In the family Moringeæ there is Moringa pterygosperma, the Ben oil- seed tree. It is a common tree of the upper part of the Oyo, Benin and Ogoja provinces of Nigeria. It is also found in Borgu and other of the Northern Provinces. On examination by the Imperial Institute the kernels were found to contain 38 per cent. of oil, pale-yellow in colour and of a pleasant taste. The kernel is difficult to extract. At the Imperial Institute[19] the analysis showed:
--------------+---------------------+---------------------+----------- | No. 1 from | No. 2 from |No. 3 from | Extracted Oil. | Decorticated Seed. |Undecorti- | | |cated Seed. +----------+----------+----------+----------+----------- | Liquid. | Solid. | Cold | Hot | Hot | | | Pressed. | Pressed. | Pressed. --------------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------- Specific | 0·914 | — | 0·902 | 0·898 | 0·913 gravity at | | | | | 15/15° C. | | | | | | | | | | Acid value | 15·3 | — | 49·7 | 100·5 | 2·3 | | | | | Saponification| 189·2 | 194·4 | 179·2 | 178·7 | 186·0 value | | | | | | | | | | Iodine value | 70·7 | 68·3 | 100·3 | 88·0 | 67·7 | | | | | Unsaponifiable| — | — | 1·67 | 2·69 | — matter | | | | | --------------+----------+----------+----------+----------+-----------
COMPOSITION OF CAKE FROM BEN SEEDS.
--------------------------------+-------------+--------------- | No. 2, | No. 3 |Decorticated.|Undecorticated. --------------------------------+-------------+--------------- | Per cent. | Per cent. | | Moisture | 5·96 | 7·5 | | Albuminoids | 24·12 } | | } | 30·8 Other nitrogenous substances | 34·81 } | | | Fat | 11·27 | 14·5 | | Fibre | 4·32 | 21·9 | | Ash | 5·66 | 4·5 | | Other non-nitrogenous substances| 13·86 | 20·9 --------------------------------+-------------+---------------
From the Simarubeæ there is Balanites Ægyptica, Betu oil-tree of the Northern Provinces of Nigeria. Although it yields 58·7 per cent. of oil, the exploitation of it is almost impossible, owing to the difficulties in removing the husk, the external sugary pulp, and then the thick fibrous shell under the pulp. At the Imperial Institute,[20] Betu oil on analysis showed:
Specific gravity 0·919
Acid value 5·0
Saponification value 196·7
Iodine value 92·5
Hehner value 92·5
Reichert-Meissl value —
Unsaponifiable matter 0·6
Titer test 34·6° C. (approx.)
The oil is a mixture; the results of analysis are as follows:
Per cent.
Olein 33
Linolein 33
Stearin and palmitin 34
The family of Simarubeæ also contains the trees Irvingia Barteri and I. Smithii. These yield the Dika nut, or, as it is sometimes called, Gaboon chocolate. The sun-dried kernels keep in a perfectly good condition for some time. According to the investigation of the Imperial Institute[20] the kernel contains about 43·5 of “Dika fat.” It would be useful either for soap or for candle making, and be worth from £25 to £27 per ton, and the Dika kernels are valued at from £10 to £12 per ton. Locally, however, they are often worth as much as this, but no doubt increased production would mean a reduction in price. So far the tree has only been planted in isolated instances, and otherwise is a forest tree which has been protected by the native for the value of its fruit. The decortication usually takes place near the tree, or in an open place where the nuts are split in half with a sharp matchet, which releases the kernel in the centre, and though often cut in half by this method, it apparently does not mean a large loss of oil to the kernel. According to the analysis of the Imperial Institute[20] the kernel showed:
------------------------------------+---------+---------+-------- | Sample | Sample | Sample | No. 1. | No. 2. | No. 3. ------------------------------------+---------+---------+-------- Yield of fat (on kernels) per cent. | 54·3 | 60·1 | 66·3 | | | Specific gravity at 100/15° C. | — | 0·863 | — | | | Acid value | 6·6 | 12·6 | 1·8 | | | Saponification value |244·5 | 250·0 |243·8 | | | Iodine value | 5·2 | 3·3 | 4·2 | | | Unsaponifiable matter | 0·7 | — | — | | | Titer test | 34·8° C.| — | — | | | Melting-point of fat | — | — | 39·2°C. ------------------------------------+---------+---------+--------
Apparently an oil seed, probably Philiodiscus, a member of the Sapindaceæ family, has been examined at the Imperial Institute and has been found to contain a non-drying oil, which was free from taste and smell. It should, therefore, be of value for eating or for making a white soap.
Sapotaceæ, Butyrospermum Parkii.—In recent years larger quantities of Shea nuts, which are the product of this tree, have been exported from West Africa, especially Nigeria, as also Shea butter, which is manufactured locally from the nuts. In the varieties Tengba and Bomo the quantity varied from “54·5 per cent. to 48 per cent.,” and these were obtained from the Southern Provinces of Nigeria. In the two varieties exported from the Northern Provinces, those known as Eko showed a length of nut varying from 1·5 to 2·5 inches, and the Giddouchi variety 1·4 inches long. Owing to the wide prevalence of this tree much larger quantities could be exported, but many of the forests containing it are situated far away from means of transport, and no very suitable method has yet been found of manufacturing the butter on a big scale locally. At present it is made by certain women who know the process, which takes nearly three days to complete. According to the Imperial Institute the results of the analysis of Shea butter are:[21]
---------------------------------+---------+----------+----------- | From | Fat from | Fat from | Lagos. |Untreated |Kiln-dried | | Kernels. | Kernels. ---------------------------------+---------+----------+----------- Specific gravity at 100/15·5° C. | 0·862 | — | — | | | Acid value | 18·0 | 33·9 | 26·2 | | | Saponification value |179·0 | 181·2 | 180·2 | | | Iodine value | 58·7 | 59·4 | 55·8 | | | Hehner value | 96·5 | — | — | | | Unsaponifiable value | 1·7 | — | — | | | Titer test | 52·0° C.| — | — ---------------------------------+---------+----------+-----------
The fat obtained from the Northern Provinces and the Gold Coast shows very similar contents.
Mimusops, sp. Djave?.—The nuts of this species closely resemble those of the Shea Butter Tree. The nuts are a light-brown colour, about two inches long, and one to one and a half inches in diameter, with roundly pointed ends. Rather more than half the surface of the nut is smooth and shiny, and the other half is rough and dull, and the whole of it is very hard. When dry it is, however, comparatively easily separated from the kernel. The fresh kernels are cream-coloured. According to the Imperial Institute[21] the yield of fat extracted by solvents is 60·2 per cent., or 37·7 per cent. from the whole nut. The fat is solid at ordinary temperatures. In 1913 some of these nuts were shipped from the Cross River and were valued in Liverpool as Shea nuts, only at a rather lesser rate. According to the Imperial Institute the analysis showed:
Specific gravity at 100/15·5° C. 0·860
Acid value 25·3
Saponification value 187·6
Iodine value 56·2
Hehner value 95·4
Reichert-Meissl value Nil
Unsaponifiable matter 2·6 approx.
Titer test 47·8° C.
Dumoria Heckeli? (Baco or Abaku).—Although the Gold Coast name is given, these nuts are also found in the Oban forest. The nuts are large, considerably longer than those of Mimusops, but rather thinner. They are of a pale-brown colour, with a thick, hard, woody shell, most of which is smooth and shiny, only one small part of the surface being rough and forming almost a nodule. According to the Imperial Institute[22] analysis of the Gold Coast samples, the whole nuts contain 21 per cent. of fat or 60·5 per cent. in the kernels alone. The fat is solid and of a creamy white colour. The soap-makers reported that it was about equal to middling quality palm oil. It is also stated that dried kernels in good condition would be worth £13 per ton. According to the Imperial Institute[22] analysis the fat showed:
Specific gravity at 100/15·5° C. 0·855
Acid value 34·7
Saponification value 188·4
Iodine value 51·3
Titer test 51·2° C.
Unsaponifiable matter 1·3
The small nuts of Mimusops multinervis and M. lacera have not been examined as to their oil or other content. The hard nuts of M. lacera appear to contain a fair proportion of oil.
In this family, too, are the nuts of Chrysophyllum Africanum and other species, for which a use has yet not been found. Finally, there are the numerous and fine seeds of Omphalocarpum elatum, known as Ikassa by the Benis, which are probably also oil-bearing.
The next important family is the Olacaceæ, Heisteria parvifolia, known as Ikereoha by the Benis. It yields an edible nut which is white on the exterior and has a black-coloured shell over the actual nut inside. It has not yet been exported or valued. The Benin and other natives are very fond of eating it.
Then there is the nut of Ivialegbi (Benin), which is edible and has a pleasant taste. It is rather smaller than the Gaboon nut, and its surface is slightly striated from the sharp point of the nut to the base.
In this family is found, too, Coula edulis, or the Gaboon nut. This is chiefly found in the Cameroons, but owing to similarity in the vegetation it is very probably growing in the Oban forest of the Anom range. The shell of the nut is very rough, and the outside is smoother than the inside. The shell can be cracked comparatively easily with a somewhat powerful blow with a hammer or axe-handle.
From the Anonaceæ:
Monodora tenuifolia, African Nutmeg.
M. myristica, var. grandis, Calabar Nutmeg.
M. brevipes, Yellow-flowering Nutmeg.
None of these nutmegs have yet been placed on the European market. Although they are all much smaller in size than the nutmeg of commerce, a proper examination would reveal any value they might possess.
Although the Myristicaceæ, Pycnanthus Kombo, yield fat-bearing nuts, they have not been exported to the English market. The nut is the size of a small oval plum. The outer husk is hard and thick, but is comparatively easily broken. The inner nut is covered with a red aril spread out over it, similar to the mace over the common nutmeg (Myristica fragrans). The kernel is white inside, with dark rays penetrating it from the outside. The tree is very prevalent, and yields a large number of nuts. According to the investigation of the Imperial Institute[23] “the yield of solid fat was 54 per cent. It has an orange colour and a bitter taste.” The fat was stated to be suitable for soap and candle making and the meal as a manure. In Sierra Leone the nuts were known as Kpoye, and are identical with those known as “Kafu.” According to the chemical analysis made at the Imperial Institute the following results were obtained:
Specific gravity at 100/15° C. 0·886
Melting-point 48·5° C.
Saponification value 235 to 245
Acid value 21·0
Hehner value 90·8
Iodine value 48·9
Titer test 45·8° C.
ANALYSIS OF FAT FROM SIERRA LEONE KOMBO SEEDS.
---------------------+--------+---------------- | | Fat Extracted | Fat as | from Kernels | Sent. | at Imperial | | Institute. ---------------------+--------+---------------- Specific gravity | 0·887 | 0·880 | | Acid value | 33·0 | 31·4 | | Saponification value |231 | 236 | | Iodine value | 67·6 | 59·0 ---------------------+--------+----------------
Of the Meliaceæ there is Carapa Guineensis (C. procera, D.C.), which yields the Carapa oil. The nuts are roughly tetrahedral in shape, having a rough reddish-brown shell enclosing one large kernel covered with a pale-brown papery skin. Good kernels yield about 57 per cent. of oil by extraction with solvents and 46·7 per cent. by pressure (27 per cent. on cold and 22 per cent. on heating); it is of a pale-yellow colour and has a bitter taste. The commercial value of the oil was stated in 1907 to be £20 10s. per ton according to the valuations made by the Imperial Institute,[24] and from the same authority we find the Carapa cake is of a very low manurial value, and is only stated to be worth about £2 per ton. Some dark-coloured kernels were bought in 1909 at £11 5s. per ton, and light kernels at £11 10s. per ton. According to the Imperial Institute the results were as follows:
---------------------------+-----------------+---------------- |Cold Pressed Oil.|Hot Pressed Oil. ---------------------------+-----------------+---------------- Specific gravity at 40° C. | 0·9179 | 0·9174 | | „ „ 15° C. | 0·9272 | 0·9327 | | Saponification value | 197·1 | 196·4 | | Iodine value | 75·6 | 71·2 | | Reichert-Meissl value | 3·5 | 3·1 | | Unsaponifiable matter | 1·5 | 2·0 | | Titer test | 35·4° C. | 36·1° C. ---------------------------+-----------------+----------------
CARAPA CAKE.
Per cent.
Moisture 9·8
Ash 5·9
Nitrogen 2·9
The ash contained:
Per cent. (calculated on Cake).
Potash, K₂O 1·91
Lime, CaO 0·18
Phosphoric anhydride, P₂O₅ 0·51
Apocynaceæ.—Although the seeds of Funtumia elastica yield oil, it was not favourably reported on. Perhaps now, with the greater value of all the oil seeds, some use could be made of it.
Ebenaceæ, Diospyros Barteri.—This yields the Ebony nut, which is small, but edible. The Benin natives are very fond of it. It has not been exported.
Diospyros crassiflora or Diospyros dendo have a fruit about the size of a large green plum, which contains four long, thin, almond-like nuts, which have rather a bitter taste. Although evidently oil-bearing, they have not been properly examined or tested as to the exact content of oil or other products.
Rosaceæ.—Although the Chrysobalanus sp., or Niko nut, is comparatively well known, it is by no means fully utilized. Then there is Parinarium Gabunense, yielding the Mahogany nut, of uncertain value.
Anacardiaceæ.—The Anacardium occidentale, yielding the Cashew nut, is so far only utilized near Lagos, where it is growing as a garden escape. No proper plantations have yet been made of this tree.
Amongst the Palmæ, besides the Oil Palm, we have the Bottle Toddy or Fan Palm, Borassus flabellifer, yielding three or four nuts in each fruit. These are oil containing, but of unknown value. Considering the large areas in all the West African Colonies where the Fan Palm is found, some use should be made of the large number of nuts produced.
Then we have Hyphæne, the Doum Palm, which yields a nut used for making buttons. Here, again, the large quantities which are found in Africa ensure a steady amount of produce being placed on the market, provided a remunerative price is always paid for the nuts. Finally there is Phœnix dactylifera, the Date Palm. Although this is more of a fruit than a nut, it is included here, as it is found in the forest groves of the North. Considering the value of its produce and the constant demand there is for it, a wide extension of its area of cultivation is to be recommended.
Ochnaceæ, Lophira alata.—This is the dwarf Red Ironwood tree, which yields the “Niam” fat or “Meni” oil. The fruit is roughly conical, consisting of a reddish-brown fibrous shell, enclosing one kernel. The kernel is conical in shape, and about five-eighths of an inch in width. The inside is a pale-yellow colour. The fruit has two uneven-sized wings, the larger being over an inch in length and nearly half an inch in width. According to the Imperial Institute[25] the fat is semi-solid and of a yellowish colour. The kernel contains 31·1 to 43 per cent. of fat. The fat is suitable for soap-making.
According to the analysis of the Imperial Institute the results were as follows: For soap-making it is considered to be of the same value as palm oil, i.e. in November 1911, at Liverpool, £30 to £31 per ton. The cake obtained from it closely resembled Shea-nut cake and was of a similar value, i.e. about £3 per ton in Liverpool. The decorticated kernels, which contained about 40 per cent. of oil, were valued at about £10 per ton c.i.f. at Liverpool in October 1911. These kernels should find a ready market in Europe for soap-making, and the cake to be used as a manure. As the tree is one of the commonest in the dry-zone forests, ample supplies of the nuts should be always forthcoming, providing an adequate price to pay for the cost of production is paid for them.
TABLE I.
Yield of Fat.
----------------------+--------+--------+----------+---------+-------- | A. | B. | C. | D. | E. ----------------------+--------+--------+----------+---------+-------- Product received | Fruits |Kernels | Fruits | Kernels |Kernels | | | | | Condition of kernels | Mostly | Good | Many | Good | fairly | sound | | partly | | good | | |decomposed| | | | | | | Yield of fat (per | 31·19 | 43·0 | 39·6 | 41·16 | 41·76 cent. calculated on | | | | | weight of kernels | | | | | used) | | | | | ----------------------+--------+--------+----------+---------+--------
TABLE II.
Constants of Fat.
----------------------+--------+--------+----------+---------+-------- | A. | B. | C. | D. | E. ----------------------+--------+--------+----------+---------+-------- Specific gravity | 0·9105| 0·9044| 0·9044 | 0·9019 | 0·9016 | | | | | Acid value | 18·54 | 25·9 | 33·2 | 47·5 | 48·0 | | | | | Saponification value |195·6 |181·5 | 194·6 |180·7 |183·3 | | | | | Iodine value | 68·4 | 69·8 | 70·3 | 72·1 | 72·5 | | | | | Reichert-Meissl value | — | 0·9 | 0·9 | 0·8 | 0·8 | | | | | Unsaponifiable matter | 1·49 | 0·5 | — | — | 0·86 | | | | | Titer test | — | 49·0°C.| 47·0° C.| 47·5° C.| 48·5° | | | | | C. ----------------------+--------+--------+----------+---------+--------
To face p. 460.
Closely allied to the above is Lophira procera, the Red Ironwood Tree, which yields the Kaku or Ebba kernels. The fruit is usually more sharply conical in shape than that from L. alata. The fruits are small, owing to the fact that these large forest trees grow closely amongst others, and the fruits are not so fully developed or filled out as those of L. alata. L. alata usually grows in the open freely, or at most only just touching a neighbouring tree, and thus the fruit has ample light for its development. According to the investigations of the Imperial Institute, the nuts were found to yield 55·2 per cent. of fat, which was solid and cream-coloured. Owing to the fact that this is a larger yield than that obtained from the nuts of L. alata, the decorticated kernels were valued at £12 per ton c.i.f. Liverpool. This tree is one of the most prevalent in the evergreen forests of Nigeria, the Gold Coast, and Sierra Leone, so that very considerable amounts of the seeds could be obtained, provided a remunerative price is paid to cover the cost of production. According to the analysis made at the Imperial Institute[26] the kernels contain:
Specific gravity at 100/15·5° C. 0·859
Acid value 11·6
Saponification value 190
Iodine value 60
Unsaponifiable value 0·8
Guttiferæ, Pentadesma Butyracea.—The Tallow Tree. From this a large number of fat-yielding kernels are obtained from each fruit. The nuts are irregular tetrahedral shape. The shell is not very thick and easily broken when the nuts are dry. When fresh the kernel is lightish-yellow in colour, and the nut is brown. According to the investigations of the Imperial Institute the fat obtained is of a pale-yellow colour, and has a pleasant smell and taste. In smell, in fact, it is very much like Shea butter.
On analysis it showed:
Specific gravity at 100/15·5° C. 0·859
Acid value 3·6
Saponification value 190·1
Iodine value 41·8
Titer test 50·7° C.
Hehner value 95·0
Unsaponifiable matter 1·7
Reichert-Meissl value Nil
The samples from the Southern Provinces of Nigeria showed rather a lower saponification and iodine value.
From its appearance and chemical constants it seems possible that this fat might be used in the manufacture of edible fats. The kernels were valued, when in good and dry condition, at from £8 to £10 per ton in the United Kingdom.
Allanblackia floribunda.—The numerous nuts or kernels from the large fruits of this tree have not yet been used for any commercial purpose. They appear to contain an oil. In this family, too, there is Ochrocarpus Africanus, which has the large edible fruit known as the African Mammee Apple. This also yields large nuts of an uncertain value, which are apparently oil or fat bearing.
Garcinia conrauna.—The nuts of this, the false or bitter Cola, besides yielding an edible fruit, are used locally, but further investigations would show whether they would obtain a regular market as an export product.
Polygalaceæ, “Cheyi” seed, Polygala butyracea, Heck.—This is a common herbaceous plant of West Africa. The seeds yield a valuable edible fat. They are about a fifth of an inch long and a tenth of an inch broad. The seeds are of a brownish-black outside and a greenish-yellow inside. According to the investigations of the Imperial Institute “the seeds yielded 39·7 per cent. of a soft yellowish fat. The taste of it was pleasant, and there was no odour.” According to the Imperial Institute analysis the “Cheyi” fat showed:
------------------------+---------------+------------------ |Present Sample.|Results previously | | Recorded. ------------------------+---------------+------------------ Melting-point | 36° C. | — | | Specific gravity at | 0·866 | — 100/15·5° C. | | | | Acid value | 1·24 | 11·4 | | Saponification value | 251·0 | 253·0 | | Iodine value | 52·5 | 49·4 | | Titer test | 37·85° C. | — | | Hehner value | 85·6 | — | | Reichert-Meissl value | 45·6 | 45·5 ------------------------+---------------+------------------
“The edible fat manufacturers stated that ‘Cheyi’ fat was suitable for their purpose if it could be proved that it did not contain a poison, and valued the seeds at £13 to £14 per ton. The oil-seed crushers valued the seeds at £12 per ton in the United Kingdom.”
N.O. Bixaceæ, according to Thonner, Flacourtiaceæ, Oncoba echinata, Oliver.—This tree bears a large number of seeds, which are known as “Gorli” seeds. The seeds are long and irregularly shaped, and vary from a quarter to three-eighths of an inch long, and from one-eighth to three-sixteenths of an inch broad. The stiff husk is brown in colour. The seeds without husks are white, waxy and soft. According to the Imperial Institute investigations the seeds contain 46·6 of fat, which is hard, white and crystalline. Although the soap made from it was satisfactory, it did not lose the very peculiar odour which the fat has. The cake and fat cannot be used as a food because of the large amount of chaulmoogric acid contained in it, an acid which causes vomiting. The fat might possibly be of value in candle-making. According to the Imperial Institute analysis the seeds showed:
ANALYSIS OF “GORLI” SEEDS.
-------------------------------+---------+----------- |Sample I.|Sample II. -------------------------------+---------+----------- |Per cent.|Per cent. | | Moisture | 5·8 | 5·8 | | Fat | 46·6 | 46·6 | | Crude proteins | 17·5 | 18·1 | | Consisting of— | | | | True proteins | 11·3 | 10·2 | | Other nitrogenous substances | 6·2 | 7·9 | | Soluble carbohydrates | Nil | Nil | | Starch, etc. | 11·8 | 12·1 | | Crude fibre | 15·6 | 14·7 | | Ash | 2·7 | 2·7 -------------------------------+---------+-----------
ANALYSIS OF “GORLI” FAT.
-------------------------------+---------+----------- | No. I. | No. II. -------------------------------+---------+----------- Specific gravity at 15·5° C. | 0·898 | 0·896 | | Acid value | 4·5 | 22·4 | | Saponification value |192·4 |193·9 | | Iodine value | 99·7 | 96·8 | | Titer test | 57·8° C.| 57·8° C. | | Hehner value | 96·5 | 96·5 | | Reichert-Meissl value | Nil | Nil | | Unsaponifiable matter | 1·6 | 1·3 -------------------------------+---------+-----------
The nut of Ogbogo, a Benin tree, is as yet unvalued, though it appears to be an oil-yielding fruit. There is, too, the long almond-shaped nut of Oktobun. Although it has a somewhat hard shell, the nut is very large in proportion, and the kernel seems to be rich in oil. So far no use has been made of it.
XII. THE OIL PALM AND PALM KERNEL INDUSTRY
1. ÆSTHETIC ASPECT.—A most familiar sight to everyone visiting a farm in the southern part of Nigeria is the charming grace of the fronds of the Oil Palm in the clearings near the house. The long, straight, cylindrical, undivided stem, crowned by a large tuft of broad green palm leaves, easily distinguishes the Oil Palm (Elæis Guineensis) from the Tombo (Raphia vinifera), which has a thinner stem, clothed from the base to the top with 40-feet long heavy fronds, the undersides being silvery and the upper part light green. In certain times of the year huge bunches of yellow grape-like fruits hang quite 4 feet down from the narrow crown of this tree. It is most noteworthy that the Tombo Palm is found growing in or near a swamp, and only occasionally planted as an avenue tree on drier land, whereas the Oil Palm is usually found in the hard and drier ground and only occasionally in the swamp. The Oil Palm is much larger than another Wine Palm, Raphia Hookeri, which is similar but smaller than Raphia vinifera, the growth being similar but the seeds smaller.
Raphia Ruffia is a small swamp palm, with practically no stem, but a large number of long, thin, and somewhat light, pendulous fronds.
Most visitors to West Africa are quite familiar with the huge casks of orange-coloured or yellow oil, which often leaks on to the deck of the ship, and the peculiar, rather nauseatingly pungent odour of the “sweating” kernel bags.
1_a_. GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE OIL PALM TREE, FRUIT AND NUT.—From the railway carriage we can see numerous groves of Oil Palms, as well as isolated specimens, almost continuously for the first 60 miles from Lagos, and more isolated for the next 180 miles. With few exceptions the Oil Palm is a single stemmed tree, one notable forked tree being seen on the northern side of the Nigerian Railway, a little more than three miles before reaching Ibadan. In this case an oil palm nut may have become embedded in an old leaf stalk sheath and subsequently sprouted, thus forming a separate tree growing on the other, which in the course of time has become joined up.
It will be noticeable that in passing through the heavy forest near Olokemeji few or no Oil Palms are seen. This forest, however, is situated really within the area of the natural distribution of the Oil Palm. The Oil Palm, however, needs a good deal of light for its development, and those trees seen in the heavy forest are very tall, often over 100 feet high, with comparatively short leaves and a small number of them forming the crown of the tree (see illustration 102). On the other hand, wherever a clearing has been made in the forest, for instance near Awowo, the older Oil Palms are shorter in stem, often being not more than 20 feet in height. Another instance of this is seen in the farms near Badagry, where the trees are often only 15 to 20 feet high, and the stem itself only 10 feet in length. In each of these cases it will be noticed that the trees are standing quite free, with no overhanging vegetation. From the first they have been in this position, and the leaves have had room to spread almost 20 feet all round, thus giving the tree the maximum amount of moisture and other food material.
Amongst these trees, Oil Palm seedlings will be seen to spread out over the ground almost at once, even when only the secondary and tertiary leaves have grown. In the forest, however, the leaves go almost straight up, and only after some years have elapsed spread more as they dominate, or try to overgrow, other seedling forest trees.
2. BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION OF TREE, FRUIT, ETC.—An Oil Palm starts male flowers when three years old, and these are borne one to three years before the female flowers appear. The male and female flowers are both found on the same tree, the male above the female in the axils of the leaves. There are two cycles of leaves younger than the female flower. The Oil Palm fruit is formed first by the kernel surrounded by shell, then the fibrous pulp containing the palm oil. The ripe fruit is of a brilliant brick-red colour, the unripe fruit being always black at the point and only red near the base, where it is covered by neighbouring fruits. When ripe they fall from the bunch, and it is especially noticeable that each bunch of fruit grows out of alternate leaf axils, alternating also with the whorls or cycles of growth (illustration 60).
The female flowers are very minute, and in the earlier years each bunch is rather smaller than a man’s hand. The centre of the flower is orange, coloured with a bluish tip, and scarcely lasts a week. On the other hand, the male inflorescence is like a compact horse’s tail, composed of closely packed pollenated stamens. Owing to the different years in which the male and female inflorescence appear, it is probable that cross- fertilization takes place.
2_a_. DISTRIBUTION OF THE OIL PALM.—The Oil Palm is found from Sierra Leone to Lake Chad, down to Ambriz, and eastward to the borders of German East Africa.
The Palm Belt, according to Millbourne, is 3,000 miles in length, and varies from 150 to 300 miles in width.
It is estimated that there are six or seven million Oil Palms behind Loanda inland, though this sounds rather exaggerated.
In Nigeria it is most widely distributed in the Southern Provinces, and the densest “stands” are found in each of the river basins wherever the forest has been cleared (see illustration 103).
Wherever the dry season is very prolonged and the locality shows a shallow soil, overlying laterite or rock, the Oil Palm first of all appears after the forest has been cut down. After a few years the trees are subject to annual grass-fires, and while still bearing fruit they begin to fail and scarcely last half the ordinary period of their life. Localities of that nature are found in the Afikpo, Onitsha, Ifon, and parts of the Ibadan districts.
The Oil Palm is also one of the first trees to appear after the mangrove swamp and Tombo Palm region is passed in going through the forest zones from the coast inwards.
2_b_. VARIETIES OF THE OIL PALM.—These, according to Professor O. Beccari, of Florence, are as follows:
Elæis Guineensis.
Var. albescens. White Oil Palm. Abe-fita or Abe-fufu (Gold Coast).
Angulosa. Oleporo Eyop (Old Calabar).
Ceredia. Adi-be (Gold Coast).
Communis. Udin (Benin).
Communis forma, dura. Ade-pa (Gold Coast).
Idolatrica. Sacred Palm. Abe-Obene (Gold Coast).
Intermedia.
Macrocarpa.
Macrocarya. Abubube (Gold Coast).
Pisifera.
Repandra. Kessede.
Rostrata. Mbana Oyop (Old Calabar).
The Benin people differentiate the Udin or ordinary palm from Ogedin or the King Palm on account of its having smaller bunches of fruit, each fruit being longer and having a softer shell. They also treat Evirommilla or the Palm of Everlasting Life as a separate species. The Yorubas, however, consider that there are three species of Oil Palm.
According to the German experiments in the Cameroons, the Lisombe or soft-shell Oil Palm does not come up true to type, approximately only 5 to 10 per cent. growing to the true variety. From the locality in which the Lisombe Palm was and is found, it looks as if the high rainfall (over 300 inches) had really been one of the main factors in evolving this type of Oil Palm. In fact, natives who know the ordinary Oil Palm and the soft-shell Oil Palm say it is rather a matter of taste as to which is the better of the two. Apparently it depends on what commodity the native is dealing in, kernels or oil, as to whether it pays better to get plenty of oil, and obtain the kernels more easily from the soft- shelled Oil Palm, or an average amount of oil and larger kernels obtained with more difficulty from the ordinary Oil Palm. On the whole, the Lisombe Palm does not seem to yield on an average more pericarp oil than the ordinary Benin or Yoruba Oil Palm growing in a farm in the usual moist-zone climate. Certainly the kernel of the Lisombe Palm is much smaller than the ordinary Oil Palm. A further point to be considered, too, is that the bunch of Lisombe Oil Palm fruit is smaller on the average than the bunch of the ordinary Oil Palm.
However, it may be noted that the natives of the southern part of the Ogoja district, especially the Ndeh and Befun people, plant a species of soft-shelled palm near the villages. Of course, in this locality the Oil Palm is not found in very large quantities, and the seeds for these groves were obtained from a good distance away, probably near the Cross River.
3. THE GROWING OF THE OIL PALM—DISTRIBUTION OF SEED BY FARMERS, PARROTS, MONKEYS.—In the forest country a clearing is made some distance away from the village by the native to make a new farm. In clearing and cutting down the forest, few or no Oil Palms are met with, so that the farmer’s wife brings palm fruit or oil to the new farm, in order that they may have palm oil to eat. Having made the oil, the nuts are put out in the open to dry, with the intention of their being cracked later on. However, they lie about some months, and rodents of various kinds, such as rats and the hyrax (a squirrel-like animal), carry some of these away into the farm. Some farmers, too, pick up a few and scatter them over the farm. In the course of a year or two Oil Palm seedlings appear, where they are left amongst the other vegetation when the farm is abandoned. In this way, instead of the original thick forest there is a more or less dense grove of young Oil Palms. In other places the parrots may bring nuts from the neighbouring forests or other old farms, and these, falling in the clearing, also help to make a palm forest.
The native also, after he has picked the bunches of fruit, puts them down in some convenient place on the roadside. Some of the nuts become scattered, which subsequently sprout and form additional groves of palms, especially where the larger trees near the roadside fall, or are cut down, thus giving more light to the young seedlings.
Again, when the bunch of fruit is ripe on the tree, it is not often immediately cut off, and many of the ripe nuts thus fall to the ground. These subsequently grow, forming almost thickets of Oil Palms, instead of the one from which the original seed was obtained. A similar process takes place on a bigger scale in the more distantly situated forests, where the natives do not collect the fruit at all. Here, all the nuts gradually fall off the tree, more or less forming a circle 10 to 15 feet away from the trunk. If any clearings take place in these localities, they rapidly appear to become filled up with Oil Palms, which in reality were already there as little tiny seedlings amongst the herbs and undergrowth, ready to make use of any additional light or growing space to develop fully.
4. FRUIT-BEARING AGE OF OIL PALM.—Under these conditions, where the seedling Oil Palms stand only a few inches, or at the most 4 or 5 feet apart, the growth is very constricted, with the result that no flowers or fruit appear before the fifteenth or twentieth year. Each stem is excessively thin, and tends to grow upwards like an ordinary forest tree, rather than forming a very short, almost negligible length of stem, but nearly 1 foot in diameter, as is typical of the palm family in the earlier years of its growth. Contrary to the above, where the Oil Palm comes up in a more open place the leaves do not tend upwards, but outwards, arching over with the leaf stalk at an angle of about 45° to the ground. The leaves themselves, instead of being long and thin and with a long length of green stalk, soon spread out fully 20 inches on either side of the main stalk, thus giving the plant more food material and making it grow more quickly. Then, in the fourth or fifth year, bunches of fruit, each containing from twenty-five to thirty nuts, are formed out of the female flower. Each bunch, which is the size of a man’s fist at this age, increases to nearly 2 feet in length and 1 foot in diameter at maturity. However, each bunch of fruit, having been formed against the stem of the palm and in the axil of the leaf stalk, is very much compressed, especially at the base. As an experiment, when the fruit is beginning to ripen, the leaf stalk just immediately below the base of the fruit stalk is removed; gradually then the bunch of fruit droops a little and develops more fully at the base, owing to having more space. More light thus reaches the fruit sideways, and the period of ripening is accelerated by three weeks.
5. OIL PALM PLANTATIONS AND CROPS.—As a result of the greater spreading out of the leaves of the young palm and the more sessile habit of the stem in the earlier stages of growth, light penetrates more intensely into the fruit-bearing axils of the tree, thus increasing the size of each bunch.
In the Calabar Arboretum, some Oil Palms were cleaned and the ground thoroughly cultivated in two successive years. In the first year one tree bore fourteen bunches of fruit, and in the second year it bore twenty-two bunches. No manure was placed on the ground, and the soil was distinctly poor and sandy—in fact, the natives in the locality said the land was of no use and could not be used for farms (see illustration 102).
In another case, in Benin, the Oil Palms, which were first sown at stake and subsequently transplanted, bore fruit in the fifth year. Contrary to expectation, the transplanted Oil Palm seedlings developed the secondary and tertiary leaves within a few months after the transplanting had taken place, whereas those sown at stake continued with only two spiky leaves for almost the first year of their growth. As the tree gets older, the number of bunches of fruit borne gets less, though each bunch is fully five times the size of the first fruiting bunches of the fifth year.
In most districts about five bunches of fruit ripen each year, and each bunch bears from 1,200 to 2,000 nuts (from the best trees). It is always noticeable that the palms growing in the open, free from surrounding trees, produce the finest bunches and the greatest number of nuts. On this point of the yield of bunches per annum further investigations are necessary, as it is by no means proved that an average of five bunches per annum is the maximum number for a mature Oil Palm.
In the Togo Plantations (251 acres), it was noticeable that in the more favourable climate of Atakpame and Bassari the Oil Palm bore in the fifth year, whereas in the drier climate of Jendi the trees first bore fruit in the seventh year. In illustration No. 19 the amount of growth shows clearly from year to year, more especially in the difference in the size of the leaf. The relative shortness of the stem is distinctly seen, showing up when compared with the natural forest-grown Oil Palms in illustration 20. In addition, there is the Agu Plantation in Togo. Thus far very few Oil Palm plantations have been made, those in the Cameroons being the most extensive. However, these are almost too young, or to some extent mixed up with the original forest-grown Oil Palms, for conclusive results to be shown.
In the Central Circle in 1906 a communal plantation was made at Okokwo, but the natives have not yet found the necessity of extending it.
Between the Kwa and the Akwayefe Rivers, going along the Akpaboyo Road, the Oil Palms are so evenly distributed that they almost appear to be one great plantation. However, the locality is very favourable to the Oil Palm; the original forest has been largely cut down and the natives have allowed the Oil Palms to stand wherever they did not hinder farming operations. Owing to the fact that the Oil Palm has spread, and is spreading, in those parts of the Southern Provinces of Nigeria and elsewhere where the rainfall is between 60 and 150 inches per annum, there has thus far, from the native point of view, been no incentive to plant more Oil Palms. In fact, with the increasing amount of general work going on, combined with the comparatively high price obtained for palm oil and kernels, there is less necessity for the native to gather all the palm fruit that has grown. It has been noticed that the cultivated Oil Palm, or Oil Palms growing in an open place, only reach about one-quarter the height of the forest-grown Oil Palms, which attain a height of over 100 feet (see illustrations 60).
With cultivated trees it is possible in the earlier fruiting years to stand on the ground and gather the fruit from the palms, and even in later years only a short ladder is necessary in order to reach it. It is really on this problem of the height of the palm-tree that the chief collection of the fruit depends, and also the total output from the Oil Palm forests. Further investigations are necessary to decide as to how far it is possible to retard the height-growth of the Oil Palm for as long as possible, while accelerating the radial growth, or at any rate increasing the thickening of the stem. Varying planting distances have been tried, such as 16 feet 3 inches each way, 17 feet 9 inches in the German experiments in Togo, but 23 feet each way in the Cameroons. In one case teak (Tectona grandis) had been mixed with it. On the whole, in ordinarily favourable localities, a planting distance of 24 feet each way appears to be the most suitable. For the first five to ten years at least agricultural crops could be grown in between, until the Oil Palms had spread out so as to cover the ground almost entirely. Few or no experiments have yet been undertaken in selecting and planting only the biggest nuts of the most prolific variety, which, according to Mr. Farquhar’s report, The Oil Palm and its Varieties, is the A-sog-e-jub, which contains 48 per cent. of pericarp oil.
It has at any rate been demonstrated by the natives that Oil Palms which have been tended yield bigger bunches and bear larger nuts, but only by actual experiments in selected areas or plantations can it be proved exactly how much more produce is obtained, and the extra financial yield over and above the increased cost of cultivation, etc.
According to various commercial calculations, it has been estimated that only £1 per ton can be paid for the ripe fruit at the oil or kernel crushing mill.
Owing to the comparative wide distance (24 feet) at which the Oil Palm should be planted, for the first few years it is possible to plant some catch crops. One of the cheapest ways of forming Oil Palm plantations would be to take over an area fairly well covered with self-sown Oil Palms up to 12 or 15 feet in height. After choosing the best and marking these, the rest should be gradually thinned out by tapping them for palm wine, which could be sold. A crop of water-melon, or Egusi bara (Citrullus vulgaris) of the Yorubas, could be planted over two-thirds of the ground between the Oil Palm plants and trees, leaving sufficient space for their growth and about equal to the spread of their foliage in each case. After this crop has been gathered in August or September, a crop of Awuje (Yoruba name) beans could be planted, which would again be ready for picking by December. In each case the haulms and dried leaves of the plants, after the crop is gathered, should be burnt in small heaps and the ashes scattered over the soil. At the beginning of the following year the ground could be got ready again and a crop of maize sown in a similar way, covering a half to two-thirds of the ground between the plants. This could be followed by another crop of water- melon, which would act as soil-covering during the rainy season, and again another crop of beans in the autumn. In turn this could be followed, after similar treatment as before, at the beginning of the third year, by a crop of yams (Dioscorea sp.). Probably owing to the growth of the palms it would only be possible to have one row down the middle of the line between the palms. The species of yam should not be too large, so that the ridges or yam heaps could be heaped up if necessary with a plough and not by hand, as is usually done. The following autumn another crop of beans could be planted, and the next year, if the soil was light and suitable, a crop of ground nuts could be grown as a double row between the Oil Palms. In the following autumn a crop of beans could be grown again. In the following year, the fifth, some of the Oil Palms would be in bearing and yield the first returns. Bananas could then be planted as a single row between the lines of Oil Palms and would bear in the following year, thus supplementing the second yield of oil and kernels. By these means the whole cost of cultivation should at any rate be covered by the sale of the produce grown, partially to the labourers and otherwise outside, for export, and perhaps even a profit made over and above the cost. In the eleventh or twelfth year the bananas would be practically or entirely covered by the Oil Palms, and thus have to be cut down and to some extent uprooted. Their leaves, however, would form a good mulch for the soil, and at any rate act as an effective soil-covering, thus preventing the growth of weeds.
It is doubtful whether it would be wise to plant bananas right from the start in even one line, not to speak of two amongst the Oil Palms, owing to the extraordinary amount of moisture taken from the ground by the banana. In some cases, on the better soils, they might be introduced in the third year. Cassava, Manihot utilissima, is rather too exacting a crop to be suitable for planting amongst the Oil Palms. It is very liable to impoverish the soil. Then, too, as far as Nigeria is concerned, it is not a very paying crop, yielding at the most about 14s. per acre after all expenses have been paid. In all the above cases we are taking it for granted that the Oil Palm has been planted at, or thinned out to, a distance of 24 feet between each tree. On the poorer soils the distance might no doubt be 18 to 20 feet, and on the very best probably a distance of 30 feet will not be found excessive. Where lime or other manure is available and comparatively cheap, and in some cases heaps of humus from the outskirts of villages, it would pay to put this on the land in the late autumn when the ashes from the previous crops are being spread on the land. In addition to these crops, careful surface cultivation round each Oil Palm is essential, not only to prevent the growth of weeds but also to keep the aeration of the soil good, prevent the desiccating effects of the dry season, and accelerate the growth of the Oil Palm. Besides planting these crops by directly paid labour under European supervision, using as many modern labour- saving appliances as possible, parts of a plantation could no doubt be let out at a nominal rent to the natives, even to some of the labourers, to work it in their own time, but only planting such crops as would fit in with the rotation and not lead to the impoverishment of the soil. Apparently the greatest danger to the tropical soil is to leave it bare for any length of time. In the rainy season all the mineral matter and tilth is liable to be washed away, and in the dry season fissures are formed in it, and if it is at all argillaceous it is liable to be dried out for a depth of over 2 feet. Constant covering is thus necessary to ensure the growth of the Oil Palm.
6. DESTRUCTION OF OIL PALMS.—This is carried out for the following purposes: For farming (Onitsha) and making palm wine. Sometimes many of these trees are destroyed by fire in the Ahoada Okigwi, North Owerri, Afikpo, Abakaliki, Ogaya, and Obudu. Grubs, too, are a very frequent source of destruction among them. The trees are tapped in the Yoruba country to obtain palm wine, but it is not known exactly to what extent this reduces the yield of palm oil and kernels. On the whole it is harmful, owing to the fact that insect and other pests can obtain entrance to the tree through the holes made in tapping it. With the steadily rising price of gin the tapping of the Oil Palm is increasing annually, resulting in a destruction of many thousand trees each year, chiefly in the Obubra and Ikom districts, and to a lesser extent by tapping the trees in the Yoruba country. Wherever the rainfall does not exceed much over 50 inches and the soil of the locality is shallow over laterite or some rock formation, the fires become usually an annual occurrence. The Oil Palms which at first come up on the clearing of the forests then get burnt, and after a few years cease to grow faster than the leaves are burned each year, and subsequently die. In a similar way the young seedlings which may come up are very easily killed by these annually recurring fires, and thus the whole district is impoverished. This process can be seen going on in parts of the Afikpo, Owerri, Abakaliki, Onitsha, Ifon and Ibadan districts. It is a serious menace to the future development of the Oil Palm industry.
To face p. 472.
6_a_. NATIVE METHOD OF COLLECTING FRUIT.—The native, to collect the fruit, climbs the tree with a specially made rope round his waist, by which he gradually hoists himself up. With a rough chisel, like a piece of iron with a handle, he first cuts off the leaf just above the fruit and then severs the bunch, letting it fall to the ground. Many of the fruits drop out in the transit, but these the native does not trouble to gather up.
It is usual for the Chief to close the forest for a certain time until the Oil Palm fruit is more or less ripe, and then the natives can gather it all at the same time. Owing to the difference in the time of the ripening of the individual fruits at the top of the bunch and those at the base, many fall to the ground before the bunch is actually cut off the tree. These are not gathered up, and are taken away by rodents or birds, or come up in the same place.
7. NATIVE METHOD OF MAKING OIL AND KERNEL INSPECTION.—The native cracks the palm kernel almost entirely by hand, the nuts being first dried in the sun on the ground in open spaces, surrounded roughly with little billets of wood, or in small sheds. When dry, they are taken out and cracked on rocks (if they happen to be in the neighbourhood) with a piece of stone in the cracker’s hand. Should the spot be devoid of rock, a piece of wood or stone takes its place, and then a piece of iron or stone is used by him in the right hand. Good workers, usually small girls or women, can crack about 15 to 20 lb. a day in this manner.
An inspection fee on palm kernels and oil has undoubtedly helped to improve the product immensely and not reduced the output.
The kernels are picked out at the same time, the shell remaining more or less where the nut is cracked. A certain amount of shell adheres to the kernel, and if it is an excessive amount the native picks it off. Anyhow, when he reaches the factory the shell contents must not exceed 5 per cent. Although they are not actually dried, they are usually kept in a dry, cool place, until sufficient have been collected to sell either in the local market or straight to a European factory. The inspection of the palm produce, both oil and kernels, takes place at the factory, where the produce is bought by the Inspectors of Produce under the Customs Department.
7_a_. KINDS OF OIL.—Most of the oil is soft, but as some hard oil is made which is worth £3 or £4 less per ton than the former, owing to its having about 8 per cent. less of glycerine, and both are made by a different process, both methods will be described.
Hard oil is made chiefly near Onitsha and Ikpa markets, east of the Niger, by the Ibos, and the following is the process employed in those districts.
The fruit is left on the bunch in the bush, covered with leaves, for ten days; it is then brought into the village or place where the fruit is cut or knocked off the bunch. Large earthenware pots with a little water in the bottom are then filled with the fruit; this is then heated, but the water does not actually boil, or even steam very much. The fruit is then taken out and beaten in an old canoe or hard mud trough until all the fibre is fairly well macerated and detached from the nut. The whole mass is then placed in a shady place for four days to enable the oil to “get strong,” as the local people say. On the fifth day the oily fibre and nuts are placed in the trough again, and cold water is poured in until it is about a foot deep. The whole mass is pounded with the bare feet of children, girls or women, so that gradually the oil becomes detached from the fibre or from adhering to the nuts, and floats on the surface of the water, especially near the edges of the trough. It is then skimmed off with the hand and put into calabashes. The nuts and fibre having sunk to the bottom of the trough, the oil is left comparatively free from impurities. The oil in the calabashes hardens to much the same degree as dripping, and is ready for sale.
On the banks of the Niger, where it is sold to European firms, the natives are often obliged to boil it to purify it still further, and to enable it to be poured into the puncheon in which it is shipped to England. This oil, even when cleaned and boiled, has a bitter taste, which the natives do not like when they have been accustomed to soft oil. When this oil arrives in England it is quite hard again.
Soft oil is made in Nigeria, as well as in Sierra Leone and the Gold Coast Colony. The Lagos and Benin oil is the best, so the method employed in that part of the country will be described. The fruit is cut off the tree in much the same way, but the loose fruit is generally collected from the ground as well as the bunches, which are then carried to the oil-making place, which is usually situated near a running stream for the convenience of the manufacture of the oil. The fruit is cut or knocked off the bunch, cleaned of any extra stalk or dirt, and placed in earthenware pots, in the bottom of which is a little water. These pots are then put over a bright fire until the water not only boils, but has quite steamed away. It is then considered that the fruit is thoroughly soft and ready for crushing, when it is placed in earthen troughs or old tree trunks which are used for this purpose. Cold water is then poured over the fruit to about a foot in depth, and the fruit is pressed by the feet of women or girls standing in the trough. The oil rises to the surface of the water, is skimmed off with the hand or a flat piece of wood, and put into earthenware calabashes; all fibre is thoroughly squeezed and rinsed to obtain the oil out of it. The oil is now thoroughly boiled, and when quite thin and of a reddish-orange colour is poured off carefully into clean pots. A fine residue of fibre and particles of dirt remain in the pot in which the oil was boiled; this is used for native lamps by dipping a twisted fibre into it.
The clean soft oil is now ready for sale, and is carried in old kerosene tins or other receptacles to the nearest market. Despite the very large loss which occurs, owing to the breaking of calabashes on the road to market, still very large amounts are carried in vegetable calabashes or earthenware pots. By the time this oil reaches Europe it is partially hardened in the cask, though usually there is a certain amount of liquid on the top.
Sale of Produce.—The palm oil is sold by the kerosene tin (one gallon), by the keg, or by the puncheon. It is also sold by the bottle in the markets for local use.
The palm kernels are sold by the calabash in the districts further away from the markets, but more usually by the coulah (Jekri). They are also sometimes sold by the bag, weighing either 25 lb. or nearly 50 lb. in weight. The natives find old salt bags of different sizes very convenient for this purpose, more especially when the kernels are to be conveyed some distance to the nearest factory.
7_b_. At the beginning of 1915 hard oil was worth £32 per ton, and soft oil £36 10s. per ton, whereas at the beginning of 1918 soft oil was being sold at £36 5s. to £47 10s. per ton, whilst the official maximum price for unbleached palm oil is £44 per ton, and £50 per ton bleached.
7_a_ and 11. UTILITY OF THE OIL PALM.—From the Oil Palm are obtained the following products: Palm oil, palm kernels, palm wine and yeast from the fermented palm wine. The shells of the nuts are used by blacksmiths, as they give out great heat. The growing head of the palm is used as a vegetable—palm cabbage. The stems of the leaves are useful as rafters or house posts in the Yoruba country, the leaves for making mats for roofing, and the midribs as brooms.
To obtain the wine, the tree is either tapped below the male inflorescence in Ibadan, Yoruba, etc., or when the tree is felled and the crown cut off. A calabash is placed so as to catch the outflowing sap, which is the palm wine.
The natives frizzle the kernels in an iron pot and obtain an oil which is used as an emollient for wounds and rubbing on bruises or sprains. It has a burnt smell. Only small quantities of kernels are used for this purpose in Nigeria.
Tapping is sometimes effected at the base of both inflorescences, but this is a more unusual method.
So far no use has been found for the wood, though it is uncommonly tough and very fibrous.
8. AMOUNT OF PRODUCE USED, EATEN, AND AMOUNT GROWING.—There is probably only 5 per cent., or at most 15 per cent., of the total possible trade done in this product from West Africa.
The amount of the oil used by the natives per annum is as follows:
Three gallons of oil per head per annum for food.
Half-gallon of oil per head per annum for illuminant in the Eastern Circle, according to Gilman, and half-gallon used mixed with camwood for rubbing on the skin per head per annum.
Allowing this amount for the total population of 8,000,000, we have a total of 32,000,000 gallons used locally per annum. This means the produce of at least 128,000,000 trees, taking into consideration the very poor or underbearing state of many of the trees. Some also are immature and not in full bearing when utilized. Even so, this represents only a part of the total possible crop, which might be 100,000,000 gallons and 500,000 tons of kernels. Although the above small percentage of the amount of trade done will eventually prove to be an exaggeration, partly owing to the cutting down of Oil Palms in making farms, there is nevertheless clear evidence that a great many more palm kernels especially could be obtained if there were an increased number of plants available for cracking the nuts in various parts of the country. Then, too, in those places where the trees stand too closely together, an increased yield would be obtained after they had been thinned out. Allowing for an area of about 7,000 square miles in the dry zone, where the Oil Palms are not found, and 12,000 square miles for mangrove swamps, rivers, roads, railways, town and village sites, also where there are no Oil Palms, and about 10,000 square miles of heavy evergreen and mixed deciduous forest areas where there are few or no Oil Palms, this leaves an area of about 50,000 square miles on which they are found growing. The density varies from over 200 per acre down to only one, or in isolated cases to one to ten acres. With the increased amount of the tapping of the Oil Palm, as well as cutting it down both to get the palm wine and for making farms for food as well as cocoa crops, there is a great danger of the total amount being reduced. Everywhere on the West Coast of Africa where other produce has been introduced, such as in the Congo and in the Gold Coast, the export of palm produce tends to fall very rapidly. Owing to the fact that such a large amount of palm oil is used for alimentary or other purposes locally, and a great deal is exported to the Northern Provinces, the export of palm kernels to Great Britain and Europe generally forms the better basis in calculating the amount of palm produce now actually produced in the country. The small number of kernels used for making an oil for local use is really quite a negligible quantity, and will no doubt almost die out when there are larger amounts of pomade and other skin emollients available for the natives to buy.
9. EUROPEAN MACHINERY FOR EXTRACTION (PERICARPING).—Mr. E. W. J. Trevor, of 87, Maida Vale, claims two machines for detaching and removing the pericarp of palm fruit with abrading, and has devised also a means by which the fruit is held in place and has along in line, an endless band or chain. It is not stated, however, if this is successful.
Another apparatus with knife-blades for decorticating the pericarp has been patented by Mr. H. Beckwith, of 2, Rumford Street, Liverpool. It is called the depericarping machine. Dr. Hupfeld’s oil process is carried out at Agu (Togo).
Haake, a Berlin firm, constructed a machine called the wet process. The fruit is heated with water and freed from the pulp in special machines. The pulp is allowed to drain, and then heated again and put under presses. The nuts are cracked in a large centrifugal machine, and the shell is separated by a drum-like sieve or by brine. With this process 100 lb. of fruit yield 15 lb. of oil and 14 lb. of kernels. Four or five tons of fruit can be treated daily by fifteen or twenty men. The natives only extract 7 per cent. of the pericarp oil. This oil contains over 30 per cent. of fatty acid and is only used for soaps.
The Government has set up kernel-cracking machines in various places in West Africa.
10. EUROPEAN NUT-CRACKING.—Several plants have been put up latterly to deal with the cracking of kernels by machinery.
One of the first of such factories was started at Benin River, Warri province, where the shells after the nuts had been obtained from them were used for firing the engines of the machinery. Another factory exists at Abonnemma, Owerri province, and yet another was started at Yenagoa in 1914. The natives seem very willing to bring in the nuts to be cracked, especially where the population is not large enough to both make the oil and crack the kernels, as in the Brass and Degema districts. Brine is often used for separating the kernels from the shell.
Some hand-machines have been brought out by Miller Brothers which crack the nuts, but both shell and kernels fall to the ground at the same time. A certain number of the kernels are broken in the process, but of recent years an improvement has been made in this respect. The cost of the hand-machine, amounting as it does to £30, is almost prohibitive for the native, unless a system of hire-purchase were to be adopted. Only a few of these machines (comparatively) have been sold to them.
Yield of Oil and Kernels from Whole Fruit by Machinery.—It has been variously estimated that out of a hundred tons of whole fruit the native obtains by his methods:
7 tons of oil worth (pre-war rates) £12 per ton = £84.
15 tons of kernels worth (pre-war rates) £6 per ton = £90.
Again, out of the whole fruit, the result of various investigations shows that the pericarp comprises 30 per cent., shell 56 per cent., the kernels 14 per cent., and that there is 50 per cent. of oil in the pericarp. It has also been estimated that out of a hundred tons of whole fruit, a maximum of 15 tons of oil and 14 tons of kernels can be obtained by machinery. These at the pre-war rates would be worth approximately £600 and £200—in all, £800. It has also been estimated that the crushing of the fruit, the various freights, the carriage by rail and ocean, cost of bags, shipping, landing charges, insurance and general expenses would amount to £4 per ton, or in all about £400. This leaves about £400 to pay for the fresh fruit and allow for a profit; thus, paying £1 per ton for the fresh fruit, there would still be £300 left for profit, or in the case of paying £2 per ton there would be £200 left. However, so far £1 per ton has proved too low a rate for the natives to accept, and in most places it has been refused. It is doubtful whether £2 per ton will attract them sufficiently to bring in the large bulk of farm produce which is available. From an average closely stocked Oil Palm area the fruit could not be collected at a cost of £1 per ton, and it is very doubtful if it could be done for £2 per ton. So far, it appears that the native working for himself in his own time will always do things at a cheaper rate than paid labour under European supervision. Further investigations will, however, prove what a high price can be paid for the fresh fruit at the factory and yet leave sufficient margin to make a profit on the extraction of the pericarp oil, and also of the cracking of the nuts. In this connection the crushing of the kernels is considered rather a separate economic problem, as several other market factors come in which do not apply to the case of the pericarp oil and the uncrushed kernels. The machinery for the crushing of the kernels on the whole is much more intricate, costly, and requires much more highly-trained European supervision.
10_a_. PERCENTAGE OIL AND KERNELS.—According to the investigations of the Imperial Institute, the composition of the fruit is as follows:
Per cent.
Pericarp oil 18
Fibre and moisture 12
Shell and disk 58
Kernel 12
Cake for fattening hogs 100
The kernel contains 46 to 53 per cent. of oil.
10_b_. PERICARP PALM OIL ANALYSIS.—This is as follows:
Specific gravity 15/15° C. 0·9209-0·9245
Melting-point 24°-42·5° C.
Saponification value 196·3-205·5
Iodine value 53-57·4
Reichert-Meissl value 0·86-1·87
Hehner value 94·2-97
The solidifying-point of fatty acids varies from 35·8° to 46·4° C. usually 44·5° to 45° C.
(See also 7_a_, Uses; see also 12_a_.)
11. EUROPEAN USES OF OIL AND KERNELS, PALM WINE, PALM CABBAGE, ETC.—From 46 to 53 per cent. of oil is contained in the kernel.
Palm oil is used in Europe for making margarine, vegetable butters, chocolate and cooking fats. It makes a good butter-substitute. Palm oil is chiefly used for making soap and candles in England, according to Mr. Dennett’s paper. Tin plates are covered with palm oil to prevent oxidization. The leakage from the casks of oil on board ship is used for making metal polish. Railways use it for greasing axle-boxes on railway carriages.
11_a_. NIGERIAN EXPORTS, OIL AND KERNELS.—The exports of palm kernels have been increasing almost continuously for years, owing to the gradual opening up of the country to trade, and also to the natives finding out the value of the kernel as an article of barter; nevertheless, more still could be obtained if hand-cracking machinery and more nut-cracking mills were introduced at suitable spots.
The following table shows the exports for the years 1909 to 1916 of
PALM KERNELS.
Year. Tons. £ Price.
1907 — 1,658,000 —
1908 — 1,425,000 —
1909 158,869 1,815,967 —
1910 172,998 2,450,814 —
1911 176,389 2,574,405 £18 6s.
1912 184,624 2,797,411 £19 15s.
1913 174,720 3,109,820 £23 5s.
1914 162,452 2,541,149 —
1915 153,319 1,692,712 —
1916 161,439 1,739,706 —
PALM OIL FROM COLONIAL REPORT, NIGERIAN EXPORTS.
Year. Tons. £ Price.
1911 79,000 1,696,875 £13 15s.
1912 77,000 1,654,933 £29 18s.
1913 83,000 1,854,384 £32 15s.
The following is quoted from Sect. 2, Mr. R. E. Dennett’s paper on British Trade in Nigeria. Valuable notes have been obtained from this paper with regard to the palm products.
PALM KERNEL EXPORTS TO GERMANY.
About £5,000,000 worth went to Germany before the war.
Year. Tons.
1911 262,680
1912 283,536
1913 241,961
12. VALUE OF OIL AND KERNELS.—Since the war, the price of oil first went down £5 per ton and kernels £15 per ton up.
With kernels at £17 to £18 per ton, the oil is worth £36 15s. per ton.
Glycerine is worth £50 per ton, and pericarp oil contains about 8 per cent.
At the beginning of 1918 the price of palm kernels varied from £25 to £26 per ton, the latter figure being the official maximum for it.
12_a_. DESCRIPTION OF KERNEL OIL.—It is white or pale-yellow in colour, with a pleasant nutty taste. By suitable treatment kernel oil can be divided into liquid oil, olein, and solid palm-kernel oil, stearin. It is used for soap and candles, edible fats—such as palmine, margarine—cooking fats, vegetable butters and chocolate fats.
13. IMPORT PORTS IN ENGLAND AND U.S.A. FOR OIL AND KERNELS.—Hull.—Congo kernels go to Hull by the Cie Congo du Belge line, run by Elder Dempster & Co. In the first six months of 1915, 20,821 tons of kernels were imported into Hull. In most statements on Hull the price of palm kernel cake is omitted, whilst those of linseed, Bombay cotton-seed, and Saga Bean are always quoted. Hull imported between 40,000 and 50,000 tons in 1915 (from January to November only, 31,723 tons); 200,000 tons were taken by Germany before, and hence are available now.
Bristol.—Bristol as a port is prepared, according to its seed- crushers, to try kernels, but they asked the Colonial Office for protection from Germany.
Liverpool.—For the first six months of 1915, 87,366 tons of palm kernels were imported into Liverpool, against 73,000 tons in 1914.
U.S.A.—In 1915, 4,000 tons of kernels were shipped direct to the States.
14. THE CRUSHING OF PALM KERNELS IN AFRICA AND ENGLAND.—The largest seed-crushing and oil-extracting centre in Great Britain is at Hull.
Most of the crushing used to be done in Harburg, near Hamburg, Germany, and only a little at Liverpool—some 70,000 tons out of 300,000 tons. Since the war began Hull and London (Erith) have taken up the crushing of kernels. Bristol and Manchester have both thought about it.
Crushing has been tried in Africa, but has not been very successful so far, the cost of the operations having proved too high. In the Congo, however, it is still being done.
The crushing plants in Nigeria are situated at Opoba and Apapa, near Lagos.
14_a_. OTHER METHODS OF KERNEL CRUSHING—SOLVENTS.—Commercially, kernels are heated with solvents or pressure is used to extract the oil. According to Mr. Dennett the first expression takes place at a temperature of 45° to 50° C., and the second at 55° to 60° C. The double pressing is necessary owing to the amount of fat in the oil. By solvents, all or only a part can be taken out of the kernels. If all is taken, then they are almost valueless as cake, owing to its lack of oil.
15. PALM-KERNEL PRODUCE.—Palm-kernel cake used to contain 20 to 22 per cent. of fibre and 10 per cent. of oil, which went rancid, so was not liked here.
This was the main reason why palm-kernel cake was not used to any extent by farmers in England before the war.
15_a_. YIELD OF OIL, KERNELS AND CAKE.—From 46 to 53 per cent. of palm- kernel oil is obtained from the kernels.
Roughly speaking, a ton of kernels yields half a ton of cake, according to Mr. R. E. Dennett.
According to the Bulletin of the Imperial Institute 1 ton of kernels yields 1,000 lb. of oil.
Palm-kernel Cake and Oil Exports.—Palm-kernel cake was exported to Denmark in September 1915-18, 863 bags.
15_b_. ANALYSIS OF KERNEL CAKE.—This, according to a recent analysis in the Field by Frank J. Lloyd, is:
Per cent.
Fibre 14·80
Mineral matters 3·55
Nutrients—
Oil 6·17
Albuminoids 16·12
Carbohydrates 48·51
Water 10·85 ------ 100·00
A further analysis shows:
Per cent.
Oil 5·5-10
Albuminoids 15·8-18·5
Carbohydrates 36-50
or per food unit it works out to £4 16s. per ton. Indigestible fibre reaches 10 per cent., or in older samples of ten years ago 28 per cent., which is far too high. As a unit it costs 1s. 4d., against 2s. 7d. for cotton-seed meal.
According to E. D. News the analysis is:
Per cent.
Albuminous matters 17-30
Fatty matter 10-18
Gum, sugar and starch 30-40
15_c_. KERNEL ANALYSIS.—According to the investigations the analysis showed:
Specific gravity at 90/15° C. 0·873
Iodine value 10·3-17·5
Saponification value 242-255
Titer test 20·0-25·5° C.
Hehner value 91·1
Reichert-Meissl test 5·0-6·8
16 and 17. VALUE OF PALM-KERNEL OIL AND CAKE.—Palm-kernel cake is sold at 7s. per cwt., and only 10 per cent. of the food ration is given to cows or calves for the first time.
According to the Oil and Colours Journal, in September 1915 palm- kernel oil was worth £37 10s. per ton first hand, and £48 in March 1916. According to this journal it is the lowest priced of all the cakes.
The price of the cake is £7 to £7 5s. per ton.
The cake is sold at £7 5s. free on rail per ton at Hull. At the beginning of 1918 it was worth £13 15s. per ton, but in Surrey it could not be obtained under £21 per ton.
Palm-kernel oil is worth about £40 per ton.
At the beginning of 1918, palm-kernel oil extracted by solvents was worth £51 per ton; crushed, £52 per ton; refined, £67 per ton—which were the official maximum prices.
17. USES OF PALM-KERNEL CAKE.—Kernels worked by solvents make a more digestible meal—80 per cent. against 73 per cent. of crushed kernels, and containing 19 per cent. of protein and 2 per cent. of fat, against 18 per cent. of protein and 8 per cent. of fat for crushed kernels. It is used for feeding young pigs and milch cows in Germany.
18. RESULTS OF FEEDING EXPERIMENTS WITH KERNEL CAKE.—The weekly gain in live weight with kernel cake ration was 8 lb. at the West of Scotland Agricultural College. The cost worked out at 4½d. per lb., and 3 lb. of kernel cake gave better results than 4 lb. of bran.
At the East of Scotland College, a gain of 2·04 lb. per day was recorded, the cost being £6 6s. per ton.
Experiments conducted in Scotland showed that cattle increased 1·95 lb. per day with palm-kernel cake, against only 1·84 lb. with linseed cake. No difficulty was found in keeping the cake, and it did not go rancid.
The cattle fed on palm-nut cake were stated to look glossier, carry more bloom, and have a looser skin than those fed on cotton-seed cake. It is also claimed that the fat content of the milk is increased, though the amount of extra butter-fat produced per day cannot be demonstrated.
A mixture containing 3 lb. of palm-nut cake is recommended per day for milch cows, and one containing from ¼ lb. to ½ lb. for sheep and pigs.
Ten per cent. of the ration should be given to cows or cattle the first time. Only 2 lb. of cake per day is given to animals.
According to the Cambridge University Department of Agriculture the feeding value of palm-kernel cake for bullocks is practically the same as that of linseed cake.
The feeding experiments demonstrated that the palm-kernel cake gave equal results to linseed or cotton-seed cake, and paid better because of the lower price of palm-kernel cake for milch cows and cattle. It is recommended for pigs too. The cost of feeding for eighty-four days was 43s. 4d. for palm-kernel cake against 51s. 6d. for linseed, and a gain of 164·5 lb. in weight against 167 lb. flesh weight with linseed cake. Cattle do not take to it readily at first, but afterwards like it.
According to Wyndham R. Dunstan, palm-kernel cake costs 1s. 5½d. per food unit as compared to 2s. 4d. for hay, hay being £5 per ton.
According to Thomas Fawcett, L.M.R., A.S.E., it is a question of what is relatively cheaper. British farmers have always bought linseed cake at £10 10s. per ton, when beef was only 10d. to 1s. per lb. Relatively, it would be better to go in for more cows being fed with palm-kernel cake. He also states that kernels only came in irregular quantities.
The cake, according to Lancashire County experiments, must be given as part ration, as milk yield goes down with kernel cake alone.
18_a_. PALM-NUT MEAL: EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS OF FEEDING.—In 1879, in Agricultural Chemistry, by Johnson and Cameron (2nd edition), palm-nut meal from England and the Continent is mentioned and recommended as the cheapest meal for cattle, especially calves. The Royal Agricultural Society of England in 1878 also published a pamphlet for the Paris Exhibition, in which a mixture including a large proportion of palm-nut meal is recommended, and the experience in feeding young animals is given, showing that it is far cheaper and that linseed cake is really very expensive. Fourteen beasts fed on linseed cake averaged at eighteen months old 13·5 lb. live weight the week, or only ¾ lb. less than the heaviest at the show, on less food, especially using palm-nut meal.
According to others, meal is not recommended owing to its going rancid and its indigestibility.
19. MANURIAL VALUE OF KERNEL CAKE.—The manurial value of palm-kernel cake is £1 4s. for the ration as given per ton.
20. WEST AFRICAN SHIPPING IN RELATION TO FARM PRODUCE.—Before the advent of the German line, the West Coast was at the mercy of the Shipping Combine, as it is now, freights being arranged accordingly.
Since the Government has fixed maximum freight rates, shippers now know the largest amount they will have to pay, but even so freights are extremely high, and with no outside competition are unlikely to be brought down very much.
21. BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE OIL PALM.—Monsieur Chevalier’s Les Végétaux Utiles de l’Afrique tropicale française, Fasc. VII (1e partie), “Documents sur le Palmier à Huile,” contains a great deal of valuable information on the subject of the Oil Palm. The Oil Palm, by J. H. Farquhar, summarizes the results of a year’s investigations as to the growth and yield of the Oil Palm in the Southern Provinces of Nigeria.
In the monograph Oil Seed and Feeding Cakes, issued by the Imperial Institute, a complete account is given of the new British palm-kernel industry.
XIII. THE FOREST IN RELATION TO AGRICULTURE
The intimate and very important connection between Agriculture and Forestry is not at all widely recognized, so it is desirable to bring out more fully exactly how the one reacts on the other: the value of forests from the climatic point of view to agriculture, the economic effects on it, as well as the population connected with it.
In all the older civilized countries, such as France, England and Russia, and the United States and Canada of the newer ones, definite and almost exactly fixed quantities of land are used for agricultural purposes on the one hand and for Forestry on the other.
In the Gambia, Sierra Leone, the Gold Coast and Nigeria, however, with the exception of about 1,500 square miles of forest reserves and certain native land planted with rubber or cocoa, all the land (even when covered with finest mahogany forests) is liable to be farmed for a time and then abandoned for another piece of forest-land under the system of shifting cultivation. In practice, this means that every year thousands of square miles of forest are ruthlessly cut down, in order that the land may be used for agricultural crops, for one, two, or at the most three years’ crops. In the drier parts of the countries named, through such forests as exist, grass-fires annually burn, and destroy many trees in order to provide poor grazing for herds of the nomads’ cattle.
It might be argued that in the comparatively damp and hot climate which attains in a great part of the Gambia, Sierra Leone, the Gold Coast and Nigeria, which are also to some extent still covered with forest, it would be most advantageous to clear as much land as possible. This, however, is a delusion resting on false impressions, notably that the countries named are so much covered with thick forest. In most places this so-called “forest” is in reality an almost worthless secondary growth, consisting chiefly of umbrella trees (Musanga Smithii), soft- wooded Hannoa, creepers, grass, with isolated half-burnt or decayed trees from the original forest. Again, too, this system of clearing new land is quite haphazard, so that, after the first crop has been taken off, the land may be found to be too poor to be planted again; the natives then abandon it. In some places, chiefly in the Benin and Oban districts, they even go so far as to put a “Ju-ju” on the land, which is in effect a notice to say that the land is of no use for a farm. However, this is usually forgotten in a generation, so that the same thing may happen again, only that insufficient time has elapsed for a proper forest to be grown, as the cutting of the original forest may have so altered the climatic factors of the locality that not only different species of trees but also grasses have come in, and choked nearly all the self-sown forest-tree seedlings. The main beneficial effects of the forest may be summarized as follows:
1. The rainfall of the locality is increased, according to the figures of the Indian rainfall stations. This may amount to as much as 16 to 28 per cent. increase on the annual rainfall.
Afforestation on the Russian steppes has shown that more rain now falls on the planted area than in former years.
In Western Canada it is generally said that its climate is altering, and a general increase of rain has been noticeable since plantations have been made on thousands of farms and what forests there were originally have been rigorously protected from annual fires.
2. The rainfall both above and in the ground is more regularly distributed.
First of all, nearly 23 per cent. of the rain which falls on the trees in a forest is re-evaporated into the air and does not reach the ground at all. This in itself increases the humidity of the atmosphere, tends to form clouds, and thus induces further rainfall. The clouds tend to protect the plants from excessive sun at what may be a critical period in the growing season. The extra humidity of the atmosphere does not necessitate the plants transpiring so much moisture as they would otherwise have to do, to keep them in growing condition. Compared to that in the open, only 22 per cent. of the amount of evaporation takes place in the forest, added to the fact that it occurs under the canopy of the trees, thus creating the more humid atmosphere which is so suitable, for instance, for the growth of cocoa and other such crops. In other words, we can take one hundred parts as the amount evaporated in the open, of which not a quarter is evaporated in the forest. Again, as we have seen, twice as much of the rainfall soaks into the ground in the forest as in the open, and owing to the tree-roots and general covering of the soil the water can only flow away gradually. On the other hand, in the open, if the ground is at all sloping, more than half of the rain which falls to the ground runs away immediately, or lies on the land, flooding it and making planting impossible.
To face p. 486.
The trees then act as a rainfall distributer and also as a rainfall regulator. The roots of the trees act like a sponge, absorbing a great deal of the rainwater besides preventing it from running away. It has been calculated that it takes nearly six months for the rainfall to come out in the springs of a forest. This also to some extent accounts for the saying that if the wells are full in October in the Temperate Zone, or at the end of March in the Tropical Zone, there will be sufficient water the whole year round. With a varied distribution of forests in the country, the above two effects are naturally felt on neighbouring agricultural land, and in many cases make possible the growing of certain crops, such as cocoa, Cola and rubber, which otherwise could not be attempted. An interesting example of this is seen in the way in which the natives of Ilobe, in Nigeria, have planted Cola trees just inside and on the edge of the Ilaro Forest Reserve boundary.
3. The forest protects the land against corrosion. In most countries, wherever the ground is sloping and bare the annual fall of rain washes away large masses of good soil as well as stones and other debris, in many cases destroying pasturage or agricultural land, and in any case silting up the rivers with sand-banks and bars, thus hindering navigation. It has often been said that, for its size, the Cross River carries in the rainy season much more material in suspension and rolled along its bed than many other African rivers. The main reason apparently for this fact is that several of its tributaries, such as the Mbu, the Fi, the Mfu and the Bago, rise at what are now partially grass-covered mountain slopes, but which no doubt were a short time ago covered with fine evergreen forests.
The immediate effect of clearing such slopes is that the water, to the extent of nearly 90 per cent., rushes unchecked down the mountain slope, gaining momentum with every mile and taking grass, soil and even whole mountain slopes (1,500 feet in height) along with it. On the other hand, if such slopes are covered with forest trees 25 per cent. of the rainfall is re-evaporated into the air before reaching the ground, 10 per cent. is evaporated from the ground into the air of the forest, and fully 65 per cent. soaks into the ground.
An instance of this last effect can be seen in the Cross River Divide from the Bambuto Mountains, on the Nigerian border. In a few places the native farmers understand this effect and make the terraces on which they plant parallel with the contour of the hill-side; however, this is insufficient when the whole mountain slope has been cleared of forest. Only a definite distribution of the land between forest and farm would prevent the undue corroding of hill-sides. The unrestricted rush of the rainwater off the hill-sides has yet a further effect on the lower ground of the country, in that it causes the streams and rivers to flood and overflow their banks. This, in turn, prevents huge acreages of land from being cultivated for many months in the year, and other large areas lower down from being cultivated at all.
Yet another effect is that a vast mass of water hurries down into the sea where it is not required, and where there is already plenty of evaporation; whereas the greater part of it might have been stored up in the forest to form perennial, almost unaltering springs, streams and rivers. Two interesting examples of this are seen in the slight, almost negligible rise in the Okwo and the Igbagon streams of the Benin province. Both of these rivers rise in thick forest, and thick forest is also found on their banks.
In a similar way, instead of the water of the rivers being used for irrigating land which is sandy and dry in the dry season, it rushes away into the ocean for nothing. The flooding of much of the land near the rivers also kills many large forest trees and causes a rank growth of shrubs, creepers and grass, which form the breeding-places for tsetse and other harmful flies. It is rare to find any infected tsetse flies near a clear perennial stream in the forest.
4. The forest improves the soil of a locality, whether in the primeval or the planted forest. The trees stand at least eighty years, and sometimes for several hundred, on the same land, before being cut down. During this period the tree roots with their root-hairs are penetrating far and wide into the soil, subsoil, and even underlying rock, gradually causing the two latter to weather into finer and better constituent parts. For instance, nothing appears so solid as a mountain of granite; nevertheless, at the base and to the lee-side of each boulder, more especially if there is any tree-growth there, a beautiful little bed or pocket of blackish soil will be found. Then, again, besides this weathering of the subsoil and rock, the tree leaves, even from evergreen trees, fall down, gradually decay, and form a thick layer of humus. This in itself forms an almost ideal seed-bed. At the edge of forests this humus is washed out on to the agricultural lands and thus enriches them; furthermore, dry leaves are blown out of the edge of the forest on to neighbouring agricultural land, become dug in, or drawn into the land by insects, and so tend to enrich it. In many civilized countries a regular business is done in taking litter and leaf-mould out of the forest to neighbouring garden and farm lands.
It is a well-known fact that when a forest is cut down after some hundreds of years many plants appear in the clearing which did not exist in the forest before, or, in fact, were not known in that locality, the seeds having lain dormant during the whole period of time. This clearly shows that the forest soil is an ideal medium for preserving seeds, and that it improves rather than deteriorates, which is the case with bare land. An instance of this from the Tropics is seen in the way in which the Corkwood or Umbrella Tree (Musanga Smithii) comes up after the mahogany and evergreen forest has been cleared. No Musanga trees are usually found in the primeval forest. A parallel example from Europe is seen in the way in which Atropa belladonna almost invariably appears when a beech forest is cut down.
Planting trees and thus forming a forest, though expensive, is another way of clearly proving the beneficial effect of the forest, or ameliorating the condition and plant-food content of the soil. On the comparatively worn-out and poor soil near Ibadan a firewood plantation was started some years ago; now already, in the shade of the Ayin, Anogeissus leiocarpus and Cassia Siamea trees, the fallen leaves have decayed and formed a layer of humus, killing out the lalang grass at the same time. Needless to say, it is a very expensive method to wait until the forest has been destroyed, the soil impoverished, and trees again planted, before an improvement in the soil conditions can be expected.
5. Individual trees, and thus trees in the aggregate, viz. forests, take less mineral matter out of the soil than agricultural crops covering a similar area. It has been calculated that the trees on an acre of land only take one-twelfth of the amount of mineral matter out of the ground which is required by an agricultural crop on the same area. It follows from this that trees, and in the same way forests, may be left standing upon or be grown on land which is nearly or absolutely worthless from an agricultural point of view. In the more civilized countries this is seen, for instance, in the way in which the mountain ranges of Germany have remained covered with forest and the sandy Landes district of France has been planted with forests of pine. In Canada, the Spruce Hills Reserve, near the Canadian Pacific Railway in Manitoba, is another example of the setting aside of poor, almost worthless agricultural land as a permanent forest area. In Nigeria, the Oban Forest Reserve and the forest-covered hills of Olokemeji are further examples of the practice of this principle.
Generally speaking, in fact, in most civilized countries there are really three types of land, viz.:
(a) Absolute farm-land, which comprises the very richest and best land of the country, in which forests should only be allowed to stand, as an exception.
(b) Relative forest-land, comprising land which can be used permanently for agriculture, but requiring a great deal to be spent on improvements or manures to make it suitable for the purposes, but which in its natural state carries a heavy stand of timber, could be used for forests indefinitely.
(c) Absolute forest-land, comprising land which, owing either to its elevation, aspect, soil or position, cannot be used for the permanent cultivation, or in some cases even the temporary cultivation, of crops.
6. The forest protects agricultural land against storms and insect pests. In many places, owing to very strong winds, certain crops cannot be grown. For instance, it is said bananas cannot be grown at Zaria owing to the prevalent strong winds. In the Chang district of the Cameroons the natives only plant plantains near their houses or behind the very high fences or hedges which mark off one man’s compound from another. Apparently this is done in order to protect the plants from the wind, which otherwise tears their large leaves into shreds and prevents their proper growth.
Some years ago, in the Ibadan district, a fierce tornado cut a path about 100 feet wide and nearly a mile long through a forest, but the agricultural land beyond was untouched. It goes without saying that had all the land been under crops in this locality most of them would have been destroyed, whereas the forest took the brunt of the storm, and the force of the wind outside was thus weakened and comparatively harmless.
7. The forest protects the soil and its physical properties. In the open it is noticeable that the native rarely clears the land properly, many stumps both of forest trees and shrubs being usually allowed to remain standing. It is true some of the shoots from the stumps are left on purpose to be used as supports for the yam tendrils or other crops which may be grown. Nevertheless, it is a fact that the native always says that the land must not be absolutely cleared of all stumps and roots or it will be useless for the growing of crops. Then, again, the native speaks of a piece of ground as being “spoilt,” and that he cannot stay there any longer. As an example of this, in the Oban district, the people of Ekong left the village site because they said the ground was too stony and was no good, and they went right away into the forest. On an examination of the land being made, it was found that where they had cleared the forest and farmed for a few years all the humus, tilth and other soil had been washed away, with the result that boulders as well as the underlying rock had to some extent come to view. Needless to say no attempt had been made at farming under a rotation of crops, nor had any manure, green or otherwise, been applied to the soil. On the other hand, in the forest the soil is not washed away, the aeration of it is almost perfect, the mineral content is always high, and it usually has considerable depth, even where there are rock outcrops, for these become covered with dead leaves or humus, which in their turn help to weather the rock and thus make more soil.
8. The forest tends to regulate the temperature, almost preventing extremes of heat and cold. Accurate measurements taken over a period of forty years have established the fact that in the warmest season the temperature of the forest is 5° to 10° lower, according to species (altitude taken to be the same), than the air in the open over agricultural land. In a similar way, in the coldest season of the year the temperature of the forest is 5° to 10° higher than in the open over agricultural land. Most readers will have experienced the feeling of freshness and coolness in passing through the forest zone near Olokemeji on the Nigerian Railway, or, if on leave in England, in passing through the New Forest on the Bournemouth road. This is only the effect which is expressed in this difference of temperature: as with other effects, so this one affects the neighbouring lands near the forest. Even a dry wind on reaching a forest must take up some moisture, and thus be less dry when it reaches agricultural land farther on. It can often be seen how the grain in the drier parts of the country planted near the edge of a forest sprouts up sooner than that right in the open. Again, certain crops, such as cacao-yams, cocoa, and Cola trees thrive best amongst trees. Without the forests the Cola plantations of the Ilesha district would cease to exist, or at any rate bear very small crops.
9. The forest increases the humidity of the air. According to accurate measurements taken over a period of forty years, it has been proved that the forest increases the humidity of the air up to 10 per cent. No doubt in many of the Southern parts of Nigeria and the Gold Coast, people travelling in the forests have often thought that there was far too much moisture, not only coming from above and below, but also in the air around them. However, this should not blind us to the fact that further up country this greater humidity of the air of the forest is spread over the adjacent lands, and thus makes possible the growth of agricultural crops, such as cocoa, Cola, yams, and cacao-yams, which would not otherwise be possible. This greater humidity also tends to induce local minor rainstorms, which in their turn benefit the adjacent agricultural land. This greater humidity of the air also tends to prevent the excessive drying in the dry season of the land situated very near, and taken in conjunction with the other factors, such as the regulating of the temperature and the rainfall, makes it possible to put in crops earlier and almost ensures their growing successfully.
10. The forests prevent the spread of insect and fungoid pests. So often we read that the crops in South Africa or the Argentine have been destroyed by locusts, and on the Gold Coast we read that various pests are destroying cocoa-trees in large numbers. Here, again, a forest or a belt of forests with large numbers of different species of trees interpose a living barrier of green leaf food or woody tissue which these pests may attack, owing to the diversity of the species of trees. Most pests only find a few trees on which they can thrive or reproduce themselves; thus on reaching the forest the scourge tends to lessen, or even die out. Even in the worst case of large hordes of locusts, it is cheaper to allow them into a forest, perhaps sacrificing it, rather than they should spread further and further over agricultural lands.
Having shown that it is necessary in a new and comparatively unsettled country to preserve a certain proportion of the forests, it remains to be considered what proportion is desirable and necessary to fulfil the conditions outlined before and give free play to all the beneficial effects of the forests.
Taking the proportion of permanent forest to other land in the more civilized countries, we get the following ratios:—
Forest per cent.
Finland 80
Russia in Europe 42
Austria 33
Hungary 29
Germany 26
France 16
Sweden 42
Switzerland 19
Norway 25
U.S.A. 10
India 38
Special note should be made of the fact that in all these countries the agricultural development has gone hand in hand with the preservation of the forest, and especially with no detriment to the development of agriculture in any direction in which it seemed desirable. Russia has, for instance, enormous exports of timber and enormous exports of wheat. Austria-Hungary had before the war considerable exports of hardwood timber, such as oak, as well as grain, both wheat and other kinds. Judging by the experience gained in Germany with its hundred and seventy years of forestry practice, a proportion of 25 to 33 per cent. of the land area of any country can reasonably be retained under forest, or afforested if bare. Such a proportion allows sufficient timber trees to be grown to cover the large quantities of wood used in industrial development and also a considerable surplus for export to other countries.
Turning specifically to the West African Colonies, it would mean, out of a total land area of 4,500 square miles, that in the Gambia, for instance, an area of between 1,100 and 1,500 square miles should be permanently set aside as Forest Reserves or Forest Reserve Afforestation Areas. In the latter case, when all were planted up they would gradually become forests.
In Sierra Leone, with a total land area of 34,000 square miles, the area would vary from 8,500 to 11,000 square miles.
In the Gold Coast, out of a total land area of 80,000 square miles, the permanent forest area would vary between 20,000 and 26,000 square miles.
In the Southern Provinces of Nigeria, with a total area of 79,000 square miles, the permanent forest area would reach between 19,000 and 26,000 square miles.
In the Northern Provinces of Nigeria, out of a total area of 250,000 square miles, the permanent forest area, including the afforestation areas, would reach between 62,000 and 83,000 square miles.
Large though these forest or afforestation areas appear to be, it can, however, be shown that most of them do not at all trench on existing farm-land. First of all, in Nigeria, taking the protective forests, comprising all those lands or forests situated in most inaccessible places on mountain ranges and hill-sides and the sources of streams, they cannot be said to be desirable localities for extending farming operations. Typical instances of this kind of land are seen in the Boji Hills (Ogoja province), and on the rocky hills near the Cross River in the Afikpo district (Owerri province). In Sierra Leone the peninsular mountain forests and the hills near Kennema are similar typical examples of this type of land or forest.
At the other extreme we have the dry-zone or desert formation, with its sandy soil or bare rock outcrops. In either region, in order to make agriculture possible and permanently profitable, afforestation areas are most necessary. Near the sea, especially in Nigeria and to some extent in Sierra Leone, there are the mangrove forests standing on land which is never used for agricultural purposes. In Nigeria alone these comprise several thousand square miles of land. Again, in Nigeria there are the freshwater swamp forests, either near rivers or in other localities. Although such lands produce quite a profitable amount of timber from many excellent species of trees, no farms have ever been made in such areas.
In other parts of the country, often comparatively level, there are variations in the strata and soil formation, such as that of the laterite formation. Over wide areas most of these lateritic soils are nearly useless for permanent agricultural crops, so at any rate it would certainly pay better in the long run if it were permanently covered with forest. In a similar manner all forests found growing on or near rock outcrops or otherwise stony formations, such as old gravel beds formed by rivers, would be treated in the same way. One or two agricultural crops may be raised on such land, but all the soil is soon washed away in the rainy season each year, so that little is left after a short time except boulders and stones. Many typical instances of this kind of formation are found in the Ibadan and Oyo districts of the Oyo province. In other parts of the country, where practically all the land is covered with some sort of forest (either high forest, secondary growth or scrub), the same proportion as before, viz. 25 to 33 per cent., should be set aside in convenient blocks, well distributed over the area, as permanent forests (so-called Forest Reserves).
Strange as it may sound, there is comparatively little, at the most an area estimated at 7,000 square miles, of real high forest left in the Southern Provinces of Nigeria. As is well known, the natives have a special name for this type of forest; amongst the Efiks it is called Ekai, the Yorubas term it Igbo, and the Benin people Egbo. Considering the size of these last remnants of the real high forest, agriculture cannot justly claim the right to clear and farm even this area when so much (estimated at 28,000 square miles), apart from the area already mentioned, has been cleared during the last fourteen years. In the above estimate, areas even of 500 square miles for roadways and railways, 1,000 square miles for town, village and factory sites, and 2,500 square miles for inland waterways were allowed for when computing the whole area of forest land.
At the present time in Nigeria, with the exception of certain specified trees, and less so in the Gold Coast, Sierra Leone and the Gambia, there is nothing to hinder a native from cutting down any forest he pleases for making a temporary farm. In fact, the difference between farming as practised in civilized countries and in these tropical West African Colonies is that the former partakes of a permanent cultivation of the same land every year, whereas the latter is shifting cultivation of a different piece of land almost every year. At the most, the Yoruba returns to the land in five or seven years, and the native of Benin after ten or twelve years.
Another point which bears on this question is really the comparatively small amount of land which a native actually farms every year. For instance, an energetic Yoruba farmer will make 2,000 yam heaps a year, which, allowing for the distance of 6 feet between each heap, amounts to 1·6 acres per year. This also includes the help which he may receive from his family.
Out of a total population of 8,000,000, at the most 2,000,000 are actually men who make farms. It follows, then, that some 2,560,000 acres, or 4,000 square miles, are cleared and planted each year. Now, allowing sufficient land for the native to be able to return to the original piece cleared after seven years, the total amount of land necessary for the existing farming population would be 28,000 square miles, or rather more than a third of the total area of the country. Even after allowing 19,000 or 26,000 square miles of forest in the country, there would still remain nearly a third, or 25,000 square miles, for the future development of agriculture and the natural increase of the population. It should be especially noted that it is under a system of shifting cultivation that this 28,000 square miles is required. No doubt under permanent cultivation less would be necessary. Quite apart, however, from this consideration, owing to the greater heat, moisture and humidity in the Tropics generally, and in the Southern Provinces of Nigeria particularly, agricultural crops grow much more rapidly and are much more prolific than in the more temperate zones, even without manures. Yet in another way there is not such an enormous demand on the amount of land required per unit of population, in that over an area of fully 30,000 square miles it is possible to raise two crops a year on the same land, and over roughly an area of 10,000 square miles of the country it is possible to raise three crops per year (in each case under a rotation of crops). In this manner less land is required per person than in a temperate climate in order to grow food either for local consumption or for export.
So far we have dealt with shifting cultivation. However, in most civilized countries, sooner or later a system of permanent cultivation is started instead of shifting farms. In England this was begun at a time in which the population was less dense to the square mile than it is now in the Southern Provinces of Nigeria (average 101 persons per square mile). In Germany the density of population is 323 persons per square mile, yet they had (before the war) 25 per cent. of the land area of their country covered with permanent forests. If it were possible to start permanent cultivation with a rotation of crops in England when the population was less dense than in the Southern Provinces of Nigeria, it should be feasible in Nigeria now. Again, if it is found possible for Germany to retain 25 per cent. of the land area under permanent forest crops, with a density of population three times greater than that of Nigeria, at the same time maintaining a prosperous system of permanent agricultural cultivation, it should also be much easier to have a similar proportion of permanent agricultural cultivation in the Southern Provinces of Nigeria; at the same time, taking into consideration the more favourable climatic factors, it should be possible not only to grow sufficient foodstuffs for local use, but also to grow sufficient to develop into a large export trade for ground nuts, maize and beans, besides cocoa and rubber.