NIGERIA—NORTHERN PROVINCES 120-164
INDEX 165-176
=LIST OF MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS=
SKETCH MAP OF BRITISH WEST AFRICA _Frontispiece_
GAMBIA AND SIERRA LEONE
OPPOSITE PAGE
JOLAH WITH NATIVE HAND-PLOUGH, BULLELAI, FOGNI 3
CANARY ISLAND PLOUGH, AGRICULTURAL SCHOOL, ABUKO 3
RUBBER TREE (_Ficus vogelii_) AT BATHURST 3
RUBBER VINE (_Landolphia heudelotii_) AT KOTOO 9
CEARA RUBBER TREE (_Manihot glaziovii_) AT BAKAU 9
RUBBER TREE (_Castilloa elastica_) AT KOTOO 9
FRUITS OF OIL PALMS, SIERRA LEONE 13
SWEET CASSAVA, WITH BAOBAB TREES, BAKAU 13
INDIGO DYERS, MCCARTHY ISLAND 13
SKETCH MAP OF GAMBIA AND SIERRA LEONE 15
OIL PALMS (_Elæis guineensis_), MAFOKOYIA 21
NATIVE COLLECTING OIL PALM FRUIT, BLAMA 21
KOLA TREE AT MANO 21
NATIVE WEAVER AT PENDEMBU 35
GOLD COAST
KUMASSI, THE CAPITAL OF ASHANTI 35
STONE VAT FOR POUNDING PALM FRUITS, WITH SURROUNDING 35
GUTTER AND OIL WELL, KROBO PLANTATIONS
SKETCH MAP OF GOLD COAST 43
COCOA AT MRAMRA ATTACKED BY BLACK COCOA-BARK BUG 51
DRYING COCOA BEANS AT MRAMRA 51
NATIVE TAPPING INDIGENOUS RUBBER TREE (_Funtumia 51
elastica_), OBOAMANG, ASHANTI
“ODUM” TREES (_Chlorophora excelsa_) 61
PARA RUBBER TREE (_Hevea brasiliensis_), TAPPED AT ABURI 61
RUBBER TREE TAPPED, HERRING-BONE SYSTEM IMPERFECT, ABURI 61
NIGERIA—SOUTHERN PROVINCES
SKETCH MAP OF SOUTHERN NIGERIA 93
STRAINING OIL FROM THE FIBROUS PULP OF THE OIL PALM, 97
OSHOGBO
COTTON BALES, MARLBOROUGH GINNERY, IBADAN 97
AFARA TREE (_Terminalia superba_) AT OLOKOMEJI 97
DWARF CATTLE, ILLARA 119
OWO 119
NIGERIA—NORTHERN PROVINCES
HAUSSA CULTIVATING IMPLEMENTS (LEFT TO RIGHT: I. 119
FATAINYA, II. GARMA, III. SANGUMI), NORTHERN PROVINCES
SKETCH MAP OF NORTHERN NIGERIA 120
SHEA-BUTTER TREE (_Butyrospermum Parkii_), WITH 130
NUT-COLLECTORS, ILORIN
YIELDING GUM TREE (_Acacia caffra_) AT KONTAGORA 130
LOCUST-BEAN TREE (_Parkia filicoidea_) AT ILORIN 130
VILLAGE OF FOGOLA, BUILT OF GUINEA-CORN STALKS 137
OUTSIDE THE EMIR’S PALACE, KANO 137
NEAR THE SOUTHERN GATE, ZARIA 137
BRITISH COTTON GROWING ASSOCIATION GINNERY, OGUDU, ILORIN 155
GWARI TOWN, OPPOSITE MINNA, SOUTH OF ZARIA 155
COW FULANI WOMAN SELLING MILK AT GWARI 155
=THE GAMBIA=
=INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.= =Geographical Position.=—The Gambia Colony
and Protectorate consists of a narrow tract of country following
the winding course of the river from which it takes its name, for
a distance of about 250 miles, and extending approximately four
miles from the river on both banks.
The whole country lies between 12° 10′ and 13° 15′ north
latitude and 13° 50′ and 16° 40′ west longitude. It is the
most northerly of the British West African possessions.
=Area and Population.=—The extent of territory is said to be 3,619
square miles, much of which consists of low-lying land intersected
by creeks and rivers, which under tidal influence are often densely
afforested with mangroves.
According to the census of 1911 the Colony and Protectorate had
populations of 7,700 and 138,401 respectively, totalling 146,101. The
total of 90,404 given in the previous census is now admitted
to have been below the actual amount. A large migratory farming
community exists, coming annually from the adjoining countries,
for the purpose of raising groundnut crops. This in 1911 numbered
3,367. Many of these immigrants are reported to have remained and
established themselves permanently under the British flag.
=Tribes.=—The principal tribes inhabiting the Gambia are the
Mandingoes, Foulahs, Joloffs, and Jolahs. The first-named are
the most numerous, and are, generally speaking, Mohammedans,
although there are many “Sonninkis” or spirit drinkers among
them. The Foulahs are identical with the Fulanis of the Gold Coast
and Northern Nigeria, and are frequently fair-skinned without
negroid features. They are said to be strictly Mohammedan, and to
have originated from the country near the source of the Senegal
river. The Joloffs occupy the northern bank of the Gambia river,
and extend well into Senegal. The Jolahs inhabit the province of
Fogni, and spread into the confines of French territory towards
the Casamance river. They are a curious race, given to living in
small family villages, and are said to be vindictive. They are of
a lower type than the three other tribes mentioned, and are jealous
of their rights.
=Political Divisions.=—The Protectorate is divided into five
districts, each under the control of a Travelling Commissioner. These
districts are named in accordance with their positions: North Bank,
South Bank, M‘Carthy Island, Kommbo and Fogni, and Upper River.
=Natural Conditions.=—The climatic conditions of the country
are favourable to the breeding of cattle and horses, although in
the vicinity of the river and creeks two species of tsetse fly are
common. By carefully preventing animals from straying into these
infested tracts the spread of fly-borne disease is held in check,
and cases are comparatively rare.
During the dry season, which often occupies seven months in the
year, from November to May, the highest maximum and the lowest
minimum temperatures are recorded; the range being from 41° (lowest
minimum, March 1909) to 105° (highest maximum, March 1909 and April
1911). The rainfall, of which official records are kept at Bathurst,
varies considerably, as the following extract will serve to show:
1901 45·31 inches 1910 44·00 inches
1902 29·42 „ 1911 28·14 „
1903 57·13 „ 1912 33·99 „
1904 38·02 „ 1913 23·68 „
1905 66·07 „ 1914 48·91 „
1906 64·36 „ 1915 47·64 „
1907 34·00 „ 1916 38·02 „
1908 43·54 „ 1917 37·68 „
1909 56·59 „ 1918 54·03 „
=Soil.=—The soil generally is of a light sandy nature,
becoming stiffer as the undulating regions of the upper river are
approached. The low countries are subject to flood in the rainy
season, and are only favourable for rice cultivation.
[Illustration: JOLAH WITH NATIVE HAND-PLOUGH, BULLELAI, FOGNI.
Fig. 1, p. 3.]
[Illustration: CANARY ISLAND PLOUGH, AGRICULTURAL SCHOOL, ABUKO.
Fig. 2, p. 3.]
[Illustration: RUBBER TREE (_FICUS VOGELII_) AT BATHURST.
Fig. 3, p. 9.]
=Chief Crops.=—The country is rather sparsely populated, but, on
the whole, the people are fair cultivators and prepare their lands
in a careful manner. Practically the only crop grown for export is
the groundnut, monkey-nut, or earth-pea (_Arachis hypogæa_), which
forms by far the most important article of cultivation. Alternating
this with the staple food-crops of the country, namely, guinea-corn,
maize, millet, and cassava, a fairly useful form of rotation is
obtained.
=Implements.=—Cultivation among the Mandingoes and Joloffs is
performed by means of a large wooden-bladed, iron-shod hoe, with
which the loose earth ridges are thrown up. A small iron hoe is
used for keeping down weeds and clearing. In the Jolah country a
handplough is employed, consisting of a flat blade attached to
a pole, and pushed in front of the operator, so as to throw up
a shallow ridge. This is shown in the picture which represents a
native with the implement at Bullelai (Fig. 1).
=Ploughing.=—Cattle are plentiful, even to the extent of there
being an insufficiency of fodder for them in the dry season in some
localities. They are chiefly kept for the purpose of displaying
the wealth of their owners, and are not employed for any kind of
farm work. Notwithstanding the shortage of manual labour and the
successful demonstrations made by the Government, through the agency
of the Roman Catholic Fathers at the Abuko Agricultural School, to
prove the value of substituting animal draught for manual labour
in tilling the land, the prejudice on the part of the natives
against the use of their cattle for ploughing or cartage has not
been overcome. A photograph is given showing a native with a Canary
Island plough drawn by locally-trained bullocks (Fig. 2). Owing to
the failure attending the efforts to introduce ploughing and cattle
breeding at Abuko, where, for the latter purpose, some Ayrshire
bulls were provided, the Govermnent withdrew the provisional subsidy
in 1911.
=Land Tenure.=—Land ownership is hereditary and descends from
father to son among the Mandingoes and Joloffs. No fees are paid
or presents given to chiefs when a transfer is made. Europeans can
rent land from Government in cases where it is not held or claimed
by a native. Grants are apparently issued for various periods,
but freehold rights are not given.
The rules regarding the itinerant, so-called “strange farmers,”
who annually visit the country to plant groundnuts, vary to some
extent in different parts of the Protectorate. Where hereditary
ruling chiefs exist, a tax of 4_s_. per head is paid to them. In
other places, half of this tax goes to Government, one-quarter to
the chief, and one-quarter to the farmer’s landlord. The landowner
generally gives the groundnut seed and food as well as a piece of
land to be cultivated. In payment for the seed and food, it is a
rule to give one-tenth of the crop. During the time the strange
farmer is in occupation he is expected to give one or two days’
work each week on the landowner’s own farm.
=Labour.=—There is no fixed rate paid by the Government for
labour. All the work on a farm is done by the owner and his own boys,
but occasionally others come in to assist from the neighbouring
farms, but no payment is made—only a present of kolas being
usually given.
=Agricultural Schools.=—An agricultural school, previously
referred to, was started at Abuko, near Lammin, under the
Roman Catholic Fathers there, and a subsidy was granted by the
Government especially for the purpose of educating the sons of large
cultivators and chiefs in the use of ploughs and other labour-saving
implements. A stipulation was made that the work should be inspected
by a Government officer from time to time.
In spite of this a fear was expressed at the outset that the
attendance at these schools would be disappointing, in view of the
fact that Mohammedan chiefs would be restrained by their mallams
from sending their children where there might be a risk of their
religious conversion. Although it had been specially laid down
that no religious teaching would be insisted upon, the fear proved
justified and the school never became a success, the attendance
being only of a few aliens. Since the closing of this school no
renewal of agricultural instruction seems to have been made.
=Chief Exports.=—The following table gives the average amounts
and values of the chief exports for 1900-10, and the individual
figures for the remaining years to 1918.
Groundnuts Rubber lbs. Beeswax lbs. Palm Kernels
Year tons and value and value and value tons and value
1900-10 Av. 39,000 tons 46,000 lbs. 45,500 lbs. 255 tons
£250,000 £3,500 £2,000 £2,260
1911 47,931 tons 10,733 lbs. 33,871 lbs. 443 tons
£437,472 £836 £1,514 £4,758
1912 64,169 tons 4,335 lbs. 30,830 lbs. 445 tons
£502,069 £409 £1,164 £6,518
1913 67,404 tons 12,995 lbs. 31,518 lbs. 546 tons
£622,098 £1,027 £990 £9,026
1914 66,885 tons 3,548 lbs. 15,513 lbs. 495 tons
£650,461 £102 £473 £7,815
1915 96,152 tons 1,171 lbs. 9,563 lbs. 326 tons
£400,435 £31 £311 £5,457
1916 46,366 tons 355 lbs. 6,950 lbs. 669 tons
£506,098 £23 £104 £14,671
1917 74,300 tons 1,753 lbs. 3,962 lbs. 532 tons
£869,790 £187 £247 £7,994
1918 56,489 tons 564 lbs. 8,626 lbs. 644 tons
£800,319 £40 £501 £9,800
_Note._—Cotton exports were 59,828 lbs. and 2,572 lbs. in 1904
and 1905 respectively. None has been exported since.
=GROUNDNUTS.=—This commodity is by far the most important exported
product, and is alone subject to a duty levied by the Administration.
=Uses.=—The undecorticated nuts are shipped, chiefly, to the French
ports and to Hamburg, for the expression of an oil of excellent
quality, of which they yield on an average about 30 per cent.,
estimated on the weight of the raw material. This is equivalent to
about 44 per cent. of the weight of the extracted kernels.
The mode of extraction in general employment in France is to grind
the kernels into a fine meal, from which the first quality of oil is
extracted by cold expression, yielding about 18 per cent. The meal
is then moistened with cold water, and at the second expression 6 per
cent. more is obtained. Both of these oils are useful for alimentary
purposes. A third expression is made from the residue treated with
hot water, and gives a further 6 per cent., which is chiefly employed
for lighting purposes, lubricating and soap-making. The fine oils
are substituted for, or mixed with, the olive-oils of commerce for
salad oils, and enter into the manufacture of oleo-margarine. After
these expressions of oil have been made, the meal is pressed into
cakes and used for cattle-food and manurial purposes.
=Classification and Description of the Groundnut Plant.=—The
groundnut belongs to the Sub-Order _Papilionaceæ_, of the Order
_LEGUMINOSÆ_, and is termed _Arachis hypogæa_, Linn.
The plant cultivated in Senegal and the Gambia grows in a
spreading form, with branches of from 12 to 18 inches in length,
and possesses oval leaflets given off in double pairs. A large number
of conspicuous yellow flowers appear from the upper leaf axils, but
are not capable of fertilisation. Those springing from the lower
leaf axils nearest the ground are small and generally hidden, but
produce fruitful pods. After fertilisation the stems of these flowers
become elongated, and are directed downwards, forcing the ovary
into the ground, in which it commences to swell to the mature size,
frequently penetrating to a depth of two inches beneath the surface.
The fruit is a pale straw-coloured, irregularly-cylindrical pod,
with the surface of the shell pitted and longitudinally ribbed. In
the Gambian variety, which is identical with the common Senegalese
kind, there are usually two kernels in each pod, but three or one
are also found.
The plant is of doubtful origin, but it is generally supposed that
it may have been introduced into Africa from Brazil (where the
genus _Arachis_ is well represented) nearly four centuries ago,
by the Portuguese slave-traders.
About 1840 groundnuts began to attract the attention of European
manufacturers, on account of the value of the oil obtained from
them, and, in common with the Senegalese, the Gambian natives were
induced to undertake cultivation upon a large scale.
The nuts grown in the Gambia and in Saloum, in the French territory
adjoining on the north, are classed as of second quality; those from
Cayor and Rufisque holding the first, and those from the Casamance
and Portuguese Guinea the third, places.
The seeds are sown upon ridges with flattened tops, and
the crop occupies the ground for about four months—July to
October—corresponding to the period of heavy rainfall in the
country. When the branches commence to wither, the whole plant
is carefully pulled up, so that the pods, which are then mature,
remain attached. The plants are then stacked in the fields, and
are often covered over with the leaves of the fan-palm. The green
parts dry into a hay, which, when the pods have been beaten out,
is used as horse-fodder. The advent of rain after stacking often
does great damage to the crop, but the occurrence is so rare that
it has been found difficult to induce the native to take common
precautions against it. During the last two years, however, the
Government have taken steps to enforce a regulation with regard to
this, and in consequence drains are now generally cut around the
stacks, and coverings of palm-leaves are left on until the nuts
are ready to be beaten out.
In the Jolah country raised platforms are constructed for stacking
this crop as well as others. After the nuts have been beaten out
from the dried plants, they are winnowed by allowing them to fall
from a slight elevation in a gentle breeze.
A good crop of nuts in the Gambia is estimated at about 44 bushels
per acre, equivalent to over half a ton, but larger yields are
frequently obtained. The Government standard bushel is used
throughout the country, and may contain from 25 to 31 lbs. of
undecorticated nuts.
Experiments have been made from time to time, to establish a
three-kernel nut instead of the two-kernel one, but the results
obtained have not shown that any advantage could be gained in this
way. Other varieties of nuts have been introduced and cultivated, but
no extensive planting of new kinds has yet been found worth adoption.
The plant seldom suffers from severe attacks of disease, although a
white fungus was prevalent in some localities in 1906. This affection
was termed “tio jarankaro” by the Mandingoes. In the succeeding
year it completely disappeared, and has not been reported to have
occurred since. The extermination of this disease was doubtless in
a large measure due to the careful way in which the selection and
distribution of seed had been carried out. For several years the
Government has been accustomed to purchase a certain quantity of
the best nuts each season, and to distribute these at sowing time
to the cultivators, on credit. Without this precaution, in a season
when the prices for nuts were high, the thriftless native would be
induced to sell every nut, reserving nothing for sowing the next
year. The system adopted is greatly appreciated by the cultivators
and merchants alike, and has without doubt contributed largely
to the prosperity of the country. Seed is not only interchanged,
in this manner, with advantage between different districts, but
fresh seed is sometimes also provided from Senegal.
The immigrant or “strange farmers” are generally welcomed by
the land-owners, who usually manage to lease them the fields which
require the most cleaning. After the immigrant farmer has reaped
his groundnut crop, the field is left in a good state of tilth for
the owner to sow his guinea corn.
The occurrence of ruinous competition among merchants at Bathurst
induced them to form a “combine” to regulate the buying price
of nuts; the purchases being pooled and then divided according to
a fixed scale. A recent attempt to divert Gambian nuts to Senegal
ports for shipment, by the levy of an import tax at Marseilles,
was opposed by the French and British merchants alike, and the fear
that the produce might only be diverted to another destination led to
its abandonment. For further information regarding the cultivation,
varieties and uses of groundnuts, see _Bulletin of the Imperial
Institute_, vol. viii. (1910), pp. 153-72.
=RUBBER.=—A good quality of rubber is produced in the Jolah
country, in particular, from _Landolphia Heudelotii_, an apocynaceous
vine, which grows commonly in the grass lands of Fogni.
The vine is tapped by women, who, after digging a hole near
the root of the plant, make a number of transverse cuts upon the
root-stem. The latex flows rapidly from such cuts, and is coagulated
by throwing salt water on the wound. The scrap rubber which forms
is collected the following day, and the pieces are attached to
one another, forming an open sponge-like ball of a pinkish-white
colour. Sand is often present in these balls owing to the fallen
latex being added to the rest.
[Illustration: RUBBER VINE (_LANDOLPHIA HEUDELOTII_) AT KOTOO.
Fig. 4. p. 9.]
[Illustration: CEARA RUBBER TREE (_MANIHOT GLAZIOVII_) AT BAKAU.
Fig. 5, p. 10.]
[Illustration: RUBBER TREE (_CASTILLOA ELASTICA_) AT KOTOO.
Fig. 6, p. 10.]
In addition to the inhabitants themselves collecting rubber, natives
belonging to a tribe from Portuguese Guinea, called “Manjagos,”
travel through the country for the purpose; the rubber which
they obtain being sold in the French Colony to the south of the
Gambia. The “Manjagos” are said to make a semicircular cut upon
the thick vine-stems just above the ground, to induce the better
flow of latex. This, they maintain, is not a destructive method,
and that, as the root stock is uninjured, the plant continues to
yield latex for a long time. At one time the rubber vine must have
been plentiful, but the rush for it which occurred at the beginning
of the present century has had the effect of exterminating it, except
in the more inaccessible places. The export has declined and is now
insignificant. The plant is known to the Mandingoes as “Folio.”
An illustration is given showing this plant at Kotoo (Fig. 4).
_Landolphia florida_, Benth., is common in places similar to those
where the last-mentioned vine occurs, but the latex is not used in
any way to adulterate the good rubber, nor is inferior “paste”
rubber made from it, as in other places in West Africa. _Ficus
Vogelii_, known as “Kobbo” (Mandingo), has recently been used
for extracting an inferior rubber, which has been shipped in small
quantities. This tree is found growing in Bathurst as well as
in many of the large towns, where it often attains a large size,
and affords an excellent shade for native markets, etc. A view of
a tree in Bathurst is shown (Fig. 3). Information regarding the
composition and value of the rubber of _Ficus Vogelii_ is given in
the _Bulletin of the Imperial Institute_, vol. vii. (1909), p. 260.
Some of the South American species of rubber trees have been planted
at different places, but for the most part the climatic conditions
have proved unsuitable for their establishment. An exception to
this is the Ceara rubber (_Manihot Glaziovii_), large trees of
which were to be seen in Bathurst and at Bakau, but in the latter
locality appear to have been cut down during recent years. It is
generally acknowledged that Ceara rubber has not proved successful
in plantations made in different parts of West Africa, for, although
rubber of the finest quality can be easily prepared from the latex,
the tree furnishes an extremely inconstant yield of latex. In the
Gambia the tree reproduces readily, and, as far as can be judged,
produces a latex capable of being coagulated into good rubber. As
a shade tree it is recommended to be grown along public roads, and
it might prove expedient in the country to make small experimental
plantations, in the manner adopted in Togoland and elsewhere. By
this system, tapping is continued for a few years, and whole blocks
of trees are cut out as they cease to yield latex—the seedlings
which have sprung up beneath these trees being permitted to take
the place of the original trees. An illustration showing a Ceara
rubber tree at Bakau is given (Fig. 5).
One specimen of _Castilloa elastica_, of which a photograph is
given (Fig. 6), is growing in the Kotoo farm, about 12 miles
from Bathurst. This tree has not, so far, proved successful in
West Africa, and the example photographed is apparently in better
condition than those grown in the Botanic Gardens of the Gold Coast
and Southern Nigeria.
_Funtumia elastica_, the Lagos silk rubber tree, does not thrive in
the Gambia, and the rainfall has been found to be insufficiently
distributed for the cultivation of the Para rubber tree (_Hevea
brasiliensis_).
The observed facts point to the conclusion that further experimental
trials of certain species of rubber trees in the Gambia should
be made.
=BEESWAX.=—It will be observed that a large quantity of beeswax
is annually exported, the quality of which is high. The native bee
is a small form of _Apis mellifera_, var. _Adansonii_. It is found
in a wild state forming nests in hollow trees or rock cavities. The
Mandingoes collect the wild swarms and confine them in basket-hives,
cylindrical in form and sometimes plastered over with mud. These
are placed in high trees or in abandoned huts. The wax is sold in a
crude form to the Bathurst merchants, who boil it down and strain
it previous to shipment. The European market value of the cleaned
wax is from £5 to £6 per cwt. A detailed description of methods
for the refining of wild bees’ wax for export is published in the
_Bulletin of the Imperial Institute_, vol. viii. (1910), pp. 23-31.
=PALM KERNELS.=—The West African oil palm, _Elæis guineensis_,
is found commonly in some parts, but the heads produced are small and
carry small fruits, containing little oil. This oil is used locally,
and the kernels from the nuts alone are shipped. The palm is chiefly
valued for the production of palm wine, which is tapped from the
base of the fruiting stems into funnelled gourds, hung beneath the
holes. The tree is apparently never felled for the purpose, and, by
limiting the amount of wine extracted, it survives for a long period.
=COTTON.=—The Mandingoes and Jolahs cultivate cotton for making the
yarn used in their native looms, in which they weave the strips of
cloth called “pagns.” These strips are afterwards sewn together
along their lateral edges and made into gowns.
The native cotton plant varies somewhat in appearance. In Kommbo,
a long straggling form occurs, which is retained for two seasons
to produce cotton, but in the Jolah country a small annual is most
frequently seen. The former is grown as a mixed crop and the latter
in separate patches.
In quality, from the European spinner’s point of view, the
Mandingo cotton lint compares favourably with the commercial
type called “middling American” as far as length of staple
is concerned, although it is not so white, nor is there so much
silkiness apparent. It has been rightly remarked that the native
variety, if properly cultivated, would probably give a better
result than would be obtained from the introduction of American
seed. The Jolah cotton is short-stapled and woolly, though whiter
than the Mandingo. It would be more difficult to improve this kind
sufficiently to suit the European demand.
Egyptian cotton seed was tried in the Gambia about twenty years ago,
and the variety was at first considered suitable; the cultivation
was, however, not proceeded with, owing to local difficulties.
The obstacles which hindered the development of cotton-growing in
the Gambia for export were the same as those experienced in Sierra
Leone. The local demand for raw cotton precluded it from being
obtained at a sufficiently low price to leave a margin of profit
to exporters, and in addition to this, labour was not sufficiently
abundant, nor were the natives familiar with labour-saving methods
in cultivation. Attempts to establish an interest in the matter
produced a fair amount of raw cotton in 1904, but since that
year the exported quantity rapidly diminished and has now ceased
altogether. For reports on the quality of the cotton produced in
the Gambia see Professor Dunstan’s _British Cotton Cultivation_
(Colonial Reports—Miscellaneous Series, Cd. 3997, 1908), p. 26,
and _Bull. Imp. Inst._, 1921. Samples may be seen in the Imperial
Institute Collections.
=GRAIN CROPS.=—No grain is exported, as owing to the work of the
scanty population being so largely applied to the cultivation of
groundnuts, scarcely sufficient food-stuff is grown for their
own requirements. Guinea-corn (_Sorghum vulgare_), the two
most important varieties of which are known as “Bassi” and
“Kinto” in the Mandingo language, are commonly used for food,
but during recent years, owing to the repeated annual attacks on
the crop by _Aphis sorghi_, maize-growing was substituted in some
parts of the country. White maize seed was obtained from Lagos,
and yellow maize seed from the Canary Islands, but the grain is
not appreciated to the same extent as Guinea corn. _Pennisetum
typhoideum_, the large millet, of which the commonest variety is
known in Mandingo as “Sannio,” is alternated with Guinea corn or
maize, but is often badly affected by a “smut fungus” (_Ustilago
sp._), which also attacks the “Kinto” variety of Guinea corn. A
small grass is often grown in the millet fields, yielding a crop of
fine seed which is made into flour for the preparation of a kind of
porridge. This is termed “Findi” locally. Rice (_Oryza sativa_)
is somewhat extensively grown in the swamp lands, but the success
of the crop is very largely dependent on the distribution of the
rainfall. Whole tracts of rice fields are destroyed in some years,
owing to excessive floods, as no precautions are taken to guard
against them. It is chiefly on account of the uncertainty of the
grain crops, that a large quantity of rice has to be imported
annually to supplement that produced in the country. These imports
often amount to six or seven thousand tons.
[Illustration: FRUITS OF OIL PALMS, SIERRA LEONE.
Fig. 9, p. 21.]
[Illustration: SWEET CASSAVA, WITH BAOBAB TREES, BAKAU.
Fig. 7, p. 13.]
[Illustration: INDIGO DYERS, McCARTHY ISLAND.
Fig. 8, p. 13.]
=ROOT AND OTHER CROPS.=—Sweet cassava (_Manihot palmata_)
is frequently planted as a terminal crop in the crude rotation
employed. This variety can be eaten without previously washing or
cooking. An illustration of a cassava field is given (Fig. 7). Two or
three kinds of beans are planted, though not extensively in spite
of a good local demand for them. Okra (_Hibiscus esculentus_),
cultivated for the edible fruit pods, indigo (_Indigofera sp._)
employed for making the local blue dye, and tobacco (_Nicotiana
tabacum_), are planted near houses. A photograph is given exhibiting
the different utensils required for the preparation of indigo,
and cakes of the dried and fermented indigo stalks, in the form in
which they are preserved, are shown suspended in the illustration
(Fig. 8). The tobacco prepared is usually ground into snuff, in
which form it is used for chewing as well as for smoking.
=TANNING.=—Goat-skins are tanned in the manner similar to that
employed by the Haussas; _Acacia arabica_ pods being used in the
process. The people who perform the work of preparing and working
leather are termed “Korankos.” Red and black inks, purchased
from the European merchants, are used for staining the leather,
which is inferior to that produced in Northern Nigeria (see p. 142).
=FIBRES.=—The country seems to be plentifully supplied with fibre
plants in a wild state, chiefly belonging to different species of
_Hibiscus_. These are of the jute class, and are used throughout the
country for making native ropes. Indian jute (_Corchorus capsularis_)
has been tried experimentally at Kotoo, and excellent samples were
obtained, but the quantity of fibre per acre turned out to be small,
and the working proved to be too expensive.
The preparation of piassava, which had been abandoned for many
years, is said to have been taken up again by a British firm in
1915. The fibre is obtained from the leaf sheath of a palm (_Raphia
vinifera_) which grows plentifully along the banks of the Gambia
in places. For further information see _Selected Reports from the
Imperial Institute_, Pt. I., Fibres, and _Bull. Imp. Inst._, 1915.
=TIMBER.=—There are no trees of commercial importance, accessible
for felling for export, although Gambian mahogany (_Khaya
senegalensis_) and Gambian rosewood (_Pterocarpus erinaceus_)
occur in many parts of the country. In some remote districts the
former tree is said to attain large dimensions (_Bulletin of the
Imperial Institute_, vol. viii. (1910), p. 244).
=TRADE.=—The following extracts from the Colonial Reports
show the diversion of destination of Gambian exports which has
occurred in recent years. For this purpose groundnuts are regarded
as representing the whole of the trade, of which they normally
constitute about 90 per cent.
PERCENTAGES OF EXPORTS FROM THE GAMBIA
Destination 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917
Great Britain 6·30 9·00 6·72 9·92 39·45 53·56 79·56
and British
Possessions
France and 84·80 76·00 59-10 79·34 48·60 36·58 20·35
French
Possessions
Holland 3·20 9·00 6·03 — — 4·20 —
Germany — 3·64 24·56 6·80 — — —
Denmark — — — 1·99 7·68 5·63 —
Spain — — — ·35 4·24 — —
Other countries 5·70 2·36 3·59 1·60 0·03 0·03 0·09
-----------------------------------------
100 100 100 100 100 100 100
-----------------------------------------
From the above it will be noted that Germany began to appear in the
market in 1912, and, in 1913, had taken nearly one-quarter of the
output. This is probably accounted for by the rapid growth of the
vegetable oil industry in Germany and the attempt on the part of
Hamburg crushers to capture the Gambia trade from Marseilles. It
will be seen that a proportionate decrease occurred in exports
to French ports coincident with the increased shipments to German
ports. The European war put Germany out of the market, and in 1914
France took nearly her normal share. In 1915 and 1916, however,
Great Britain felt the lack of imported vegetable oils to such
an extent that factories for their extraction sprang up in the
country; thus it is seen that in 1915 Great Britain took nearly
40 per cent. against France’s 48½ per cent., and in 1916, Great
Britain, for the first time in the last fifty years, took a larger
portion of the Gambian groundnut crop than France.
[Illustration: =GAMBIA & SIERRA LEONE=
_Stanford’s Geogl. Estabt., London._]
=SIERRA LEONE=
=INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.= =Geographical Position.=—The Colony and
Protectorate of Sierra Leone are bounded upon the north and west by
French Guinea, and upon the east by Liberia. The Colony is confined
to the hill country of the Sierra Leone Peninsula and Sherbro Island;
the remainder being Protectorate.
=Area and Population.=—The area of the country according to
the Blue Book of 1911 is 31,000 sq. miles. The greater part is
undulating, well watered and fairly fertile, traversed by short
ranges of mountains, mostly running north and south. The population
of the Colony, by the census taken in 1911, was 75,572, and of the
Protectorate 1,327,560.
=Administrative Divisions.=—The country is divided into seven
administrative districts, two of which are in the Colony and
five in the Protectorate. The latter have been formed primarily
in accordance with tribal settlements, due to the expediency of
recognising in each the native customary law; the exception to this
is the Railway district, in which other considerations of greater
importance are involved.
=Natural Features.=—Although the country is largely of a slightly
undulating type, in the north a curious formation of hills exists, in
the Koinadugu district; each hill bearing a curiously-formed pinnacle
of rock on its summit, and presenting a most striking appearance. The
valleys between these hills contain some of the richest soil found
in the country. Farther north, above the 9th degree of latitude, the
country is composed chiefly of grass land interspersed with stunted
trees. Approaching the coast, secondary forest or scrub occurs, which
is constantly being cleared for farms; being so used for a year or
two and then allowed to revert to “bush” for long periods.
=Natives.=—The inhabitants of the Colony are chiefly the
descendants of liberated slaves from North America and the West
Indies, but a number were rescued by British war-vessels from slave
ships, and represent races from all parts of West Africa. The
language adopted by these people is a “pidgin English” of a
peculiar kind, and is easily understood after a few of the curious
idiomatic phrases have been learnt.
The most important tribes are the Mendis, Timanis, Limbas and
Sherbros. These are followed in number by the Konnohs, Port Lokkos,
Susus, Korankos, Bulloms, Krims, Yalunkas, Mandingoes, Gbemas,
Foulahs, Gallinas or Veis and Gpakas. The Mendis are the largest
tribe, and are entirely pagan; they cultivate in a wasteful manner
and are otherwise improvident. The Timanis are more intelligent
and careful, and the Veis, occupying the sea coast to the south,
who have recently adopted cocoa planting, are not only considered
the most intelligent, but, alone among West African natives, have
a written language.
=Land Tenure.=—The land in the Colony is held by the Crown,
and is granted on the authority of the Governor. All grants
made contain reservations with regard to roads and other public
requirements. The tenure of Crown lands is fee simple, but occupation
is also sanctioned under squatters’ licence at a nominal rent,
and the tenure is then in the nature of a tenancy at will. Under
Ordinance No. 14 of 1886, real and personal property may be taken,
acquired, held or disposed of by any alien in a manner similar to
that allowed to a British-born subject.
Fields or waste lands outside town or village limits in the Sierra
Leone Peninsula and Sherbro Island must be taken up in lots of not
less than 20, or more than 200, acres. Such lots are disposed of at
auction, at an upset price of 4_s_. 2_d_. per acre in the former,
and 8_s_. in the latter locality. Up to 1902 the question of land
grants in the Protectorate was unsettled, but arrangements may now
be come to with the chiefs for the lease of tracts of land for long
periods on an annual rental, agreed to between the applicant and
the tribal council; the title requiring the confirmation of the
Government. According to native law, it is generally recognised
that the lands of a chiefdom are not the property of the chief,
but are held in trust by him for the tribe. A chief has no power
to alienate any portion of the land of a chiefdom, or to grant to
any one perpetual rights to any portion, but the lease of land by
an arrangement with the tribal council, and with the approval of
Government, should be satisfactory for all requirements with regard
to legal title.
=Labour.=—Plantations worked by chiefs at the instigation
of Government are usually supplied with labour by the chief,
although monetary assistance in the form of bonuses is occasionally
given. Under such conditions experimental plantations of fibre,
rubber, kola, etc., have been made. There is no fixed rate of pay
for labourers, but the usual wage for an adult man, when hired,
is from 6_d_. to 1_s_. per day.
=Cultivation.=—Throughout the country a shallow type of cultivation
is common, and one in which the bush stumps and roots are not
removed. The seeds of a number of different kinds of agricultural
crops are generally mixed together before being sown broadcast over
the lightly scraped soil of the burnt bush area.
The object of retaining the bush stumps and roots in the fields
is that, after two or three years of cultivation, the bush may
be easily reinstated, and again after ten or fifteen years, when
cut down and burnt, it furnishes a supply of wood ash for the
fertilisation of the field. This application of ash constitutes
the only form of artificial renovation which the soil ever receives.
Recently experiments have been made in the presence of natives,
in order to show the advantages of deep cultivation. To effect
this, without the employment of ploughs, the fork kodalli hoe,
recommended by the writer, has been introduced and generally
adopted. The substantial increase in the production of their rice
fields obtained by the use of this implement made a fortunate
impression among the natives.
The native agricultural implements consist of a straight-handled,
narrow-bladed hoe called “kari” (Mendi), or “katala”
(Timani), and one formed from an angled stick with a charred point,
called “baowe” (Mendi), or “kalal” (Timani). This last is
used for drilling. In addition to these, a large broad-bladed hoe,
called “karu wai” (Mendi), or “katala kabana” (Timani), is
employed for cleaning out weeds and scraping the soil surface; the
latter being the only cultivation the growing crop receives. These
implements are illustrated below.
[Illustration: A. “KARI” (MENDI), “KATALA” (TIMANI).
B. “KAKU WAI” (MENDI), “KATALA KABANA” (TIMANI),
C. “BAOWE” (MENDI), “KALAL” (TIMANI).]
=Agricultural Schools, etc.= _Chiefs’ Sons’ College._—In 1906
a college for the sons of chiefs was established at Bo, and it was
intended that, in addition to the ordinary course of instruction,
the rudiments of improved agriculture should be taught. This
was subsequently found to interfere with the teaching of other
subjects which were considered more necessary, and was abandoned in
consequence. The omission of agricultural training from the course
did not preclude the scholars from cultivating small patches of
vegetables for their own use, upon ground allowed to them for
the purpose.
_Thomas Agricultural College._—In 1908 the erection of an
Agricultural College was commenced at Mabang, under the terms of
the will of Mr. Thomas, a native who bequeathed a large sum of
money to be devoted to this purpose. The College was expected to be
completed in June 1910, when a commencement of lectures and general
instruction was to be made. Scholarships and some official control
were provided for by the terms of the trust, but the project was
never developed, and the buildings were not even completed.
=Principal Crops.=—The most important food crop is rice, but
two varieties of maize are also cultivated for local consumption;
one of these is quick maturing, and is probably identical with the
white variety which is exported from Lagos, from which country it
is said to have been introduced into Sierra Leone. The other kind
is of slower growth, and bears a yellow grain. Yams, sweet potatoes,
and cassava are grown, especially where there is a heavy rainfall.
=Forest Products.=—Besides the agricultural crops, the forests
yield palm oil and kernels, and kola nuts are planted for the
much appreciated seed which their pods contain. The latter nut is
said to have a stimulating effect, and to allay hunger and thirst
when chewed. The nut is in such great demand throughout Northern
Africa that a large trade exists between Sierra Leone and the coast
countries to the north.
The more important exported products are accorded the foremost
positions in the following account.
=OIL PALM.= =Localities and the Influence of Position.=—_Elæis
guineensis_ is found generally throughout the country from the
sea-board towards the interior, diminishing in those districts where
the climate becomes drier or where rocky and mountainous tracts
intervene. In places, owing, doubtless, to the wasteful methods
of treatment and the carelessness in burning the “bush” for
farms, extensive areas without palms are occasionally met with,
even where the soil and climatic conditions are not unfavourable to
their growth. In the extreme north, where the rainfall diminishes,
the tree is only found in the vicinity of streams. The most suitable
situation for growth seems to be one in which the soil is generally
rather moist, although swampy, ill-drained land is not favourable. In
those parts of the country where a gravelly laterite appears as a
surface soil over a deep substratum of syenite, trees may often be
met with in considerable numbers, but it is observed that the trunks
of such trees do not acquire the same thickness as those growing in
a damper and lighter soil. It is probable, although no experiments
have yet been made affording direct evidence for the conclusion,
that the fertility and yield of fruits of the trees growing upon
the flat lands are greater than those established upon the higher
undulating country because they are subject to less wash and more
natural irrigation. It is also quite possible that the variety of
palm fruit produced in the former places will be found to furnish
better commercial results. No distinct varieties are, however,
recognised by the natives, although distinctive names are applied
to the same fruit in different stages of development.
The oil palm does not appear to be able to thrive in heavy forest,
and in a natural state occupies open valleys with low undergrowth,
but upon the clearance of primary forest it soon becomes established.
The seeds or nuts, which are large and heavy, are distributed by
the agency of frugivorous birds and mammals. The grey parrot, for
example, may be observed extracting the ripe fruits from the heads
or picking them from the ground where they have fallen, and, after
conveying these to a convenient tree, carefully removing the oily
pericarp before dropping the nut in a new position. Monkeys doubtless
convey the fruits to even greater distances in their cheek-pouches.
Owing to the presence of rocky and swampy strips of country in
the Protectorate, and the direction in which farm fires have been
carried by the prevailing winds, the distribution of palms has been
thought to assume the character of “belts,” defined by fairly
well-marked boundaries. When looked into more closely, however,
the distribution appears to be better described as consisting of
dense patches linked sometimes by almost unrecognisable chains of
widely scattered trees, and often broken into by short ranges of
hills which are completely destitute of palms.
The patches referred to may bear 500 palm trees to the acre, and
these may represent 80 to 100 per cent. of the total tree-growth
on the patch. The area of such a patch may be roughly estimated at
from ¼ acre to 15 sq. miles, or even more, but it should be added
that, where such extensive tracts as these occur, the difficulties
of transport and the scarcity of the population have constituted
obstacles to working, and to the means of preserving the trees. Oil
palms near Mafokoyia are shown in the picture (Fig. 10).
[Illustration: OIL PALMS (_ELÆIS GUINEENSIS_), MAFOKOYIA.
Fig. 10, p. 21.]
[Illustration: NATIVE COLLECTING OIL PALM FRUIT, BLAMA.
Fig 11, p. 22.]
[Illustration: KOLA TREE AT MANO.
Fig. 12, p. 29.]
The appearance of a young tree is that of a thick stem throwing
out annulate series of long feathery leaf fronds, upon petioles,
which bear roughly-formed spines. As the tree increases in height
the lower petioles are shed, and the trunk assumes a narrower but
more regular form; indistinct rings being traceable, formed by the
bases of the fallen leaf stems. A mature tree will measure about one
foot in diameter at four feet from the ground, and at the ground
surface the diameter will be two and a half to nearly three times
as much. The male flowers are collected in the form of a number
of tassel-like pendants, springing from a common stalk, and one
such bunch is usually found above and upon each side of the female
inflorescence. Both sexes of flowers usually occur upon the trees,
but the natives recognise the existence of a non-fruiting tree,
and one which only produces male flowers. The number of fruit heads
and the weight of these vary according to the position, age, and
treatment of the tree. An idea may be given of the fruitfulness of
trees, from the accounts obtained from natives in different parts
of the country. The palm has two fruiting seasons, one during the
dry weather and another during the rainy season, the latter being
generally the lighter crop. It is estimated that a tree in full
bearing will yield from twelve to twenty fruiting heads in one year,
each of a fairly large size. A younger tree may only produce four
to eight heads, but usually of a larger size; and a tree of only
five or six years old may give about the same number of heads, but
of smaller dimensions. From very old trees small heads with fruits
of a diminished size are obtained. The weight of a moderately large
head will be about thirty pounds, and will contain about twelve
hundred fruits weighing roughly 23 lbs. An illustration showing
two fruiting heads is given (Fig. 9).
The ripe fruiting heads are gathered by a man using a climbing sling,
with which he encircles the tree and his waist, and by means of a
skilful manipulation of the part in contact with the trunk and remote
from the body, he proceeds to ascend the tree rapidly, almost as
though walking up it. On reaching the crown, a number of dead leaves
have to be removed in order to get at the fruit stem. These are cut
by means of a “cutlass” or “machete,” which the climber
carries, and are thrown to the ground. Only one head ripens at a
time upon each tree, and the time occupied in climbing and cutting
out the fruit head is estimated at about eight minutes. A photograph
showing a native climbing a palm tree is reproduced (Fig. 11).
Both the Mendi and Timani races distinguish the fruit, at different
periods during the advance towards maturity, by special names given
with regard to the appearance. Identifications of the same series
of fruits by different individuals have shown that these names are
widely used.
Although it will be seen that in the Gold Coast and Nigeria the
natives recognise a number of different varieties of fruit, this does
not appear to be the case in Sierra Leone. The thin-shelled forms,
so well known to the natives of the former countries, appear unknown,
except around Sherbro, where there are a few trees recognised as
productive of this type of fruit. In the appearance of the mature
fruit, the presence or absence of black at the apex seems to be
of equally common occurrence, but no importance is attached to
this feature.
The Sierra Leone form appears to be at a disadvantage with regard
to the proportion of oily pericarp covering the nut, as well as in
the great thickness of its shell. Comparing it with the varieties
obtained in the Gold Coast, it is probably nearest to, if not
identical with, that called “Abe pa.”
When the percentage of oil extracted from the fruit of the Sierra
Leone trees is compared with that from other parts of West Africa,
it at once becomes apparent that the amount is small. The results
of three series of experiments, made in different parts of the
country, showed that the fibrous pericarp, which contains the oil,
constituted only about 30 per cent. of the whole, the nut containing
the kernel being large and approximating 70 per cent. Palm oil
extracted by native methods gave 1·201, 5·47, 5·637, and 8·326
per cent. respectively in four tests. If these results are compared
with the extractions of oil from the several Gold Coast varieties,
the deficiency is very marked. Compare _Bulletin of the Imperial
Institute_, vol. vii. (1909), pp. 364-71.
A close examination of the local fruit shows that the outer fibrous
portion or pericarp, which alone contains the palm oil, is very thin,
whereas the hard shell surrounding the kernel is thick. The kernel
represents about 15 per cent. of the total weight of the fruit,
and is largely exported from the country for the extraction of
another kind of oil.
=Small Export of Oil compared with Kernels.=—The proportionately
larger weight of kernel than of palm oil capable of extraction,
accounts for the large quantities of kernels exported compared with
palm oil. As an example of this, it may be mentioned that in the
year 1906 Sierra Leone exported only 12½ gallons of palm oil to
each ton of kernels, whereas Southern Nigeria figures for the same
year showed 142 gallons of oil per ton of kernels. Since this date,
up to the beginning of the war, a comparison of the annual exports
of oil and kernels shows a fluctuation between about 12 and 19
gallons of pericarp oil for every ton of kernels; the latter still
remaining disproportionately high.
=Proposal to introduce New Varieties.=—Since it has begun to
be realised that the local variety of palm is probably constantly
inferior as an oil producer to some of the varieties found farther
to the south, it has been suggested that some of the forms, with
a thicker fibrous pericarp and a thin-shelled kernel, should be
introduced and planted upon an extensive scale. It is assumed that
by doing so, a better type would become established. Experiments
made in the Kamerun show, however, that the progeny of palms
having a thin-shelled fruit (Lisombe) do not necessarily retain
their important characters. Dr. Strunk has suggested that, in the
variety mentioned, the characters are not fixed or susceptible of
transmission, but the experiments are not considered as yielding
conclusive evidence, and it is advisable that experimental plots
should be planted with the more useful forms in Sierra Leone and
elsewhere, the seed being obtained from artificially fertilised
sources.
=Improvements in the Local Manufacture.=—During recent years
great efforts have been made by the Administration to increase the
exports of both palm oil and kernels by opening up the previously
rather inaccessible areas in which palm trees were found growing
almost untouched. The first step in this direction was the extension
of the Sierra Leone Railway line from Boia, a small village just
beyond the Headquarters District boundary, to Mafokoyia, lying a
short distance to the north. From here a road was made eastwards
towards Yonnibannah, passing through country fairly well studded
with oil palms. Later from Yonnibannah the objective of the railway
became Baga, a town on the Maybole river, again to the north. At
the present time this line has reached Kamabai, at the foot of the
Koinadugu mountains and to the west of Bumban, passing the town of
Makump on its way there. The whole of this route has been chosen
in order to make the oil palm regions more accessible, and the
increase in exports of both oil and kernels between 1907 and 1913
is almost entirely attributable to this development.
Not only was it desirable to open up new areas from which palm
fruits could be gathered, but, owing to the deficiency of pericarp
oil shipped from the country in comparison with palm kernels,
it was thought that, by the introduction of improved methods
for extracting the pericarp oil, more of this commodity might be
obtainable in the future.
The prospect of working a large area both experimentally and
commercially for oil extraction _in situ_, attracted Messrs. Lever
Brothers, who installed ample mechanical apparatus at Yonnibannah
in 1914. The Government had granted this firm a concession to work
several hundred square miles on the understanding that the local
traders and merchants were not thereby to be debarred from buying the
hand-prepared oil from the natives as before. The scheme was intended
to demonstrate the advantages of mechanical means of extraction over
those of hand power; and it was thought that, by the introduction
of these greater facilities for dealing with the oil palm products,
labour would be liberated and would be employed to a greater extent
in the less heavy and more remunerative direction of plantation
and field work. Messrs. Lever Brothers’ factory was one designed
to be equipped both from a mechanical and research standpoint,
and a special shunting yard on the railway was leased to the firm
by the Government to deal with the anticipated work. The project
seemed so promising that local firms were contemplating following
Messrs. Lever Brothers’ example in other localities. The whole
scheme was, however, abandoned after a short trial; Messrs. Lever
Brothers having probably discovered two facts in connection with the
oil palm industry in Sierra Leone which had been lost sight of. The
first is that the pericarp of the common type of palm fruit found in
Sierra Leone, as pointed out in the first edition of this book, is
very thin and therefore contains very little oil, and that the shell
of the nuts in this thin-pericarped fruit is extremely thick. The
common Sierra Leone kind is therefore of less economic value both
in respect to pericarp oil and kernel contents than the common kind
found in the Gold Coast, Nigeria and Kamerun. The second point is
that the Mendis and Timanis occupying this part of the Protectorate
are a lower type and generally poorer workers by comparison with
the Fanti tribes of the Gold Coast or the Yorubas of Nigeria.
One explanation given for the failure of Messrs. Lever Brothers’
effort in Sierra Leone was that they did not offer a sufficiently
high price for the oil palm fruit heads to induce the natives to
collect and carry them to the factory. As the chiefs and villagers
saw that by selling the fruits to the factory the main occupation of
their wives (the preparation of palm oil and the cracking of nuts
for the extraction of palm kernels) would be taken away, they were
said to be averse to the establishment of a new condition of enforced
idleness, which would impose greater difficulties on them of keeping
their wives in order. The offer by the factory to return the nuts
for cracking in the villages, did not dispose of this difficulty,
as the villagers only saw in it an arrangement involving them in
extra transport. Messrs. Lever Brothers have now transferred their
work to the Belgian Congo, where, by reason of the better type of
palm fruit commonly obtainable, the conditions are more satisfactory
for the development of the mechanical extraction of palm oil on a
commercial scale, and where the inhabitants are less independent
and more accustomed to co-operate with European enterprise.
=Export Figures.=—The average annual export of palm oil and
kernels for the first nine years of the century, and the annual
total of the subsequent ten years are given:
Palm oil Palm kernels
Year Gallons Tons
1900-1908 Av. 303,790 26,630
1909 851,998 42,897
1910 645,339 43,031
1911 725,648 42,892
1912 728,509 50,751
1913 617,088 49,201
1914 436,144 35,915
1915 481,576 39,624
1916 557,751 45,316
1917 543,111 58,020
1918 260,442 40,816
=RUBBER.=—Until 1907 the African tree rubber (_Funtumia elastica_)
had not been recorded from any part of the country, although its
congener, _F. africana_, was found everywhere. A number of trees
of the first-named species have been recently discovered in the
Panguma and Gola forests, and have been carefully examined. The
latex, from trees tapped in the former locality, yielded a good
quality of rubber when boiled with three volumes of water.
=Native Method of Preparation.=—The tree is known to the Mendis as
“Gboi-gboi,” and in order to obtain the latex it is customary
to fell the tree, afterwards ringing it at intervals of about
one foot. The latex, which flows, is collected in leaf cups or
other receptacles, and is heated in an iron pot. When in a state of
semi-coagulation, induced by heat, it is poured upon plantain leaves,
placed on the ground. Another plantain leaf is then used to cover
the mass, which is stamped out with the feet into a rough sheet. The
sheet is hung up to dry in a hut, in which it obtains the benefit
of the fumes from the wood fires used by the occupants. The next
process is to cut the sheet into strips, which are subsequently
wound into large oval balls and enter the Freetown market under
the name of “Manoh twist.”
Owing to the wasteful method of tapping the trees, the species has
been exterminated in many places, and the local Government have
had under consideration the formulation of an ordinance to prevent
the continuance of such destruction. As the existing trees are
now practically only found in the dense forests near the Liberian
frontier, and are probably widely scattered over a large area,
it will prove a difficult matter to enforce any regulations with
regard to collection.
=Vine Rubber: Method of Preparation.=—_Landolphia owariensis_,
var. _Jenje_, is said to be the species of vine from which the
Sierra Leone “Red Nigger” rubber is obtained. The Mendi name
for the plant is “Djenje.” A very destructive method is usually
employed in the preparation of the rubber. The vine is cut down and
the roots dug out, both of which are cut into small pieces and soaked
in water for several weeks. The bark is then removed, and the wood is
pounded and washed repeatedly until a reddish mass of rubber remains,
which usually contains a large amount of woody matter. This is sold
in the form of balls. It is less common for the native to tap the
vine and to coagulate the latex upon the wound with the addition
of salt or lime juice, but this is occasionally done, and balls of
scrap rubber collected in this way are sold in some localities.
Another vine (_Clitandra laxiflora_), which yields an inferior
rubber by means of boiling the latex, is termed “Jawe” by the
Mendis. This was at first considered to be _Clitandra Manni_, but
more recent investigation has proved that _C. Manni_, although called
by the same native name, produces a latex incapable of coagulation.
=The Quality of Indigenous Rubbers and the Export.=—The prices
obtained for Sierra Leone rubbers compare favourably with those of
the other British West African countries. Funtumia rubber, which
is generally largely adulterated in the Gold Coast and Nigeria,
is apparently not so in Sierra Leone, when prepared in the form of
“Manoh twist.” The vine rubber, made from the scrap, is also of
good quality, and the root rubber is not inferior to that shipped
from the other countries. The trade of Sierra Leone is, however,
small, and it is probable that the larger part of that exported
from Freetown is obtained from the adjoining countries of Liberia
and French Guinea. The export of rubber declined since 1906, when
it amounted to 107 tons, to only 6 tons in 1913, while in 1916
and 1917 none was exported. The composition and quality of Sierra
Leone rubbers is given in the _Bulletin of the Imperial Institute_,
vol. iv. (1906), p. 29; vol. vi. (1908), p. 24; vol. viii. (1910),
p. 16; and vol. xii. (1914), p. 371.
=Rubber Plantations.=—No plantations of Funtumia rubber have
been made although small plots have been planted with the South
American Para tree (_Hevea brasiliensis_) on an experimental
scale at different times and in various parts of the country and a
mixed plantation of rubber, cocoa, coffee and fruit has been made
near Waterloo. Up to 1909, it should be remarked, the work was
in the hands of the Agricultural Service, but from 1910, on the
formation of the Forestry Department as well as the reorganisation
of an Agricultural Department, all forest and plantation work was
transferred to the first-named Department. No plantation rubber
has yet reached the commercial stage, although further trials are
still in progress, and much experience has been gained.
A few Para trees were planted at the beginning of the present century
in the Botanic Gardens at Freetown, but the locality was found
unsuitable, and the trees grew slowly and yielded unsatisfactorily. A
small plantation was made at Moyamba by Madam Yoko, the late chief of
the Mendis, and was well looked after until she died, since when it
seems to have been somewhat neglected. At Mano, the chief of the town
made a good plantation in 1906, and, as the locality was apparently
well selected, the trees have shown satisfactory growth. Small plots
have been put out under Para at the Roman Catholic Mission station
at Serabu, at Segbwema, Tinainahun and the Bo school, with variable
success, in accordance with the cultivation and care bestowed on
the plants. Except in the gravelly positions the tree succeeds well.
_Landolphia owariensis_ and _L. Heudelotii_ have been planted in
forested patches in different parts of the country, the supervision
of such planting having been entrusted to a native who had seen
similar work performed by the French authorities in the neighbouring
colony. Near Batkanu, a few plants can still be seen.
=KOLA NUTS.=—The importance of the kola nut in West Africa
is very high. Sierra Leone produces generally a better quality,
for local consumption and export, than other countries. The kola
trees (_Kola acuminata_ and _K. vera_) do not, however, occur in a
wild state in the country, and the whole produce is obtained from
plantations, which are to be seen near almost every village in the
moist region. A photograph is given showing a kola tree at Mano
(Fig. 12). The destination of the exported kola is chiefly Bathurst
(Gambia), Dakar (Senegal), Bissao (Portuguese Guinea), and to a small
extent Dahomey. The exports of this commodity in recent years are
given below as well as their average annual values per ton, which,
as will be seen, exhibit great fluctuation.
Tons Valued at Equal to £ per ton
1906 1,155 £104,084 £90
1907 1,374 £113,674 £83
1908 1,162 £108,895 £94
1909 1,320 £153,848 £116
1910 1,508 £191,878 £127
1911 1,597 £194,260 £121
1912 1,649 £276,473 £167
1913 1,865 £328,003 £176
1914 1,924 £279,185 £145
1915 2,041 £233,388 £119
1916 2,484 £302,720 £122
1917 1,702 £321,105 £188
1918 2,302 £397,726 £173
Kola nuts are second only to palm kernels in Sierra Leone in
importance as an export, although they are practically entirely
consigned to other coast ports; an insignificant amount of dried
kolas only being destined for Europe.
=RED PEPPER.=—_Capsicum annuum_ and _C. frutescens_ are both
grown among the multitude of plants, the seeds of which are mixed
and broadcasted in the farms; but whereas most of the other plants
are annuals, these are left in the ground for two years or more,
and yield almost continuous crops during that period. The country
of origin of these plants is probably South America, but the date
of their introduction is unknown.
Beside the extensive local use of the pods, the export statistics
of 1909 show that 41 tons were shipped.
=GINGER.=—_Zingiber officinale_ is not found in a wild state
in Africa, but has been widely introduced throughout the tropical
portions, although in Sierra Leone, alone among the West African
countries, has it reached the important position of an export.
Owing to the defective methods of agriculture employed in the Colony,
where for the most part ginger is cultivated, the roots or rhizomes
do not attain a large size, and, in consequence, present great
difficulties in decortication.
The common native method of preparation is to rub the washed and
partially dried rhizomes in sand, and then to dry them more or less
completely in the sun. The effect of this treatment is to remove a
small portion of the outer skin from those prominences which come
into contact with the sandy surface more readily, the depressions
being left untouched. The native has found that the weight of the
prepared ginger is increased by the adhesion of sand, and therefore
prefers to employ this method to that of using a knife. The result
is a very inferior product.
During the last few years attempts have been made among the ginger
growers to deal directly with the European buyers, and a Farmers’
Association was formed with this object in view. Government
assistance was obtained on the assurance that better methods of
cultivation and preparation would be adopted, and this was done
to a certain extent, but greater dependence seems to have been
placed upon the supposed advantage to be obtained from shipping
ginger of the usual inferior quality, without it passing through
the local merchants’ hands. The result was, that a small quantity
of selected ginger was sold at a good price, and a large quantity
of common grade obtained a lower price than previously.
Recent experiments have shown that good results can be obtained with
ginger in Sierra Leone if care be taken to deep-hoe the ground and
then plant out the selected eyes from clean rhizomes. The custom
of attempting to grow a crop in hard laterite gravel without proper
cultivation is the chief cause of the malformed and small rhizomes
usually obtained in native cultivation. Under improved conditions a
crop of five tons per acre of good quality ginger has been procured.
=Export Trade.=—The following amounts of ginger have been shipped
during the last decade:
Tons Value Tons Value
1906 579 10,879 1913 2,048 35,468
1907 618 11,578 1914 1,213 15,639
1908 637 11,871 1915 567 8,091
1909 722 14,147 1916 971 25,814
1910 1,093 33,288 1917 1,136 25,863
1911 1,692 44,668 1918 1,576 39,306
1912 2,200 44,864
It is reported that, owing to the decline in price paid for
Sierra Leone ginger in 1913, about one-third of the crop was left
unharvested, and that the depreciation experienced was due to the
competition from other sources of a better marketed product. It would
be a pity if the promising opportunity of the country to become
established as a large producer of ginger were altogether lost,
owing to the want of a little care in cultivation and preparation
of the product for the market.
The plant is essentially suited to certain parts of the Colony and
Protectorate and is not subject to any serious diseases, the only
recorded one being a fungus which attacks the rhizomes and causes
yellowing of the leaves. This can be prevented from spreading if
the plants be removed and burned as soon as the signs of attack
are apparent on them.
=FIBRES.= =Jute Class.=—In the last few years several fibre plants
indigenous to the country have been experimented with at the Imperial
Institute, in order to ascertain whether any were capable of being
exported for use as substitutes for Indian jute.
_Honckenya ficifolia_, known by the Timani name of “Napunti,” a
plant which occurs in great profusion in the swamps and low lands,
yields a fibre of excellent quality, but owing to the difficulties
experienced in the extraction of it, further experiments are
necessary to devise a means by which it can be economically
prepared. The analyses of the fibre from this plant which have been
made at the Imperial Institute (see _Selected Reports from the
Imperial Institute_, Part I. [Cd. 4588], Fibres, p. 40) are very
satisfactory, and this, combined with the fact that the natural
supply of the plant is very large in districts which are quite
useless for agricultural purposes, renders it important that the
methods of extraction should be more carefully studied.
Among the other fibres of this class which have shown promise,
_Hibiscus quinquelobus_, to which the Mendis give the name of
“Korwey,” is found in a wild state in variable profusion
throughout the country. Unlike the last, which produces erect stems
growing close together, this plant has stems of an almost scandent
character, growing under the shade of moderately large trees and
perforating the upper branches, so that the flowering stems are
often seen fifteen feet or more above the ground. Under cultivation
the experiments seemed to show that the elongated character of the
stems was not maintained, and this defect requires to be remedied if
the fibre is to be prepared upon a commercial scale. The extraction
is easily done by retting, and experimental shipments to Europe of
several tons have shown that the product is quite marketable and
is classed with, or a little below, medium jutes (_ibid._ p. 39).
Recently experiments were carried out in the extraction of fibre
from _Hibiscus esculentus_, the “okra” of tropical countries. A
specimen of the fibre having been examined at the Imperial Institute
and favourably reported upon (_ibid._ p. 35), a plantation was made
at Kangahun, in order to endeavour to produce a crop, which should
have the additional advantage of yielding a marketable supply of the
vegetable okra pods before being cut down and made into fibre. In
order to do this, the seed was sown at close intervals, thereby
introducing a straight growth of stem, and care was exercised not to
permit the fruiting to continue long enough for the stems to become
coarse. The fibre was extracted in the same manner as that of jute,
except that the stems were immersed in a solution of caustic soda
before retting to remove the thin outer bark. The marketed fibre
from the first of these experiments realised an unsatisfactory price,
but it was estimated that the crop of pods yielded £3 per acre.
_Corchorus capsularis_, one of the Indian jutes, was introduced and
planted out in 1906, but the existing native methods of cultivation
and the absence of manure rendered the conditions so different from
those obtained in India, that a successful result was not brought
about. Two species of Corchorus are found in the country, and are
used only as vegetables.
=Ramie Fibre.=—Plantations of Ramie fibre or China grass were
recently made in various parts of the Protectorate, but although
the plant grows well during the rainy season, the long period of
dry weather is detrimental to it.
=Piassava.=—This fibre is produced from the sheath of the leaf
stem of _Raphia vinifera_, the wine palm, and is prepared at several
places, especially in the swampy districts near the coast. The
method of extraction is merely that of steeping and beating out,
and the resulting fibre is, in appearance, somewhat similar to fine
whalebone. The largest amount was exported in 1915, when the figure
reached 1,283 tons. The price in this year attained £61 per ton. The
fibre is chiefly employed for the manufacture of stiff brooms.
=COTTON.=—The native cotton of Sierra Leone showed promise, at
one time, of great development, but insurmountable difficulties
met the efforts of the British Cotton Growing Association in their
attempt to establish cotton growing for export upon a large scale.
The native mode of growing cotton is in combination with a number
of other agricultural crops, the seeds of all being mixed before
being broadcasted in a field, which has been lightly tilled. Cotton
sown in this manner is permitted to yield crops for two seasons,
but the second crop is generally much inferior. Owing to this
irregular manner of planting, the amount of cotton available for
use is small, and is nearly all absorbed for the supply of the
native looms; being readily saleable in the weaving districts at
about 2_d_. per lb. of seed cotton, or about twice as much as the
British Cotton Growing Association were prepared to pay.
The inefficiency of the quality of the local cultivation, and the
disinclination on the part of the native to adopt better methods,
effectually prevented more cotton being grown, and the British Cotton
Growing Association were unable to obtain sufficient material to
keep their ginnery employed.
In connection with the cotton ginnery, erected at Moyamba, a large
plantation was made; the indigenous as well as many exotic varieties
of the plant being put in. The site, however, proved unsuitable,
labour was found to be expensive, and the climatic conditions
were complained of. In consequence of these adverse conditions,
the Association were reluctantly obliged to abandon the work. The
export of cotton was never significant and ceased altogether in 1909.
=Indigenous Varieties.=—Three well-marked types of cotton are
found throughout the country, and are known by the native (Mendi)
names of (1) Kwonde, (2) Fande Wa, (3) Dhoole. The first of these has
a white lint and a seed covered with white wool. An examination of
this at the Imperial Institute showed that the lint from it was the
most valuable of the three; the staple measured about 1″, and was
compared with very good quality “Indian Broach.” Two samples,
valued in 1907, were priced at 5⅜_d_. and 5¾_d_. respectively,
with good Broach at 5⅜_d_., and Middling American at 6·18_d_. The
Fande Wa variety has a creamy lint and a green woolly seed. It
was said to be of good quality, but the colour was not so good as
the last, and the value was consequently lower. Dhoole is rather
rarer than the other two, and has a brick-red or brown lint and a
bare seed. Khaki or red cottons are not in demand upon an European
market, but locally they are somewhat sought after.
=Native Weaving.=—A native cloth woven from the three different
varieties of indigenous cottons is frequently seen; the careful
arrangement of the naturally coloured yarns yielding a distinct
pattern. More often, perhaps, only the first two kinds are used,
and the yarn made from them is dyed with the local indigo. In
width the native cloths are usually narrow, and the strips are sewn
together in order to form gowns, etc. A photograph is given showing
a native weaver at work at Pendembu (Fig. 13). In a few localities
wider cloths are woven, but of no great length. These are often
elaborately designed, and command a high price among the natives,
being preferred to imported materials.
=Exotic Cottons.=—“Cambodia” and “Sea Island” have been
tried experimentally. The latter, though withstanding the heavy
rainfall well, was found to be very susceptible to attacks of the
local cotton stainer. There is still no prospect of the revival of
cotton exportation.
[Illustration: NATIVE WEAVER AT PENDEMBU.
Fig. 13, p. 34.]
[Illustration: KUMASSI, THE CAPITAL OF ASHANTI.
Fig. 14, p. 43.]
[Illustration: STONE VAT FOR POUNDING PALM FRUITS, WITH SURROUNDING
GUTTER AND OIL WELL, KROBO PLANTATIONS.
Fig. 15, p. 68]
=RICE.=—Two forms of rice are grown in the Protectorate; one under
irrigation or in swampy ground, near rivers, etc., and the other
entirely without any conservance of water, depending on the rainfall.
The use of rice is general throughout the country—in fact, it is
probably the most important food crop; and although, as mentioned
above, there are two forms, divided according to their mode of
cultivation, each form contains many varieties distinguished by
different native names.
In the Timani country and the vicinity of Port Lokko the finest
quality is grown, and the husking of this is said to be a prolonged
process of drying, without previously parboiling or soaking. This
rice only requires to be thoroughly dried before the husk will
separate on pounding.
In the Mendi country, the heads of rice at the harvesting are
cut and tied in small bunches to dry in the fields. The grain is
then beaten out, and the chaff winnowed on a tray or in a gentle
breeze. The next step is to parboil the grain while yet in the husk,
during which operation the interior swells up so as to split the
husk. The rice is then again thoroughly dried in the sun upon mats,
and finally lightly pounded in a wooden mortar in order to separate
the loosened husk, which is removed by winnowing. From the time of
harvesting until the rice is ready for sale, the work is performed
by women.
In spite of the fact that a very large quantity of rice is grown, it
frequently happens that in a good season much remains unharvested,
owing to the improvidence of the native. The price just after
harvesting may fall as low as 1_s_. 6_d_. per bushel, but a few
months later it may reach three times that amount. It is customary
for the Protectorate native to realise at once upon his crop,
without taking the precaution to lay in a store for his future
requirements. In consequence of this he is compelled to buy back
supplies for his own consumption at a very much enhanced rate. The
native at the Coast takes advantage of this improvidence and profits
considerably by it; buying up the cheap product at harvesting and
realising a handsome profit after a few months.
In quality the local rice is excellent, but in appearance it is
somewhat reddish, only a few of the finer qualities being nearly
white. The imported rices are usually white, but are said to contain
less nutriment than the local kinds.
Rice has always constituted the staple food of the aboriginal
tribes of the Protectorate, for which reason its cultivation and
the weather conditions necessary for its successful production
locally are matters of great importance. No precaution is taken to
plant any other crop as a stand-by in the event of an unfavourable
rice season. In 1910 a disaster actually occurred, for the rainy
season of 1909 set in so early that it prevented many farms being
burned in time to sow rice. Most of the local varieties mature
their grain from three to five months after sowing, the earlier
producing approximately 15, and the later from 30 to 40 bushels, per
acre. Owing to the failure of the rice crop in 1910, the commodity
should not have been allowed to be exported in that year, but the
importance of this was lost sight of in view of the remunerative
trade in it which had become established with different coast ports
to which it was shipped. In the previous edition of this volume a
recommendation was made to foster the export of surplus Sierra Leone
rice to the Gold Coast, where it was much appreciated, and doubtless
this trade may yet become important when existing restrictions are
removed, and if it is found possible to induce a larger number of
the population in the Protectorate to engage in pure agriculture,
and grow crops in excess of their immediate personal requirements.
The exports for the last nine years were as follows:
Bushels Value £
1910 35,114 5,925
1911 22,621 4,716
1912 30,715 5,712
1913 21,548 3,991
1914 18,705 4,855
1915 19,600 7,228
1916 3,192 1,364
1917 1,022 697
1918 176 93
In 1915, owing to the falling off of imports, it was found necessary
to exercise control over the exports, but in spite of this the amount
exported was higher than in the previous year. In 1916 the urgency of
the matter became even more pronounced and exports were restricted.
The Agricultural Department conducted several comparative trials
with Indian and local varieties of rice. The Indian rices were
much smaller in size of grain and were generally not considered so
suitable as the local kinds, with respect to which it was found that,
with a sufficiency of seed used in sowing and deep cultivation,
excellent crops could be secured. The native method of using less
than half a bushel of seed to sow an acre is accountable for much
of the resultant crop becoming full of weeds. Excellent results
were obtained in sowing 1½ to 3 bushels per acre, when the weeds
were choked out.
=CAMWOOD.=—This material, from which red dye is got, is obtained
from the leguminous tree _Baphia nitida_. The use of it in European
countries has somewhat diminished during recent years, owing to the
substitution for it of artificial red colouring-matter, but a small
quantity is still exported, and is made use of for colouring sausage
skins. The amount of camwood exported in 1915 is given as 635 tons,
valued at £8,761.
=COPAL.=—The tree identified as _Copaifera Guibourtiana_ is tapped,
in the Mendi country especially, for copal. The method in general
practice is to cut small square patches of bark from the main trunk
and branches in the month of January, and to permit these to exude
resin until April, at which time the flow has ceased, and the resin
hardened sufficiently to be collected.
The tree has been recorded from a few localities in Sierra Leone, but
recently plantations have been made near Moyamba and elsewhere. In
the Kwalu district, where clusters of large trees occur, much damage
has been done by overtapping, and many dead trees are to be seen.
The value of Sierra Leone copal is high, sometimes attaining over
two shillings a pound in the European markets. The quality is,
however, somewhat irregular, and the local grading is frequently
inefficient. Information as to the quality and value of Sierra Leone
copal in comparison with other varieties is given in _Selected
Reports from the Imperial Institute_, Part II., Gums and Resins
[Cd. 4971], pp. 170-82.
About thirty tons were annually shipped to Europe for making varnish,
but owing to the destructive methods of collection, the Government
has prohibited trade for five years.
=GROUNDNUTS.=—Practically no trade at present exists in this
crop, but efforts are being made to reintroduce the cultivation
into Bullom, where at one time a large quantity was grown for export.
The cultivation of groundnuts for local consumption is carried on,
but the ridge system of planting, which is in vogue in the Gambia,
is not adopted in Sierra Leone, and the groundnut stalks are
removed from the ground without the nuts attached to them. The
nuts in Sierra Leone are permitted to remain in the ground and
depreciate in quality through insufficient drying. The success of
groundnut cultivation depends largely upon the plant being grown
on a loose bed of friable soil, and, where such conditions exist,
the Gambian method should prove satisfactory.
Experiments show that the nuts should be decorticated before
sowing. The usual local method of sowing is to scatter the nuts upon
the unbroken ground and then cover with loose earth. Some damage is
done by rats, bushpig and termites, and in 1914 a fungoid disease
(_Cercospora personata_) appeared in Karene. The Agricultural
Department has obtained 12 cwts. to the acre in its trials.
The variety of nut grown is apparently identical with that of the
Gambia, from which country the seed has probably been obtained in
the past.
=COCOA.=—Some years ago cocoa was introduced into the Colony, but,
although some of the Colonial planters had received their training in
the cocoa estates of Fernando Po and San Thomé, no success attended
their efforts in Sierra Leone. The heavy rainfall, combined with
the long period of drought peculiar to the country, is detrimental
to the industry. More recently experiments have been conducted in
the Protectorate, where a lighter rainfall occurs; but here also
the conditions are not generally favourable, as the long period of
dry weather is not compensated for by humidity in the atmosphere.
=Importance of Correct Climatic Conditions.=—Cocoa plantations,
in order to be successful, require atmospheric moisture fairly
constantly throughout the year, and will not thrive if exposed to
excessive and prolonged drought, or too much rain. Meteorological
records taken at Bo, a place not far distant from that where cocoa
experiments were made, show that the conditions in respect to
distribution of rainfall, humidity and temperature are unfavourable
there. Many attempts have been made in other localities, but only in
Northern Sherbro has there been any appreciable success. The soil in
this locality is deep and is kept in good tilth by the Gallinas. The
price obtained locally for their cocoa beans was, in 1913, from
3_d_. to 4_d_. per lb.; in 1914 there was an increase in the number
of plants put out, as the price rose in that year to 6_d_. per lb. A
sample of native cocoa was submitted to the Imperial Institute for
examination and report in 1916, and was found to be incompletely
fermented with a rather harsh flavour. The trade valuation, however,
was equal to the standard price ruling for Accra beans at the same
time (cf. _Bull. Imp. Inst._, 1916, p. 589). Although the outlook for
Northern Sherbro is promising, cocoa cannot attain much success in
the country generally, on account of unsuitable climatic conditions
and general ineptitude of most of the native tribes.
=COFFEE.=—A few years ago coffee was grown in the Colony for
export, the indigenous variety, _Coffea stenophylla_ as well as
_C. Liberica_ being planted. The former bears a very small berry
and yields an excellent, strong-flavoured beverage. The latter is
better known and has a large berry. Throughout the hill villages of
the Colony a great number of trees are seen, but, owing to a fall
in the price of the product, most of the crop remains unpicked,
although it should not prove unremunerative even at the present
prices to continue the export.
=INDIGO.=—Species of Indigofera and a scandent shrub, _Lonchocarpus
cyanescens_, or “Gara” (Mendi), are used for the extraction
of the blue dyes commonly employed in the country. The leaves of
the latter plant are said to be in such demand that a quantity is
annually imported from Southern Nigeria. A description of the method
of dyeing with “Gara,” and an explanation of the process, are
given in the _Bulletin of the Imperial Institute_, vol. v. (1907),
p. 129.
=FRUIT.=—Some parts of the Colony seem favourable for the
cultivation of various tropical fruits, such as bananas, oranges,
mangoes, and pineapples, and it is possible that the proximity of
Sierra Leone to European ports might enable some of these to be
grown for export.
=BEESWAX.=—A small amount of beeswax is collected in the
Protectorate, and instruction has been given to the natives in some
localities with a view to the improvement of the methods employed by
them. The Government has arranged for the instruction of some of the
local officials while on leave in England in practical bee-keeping.
The bee found in Sierra Leone is identical with the variety
of _Apis mellifera_ found throughout West Africa, and is named
var. _Adansonii_. It is rather small, but produces an excellent
honey, which is much appreciated.
=OIL SEEDS.=—A tall tree bearing a large flattened legume, known
to the Mendi people as “Fai,” or “Fawe,” has been sent
for examination to the Imperial Institute on account of the oil
contained in the seed. This tree was identified as _Pentaclethra
macrophylla_, and, although common throughout the forested zone,
is not seen in profusion anywhere. The oil has been tested, and
is said to be capable of utilisation for the manufacture of soap
and candles, but not for alimentary purposes. The difficulties in
connection with the collection of the seed in large quantities and
the extraction of the kernel from the outer horny shell, hinder
the creation of a remunerative export trade.
Another vegetable oil is that obtained from the fruit of _Pentadesma
butyracea_, a tree found in some parts of Bullom and in the
Port Lokko district. The fat extracted from the ripe fruit is
occasionally brought for sale to Freetown, where it is known as
Mandingo butter. It does not occur in sufficient quantities to be
commercially useful, although it yields an edible oil.
_Lophira alata_, which is widely distributed throughout the grass
country in the north, and is replaced by a nearly allied species,
_L. procera_, in the forest zone, bears a seed which contains a
large percentage of oil, which can be used for soap manufacture. The
difficulty of decorticating the seeds and their preservation during
transport are disadvantages in the establishment of an export trade.
Analyses of the fats or oils yielded by these and other West
African oil seeds, and information as to their quality, possible
uses and value will be found in _Selected Reports from the Imperial
Institute_, Pt. V., Oil Seeds (cf. also _Bull. Imp. Inst._, 1912,
1913, 1915, 1917, 1918).
=Progress in Agriculture.=—In 1910 the Agricultural Department
was reorganised on a better basis than formerly, and the purely
forestry work, which had been previously carried on by the
Agricultural Superintendent, in addition to his other duties,
was then transferred to a Forestry Department formed in that year.
Briefly, the scheme of work laid down by the new Department of
Agriculture may be said to be on the following chief lines:
(i) The introduction of a cheap and effective organic manure,
and the demonstration of its value in such a manner as to induce
the people to use it on their land, and thereby to employ more
economical means for the production of food, etc.
(ii) The institution of a proper rotation of crops suitable for
each district or locality.
(iii) The demonstration to natives of the fact, that, by the proper
employment of manuring and crop rotation, they would be able to
farm the same piece of land for an indefinite number of years,
during which time it should increase rather than diminish in
fertility. By such demonstration it should be possible to put an
end to the wasteful and permanently destructive methods at present
employed of shifting cultivation.
The Agricultural Department has a piece of land on the Experiment
Farm at Njala, which has been under crops annually for the past
eight years, and the condition of it at present is said to be a more
fertile one, owing to the system of manuring and rotation employed,
than it was at the commencement of work. This is mentioned here, as
it is in contradiction to the well-worn native excuse for changing
the site of farms annually, _i.e._, that it is essential for the
maintenance of the fertility of land that after a few years’
cultivation the “bush” be allowed to become re-established so
that, on burning, a sufficient amount of wood ash may be obtained
to renovate it.
(iv) To encourage the natives in the formation of permanent
plantations of fruit and other economic trees.
To these ends, in the first place, analyses of soils from various
parts of the country have been made by the Imperial Institute. At
the same time samples of the soil taken from localities where kola,
cocoa, rice and groundnuts were grown, have been compared with
that from uncleared “bush.” The result of the examination,
in the latter case, showed the soil had a deficiency of lime and
phosphoric acid. A special analysis was also made of the soil of
the Banana Islands, which was found to have an adequate quantity
of nitrogen but to be deficient in potash and phosphoric acid.
With a view to producing a more satisfactory condition of soil
in some parts, different leguminous crops have been cultivated
and alternated with Sorghum millet (Guinea corn), maize and
rice. Among the species tried by the Agricultural Department
are: soya beans (_Glycine soja_), black gram (_Phaseolus mungo_),
pigeon peas (_Cajanus indicus_), Java beans (_Phaseolus lunatus_),
cowpeas (_Vigna catjang_), sword beans (_Canavalia ensiformis_)
and horse-beans (_Dolichos lablab_). Yams and groundnuts have also
been tried, and a yield of 6 tons 3 cwts. per acre of the former
crop was obtained at the experimental farm at Njala in 1914.
=Forestry.=—On the formation of a Forestry Department in 1910,
a survey was at once proceeded with, and active steps were taken
to save from extinction the small extent of forest remaining in the
Colony and Protectorate. From the survey it appeared that some 99 per
cent. of the Protectorate primary forest had already been destroyed
by the wasteful methods of farming generally practised. Intervals
between the clearing of the bush for farms was from nine to five
years, the effect of which was to entirely eliminate the primary
forest areas. Where patches still remain, however, many useful
species of timber trees are found. By the introduction of regular
forest control and reafforestation, it is hoped that conditions
may be improved to some extent, and economic trees especially
preserved. Forest legislation has already been introduced to insure
the preservation of copal trees.
[Illustration: =GOLD COAST=
Territory held by Great Britain under Mandate is hatched in
Red. [Legend]
_Stanford’s Geogl. Estabt., London._]
=THE GOLD COAST, ASHANTI AND THE NORTHERN TERRITORIES=
=INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.= =Geographical Position.=—The Gold
Coast Colony, with the dependencies of Ashanti and the Northern
Territories, forms a nearly oblong tract of country, bounded on the
north by the 11th parallel of north latitude and the French Sudan,
on the south by the Gulf of Guinea, on the east by Togoland, and on
the west by the Ivory Coast (French). The course of the Black Volta
forms the natural boundary on the north-west, and that of the Daka,
continued as the main Volta river, a large extent of the eastern,
which, however, is in course of realignment.
=Area and Population.=—The area of the whole country is estimated
at about 82,000 sq. miles, and the population at upwards of
1,500,000.
=Divisions.=—The Colony proper forms the most southern of the
three divisions of which the country is composed, and is bounded on
the north by an irregular line dividing it from Ashanti. This line
commences upon the western frontier at a point about 6° 40′ N. and
3° 7′ W., and runs to a point on the Ofin river about 6° 30′
N. and 2° W., continuing southward along the course of the Ofin to
its junction with the Pra river, whence it follows the last-named
river in a north-easterly direction to near Abetifi, and continues in
an irregular line to the Volta, meeting it below the junction of the
Assuokoko stream. Ashanti is separated from the Northern Territories
by an irregular boundary-line from east to west, on the south side
of the Black and main Volta rivers. It is almost entirely forested
up to the boundaries of the largest towns. A view of Kumassi,
the capital, is given, showing the proximity of the forest (Fig. 14).
From a climatic as well as an agricultural standpoint the country
is more conveniently divided into two parts by a line which sharply
defines the limits of the region of dense forest from that of the
grass lands with few trees, which is characteristic of the country
to the north. This line is probably the northern limit of the tract
of country subject to a prolonged rainy season, and owing to the
density of the forest south of it seems to have constituted the
extreme distance to which the Mohammedan conquerors from the north
were able to penetrate, when attempting to subdue and convert the
pagan tribes to their south. The improved methods of agriculture
found among the tribes inhabiting the ultra-forest country of
the Northern Territories may be attributable to the teaching of
these conquering people. On account of the marked differences in
the conditions and the agricultural development of the forest and
ultra-forest regions, it appears to be more convenient to refer
to the products from the Northern Territories in a separate part,
and this course has been followed here.
PART I.—GOLD COAST AND ASHANTI
=Origin of Tribes.=—Tradition among the natives maintains that
the two great tribes of Fanti and Ashanti were originally from
the same stock, and it is probable that this was also the case
with regard to the people of Tufel, Denkera, Assin and Aquapim,
who are said to speak a dialect of the same language as that of the
Fantis and Ashantis. Completely different languages are, however,
spoken by the Appolonias, Ahantas, Agoonahs, Accras, and Adampes
living near the coast, and these are supposed to represent the
remains of an earlier race.
The native belief is that the whole people were originally
composed of twelve families or tribes, and that each was called by
a separate name in some way indicating the occupation. According
to Bowdich, those calling themselves after animals of the forest
probably represented the families employing their time in hunting,
and those bearing such names as cornstalk (Abrotoo) and plantain
(Abbradi) applied themselves to agriculture. The name Agoonah,
implying “oil-palm locality,” seems to have been applied to all
those who were traders. Individuals are still said to assume these
distinctive names without regard to their usual tribal affinities.
The probable reason for the backward condition of agriculture in the
forest region is that a food supply was procurable from the forest
itself, and the continual intertribal warfare, in which the people
seemed to have been engaged, was opposed to the cultivation of crops,
which might become an incentive to a covetous attack. More recently,
since these conditions have become altered, through the pacification
of the country, some of the tribes, who were the first to become
settled, have adopted a form of cultivation which, although wasteful,
seems to be common among the forest people of West Africa. By
means of imperfect clearing of the ground before cultivation, and
superficial turning up of the soil, small crops of grain (maize) and
roots (yams and cassava) are raised, and the land is usually left to
revert to a state of weeds and “bush” after two or three years’
use. This resembles the “Chena” system in Ceylon. The tribes
who have developed a better and more economical form of working are
those in whose districts the advent of cocoa planters has so raised
the value of land that they are compelled to utilise the same plot
more frequently for their annual crops. As an indication of this,
the best cultivated fields are those of the Krobos, Akims, Krepes,
and Kwahus, while the least advanced tribes are the Ashantis.
Owing to the remunerative return from cocoa cultivation in parts
of the country, this commodity has attained the first place among
exported agricultural and forest products. In recent years, moreover,
development has been so rapid that the country is now the largest
producer of cocoa in the world. Among exports, rubber, palm oil,
palm kernels and timber follow it in order of importance.
=COCOA.=—As a preliminary to an account of the cocoa industry in
the Gold Coast, it may be considered useful to refer briefly to
the botanical position of the tree which produces cocoa, as well
as to the varieties which are cultivated. A comparison of the
methods employed in the Gold Coast with those adopted elsewhere
seems also necessary.
The tree is a native of Trinidad and the north-eastern part of
South America, and is botanically classified in the Natural Order
_STERCULIACEÆ_, sub-Order _Buettnerieæ_, under the name of
_Theobroma cacao_ of Linnæus.
In the West Indies, from which the cultivation has spread into
several tropical countries, three fairly well-marked varieties are
recognised as commercially useful, and these bear the local names
of “Criollo,” “Forastero,” and “Calabacillo.” The first
of these is said to be identical with that occurring at Caracas,
in Venezuela, and is usually called by the name of that place when
exported from South America. The _Criollo_ variety is the source of
some of the highest-priced produce, but _Forastero_ has some points
in its favour for general cultivation, the chief of which appears to
be greater hardiness. For this reason it seems to have become easily
established in the islands of San Thomé and Fernando Po, where the
sub-variety known as _Amelonado_ is that of general occurrence,
and to have spread from there to the mainland of West Africa. In
Ceylon the _Forastero_ variety is also much grown in plantations. The
third variety, _Calabacillo_, yields an inferior product and does
not appear to have been introduced into the eastern hemisphere.[1]
Cocoa, as shipped from the plantations, is the dried bean or seed,
which has been removed from the fruit pod of the tree, and may or
may not have been fermented before drying. The properly fermented
seeds or beans find more favour in European markets than those which
have not undergone the process, but it is chiefly in an imperfectly
fermented condition that cocoa beans are exported from the Gold
Coast. Attempts are being made to alter this, so as to produce a
better quality.
Cocoa forms a very nutritious food, and beverage after preparation by
the manufacturer, entering the markets in a manufactured form under
the names of cocoa or chocolate. No native manufacture is employed
in the Gold Coast, although cocoa butter has been extracted on a
small scale at Odumase.
The following account is that which is generally accepted regarding
the first introduction of the tree into the Gold Coast. About the
year 1879 a native trader, named Tete Quasshi, brought some of
the seed from Fernando Po and made a small plantation at Mampong,
which is situated about ten miles north of Aburi in the Volta River
District. The trees grew well, and the first crops of pods were said
to have been disposed of to other natives at £1 per pod. Following
the example of this trader, the Basel Mission Trading Association
imported more pods from Fernando Po, and for some time they were
able to dispose of them at a large profit. The variety introduced
was _Forastero-Amelonado_, and was found to thrive extremely well
under the local conditions prevalent in the districts of the Volta
River, Kwahu, and Eastern Akim.
The first shipment of cocoa from the Gold Coast was made in 1891,
when 80 lbs., valued at £4, were exported. From that time onward
the annual exported quantity has increased somewhat irregularly until
the returns for 1919 show 176,155 tons, worth more than £8,000,000.
No estimate can be given of the area at present under cocoa
cultivation, for the reason that a large number of the cultivators
only possess a few trees standing near their houses or scattered
in their farms. Where plantations exist they are usually small,
and, owing to the irregularity of the planting, no efficient idea
of the possible production could be obtained by measurement of the
planted area alone.
Since the settlement of the Ashantis into more peaceful modes of
living, and the adoption by them of agricultural work, cocoa planting
has rapidly spread through Ashanti-Akim, and new plantations may be
found even westward of Kumassi. From Axim also there is an extension
of cocoa-growing towards the north, and it has recently been stated
that the most promising land for the cultivation of the tree is to be
found to the west of the railway, between Sekondi and Kumassi. The
once proverbially truculent and warlike Ashantis have recently,
to a large extent, become peaceful cocoa planters. Plantations are
also found under European control, often in combination with rubber
or kola; but cocoa does not combine with rubber as satisfactorily
as coffee, which is more frequently employed. Under “Rubber”
some particulars of the plantations, whose returns are available,
are supplied.
In common with many other cultivated plants, cocoa requires certain
definite combinations of climate and soil to ensure remunerative
cultivation, and unless these exist the introduction is not to
be recommended. With regard to climate, a considerable rainfall
is generally thought necessary, the intervals of dry weather not
being too prolonged. The drainage of the land should be good, for
if the water cannot drain away within a reasonably short time, the
trees will be adversely and often severely affected. Although it is
recognised that cocoa can sustain itself under conditions of drought
for a short time, districts subject to periodical absence of rain for
a month or more are unsuitable, and trees planted in such places will
generally die after a brief period. The annual rainfall in the cocoa
districts of Trinidad averages about 72 inches, but a much heavier
fall is experienced in the plantations of Ceylon. In neither of
these countries, however, is there an annual long period of complete
drought, which is a feature common in most parts of West Africa;
and even when an interval without rain occurs, the humidity of the
atmosphere compensates for the absence of it. Ceylon is visited by
a double monsoon or rainy season, which is also the case in a less
marked degree in the Gold Coast. The next requirement of importance
is a soil of suitable quality. It is generally considered best to
select land which possesses a moderate amount of loose clay mixed
with sand, and, if the surface be thickly covered with vegetable
deposit, so much the better. Steep hillsides, stiff, boggy, sandy, or
rocky land are to be avoided. The presence of low scrub on uncleared
land is an indication of poverty of soil, although the presence of
heavy forest does not necessarily guarantee the suitability of the
locality, as imperfectly drained land often bears a heavy forest
growth. Good natural drainage is essential, and is nearly always
found where the land slopes and the rock underlying the soil is
friable or deep. Natural drainage can often be improved by artificial
means. The last important condition necessary is the selection of a
position where shade and wind protection can be obtained naturally
to as great an extent as possible. Plantations in valleys, sheltered
by mountain spurs or by belts of high forest, are suitable, and
such formations are met with in many parts of the Gold Coast and
Ashanti. In these localities the climate as well as the positions
and soil obtainable are generally so well adapted for the fruitful
growth of cocoa that, even where the average annual rainfall is as
low as 41 inches (the average at Aburi), plantations are proving
successful, the regular distribution, humidity of the atmosphere,
and the natural shade constituting a compensation for the shortage.
The native planter sows the seeds in small patches or in roughly
prepared beds in the vicinity of water, often in such proximity to
one another as to choke a number of the young plants. This form of
nursery is met with throughout the forests, and it is common to find
circular patches containing two or three hundred plants adjoining
a road. In addition to this, a large number of seedlings are grown
at, and distributed from, the Government Botanic Gardens. Native
plantations are for the most part formed of irregular lines of
trees, generally planted too closely. The evil effect of this
does not become apparent until the trees attain a large size, when
the excessive shade they afford to their fruit-bearing branches,
which in cocoa consist of the trunk and main structure, prevents
the fruit from forming and induces rot through want of evaporation
of moisture. The native planter is slow to recognise this, and
disinclined to remedy the matter by removing some of the trees. The
distance at which cocoa trees are planted by the native is roughly
from 7 to 10 feet apart, whereas that recommended for plantations
in the West Indies and Ceylon varies, with the quality of the soil
and the elevation, from 12 to 15 feet; the latter would be more
suitable for most of the Gold Coast plantations. The advantage
which the native planter sees in his method of planting is, that
in addition to getting a larger number of trees into a given space,
the density of their foliage soon becomes so great that weeds cease
to grow beneath, rendering cultivation unnecessary. Until such a
state has been arrived at, the cutting of weeds is an operation
which may have to be performed twice, or even three times, in the
year. This is the only form of cultivation given, no manure being
used or any breaking of the soil done. In the West Indies it is not
customary to disturb the surface soil, except in so far as it may be
necessary to apply manure or remove catch crops; but even in these
cases great care is exercised, as it is found that the cocoa tree is
to a large extent a surface feeder, and spreads lateral fine roots at
very little depth below the surface. Shade is obtained naturally to
a large degree, but in the early years of the tree’s existence,
cassava and plantains are planted to afford it. The plantation
of Para rubber with cocoa has been recommended in such a manner
that each would occur alternately in a diagonal line. This does
not appear a very satisfactory plan, owing to the fact that Para
rubber trees in West Africa shed their leaves annually at about
the time that cocoa most needs shade. In the small patches of cocoa
trees, which constitute most of the native plantations, permanent
and sufficient shade is generally given by the surrounding forest
trees, and it is of small importance in such cases to consider the
plantation of permanent shade trees.
=Pruning,= in the West Indies, is attended with the greatest amount
of care, and is performed for the purpose of producing a vigorous
tree by the removal of all useless wood, and of encouraging fruiting
branches to increase their production. In order to do the latter it
is essential to remove any superfluous number of primary branches,
three or four being considered sufficient for one tree. A similar
regulation of growth is required with regard to the secondary
and tertiary branches. In addition to this, care is given to
retain the correct balance for the tree, and, when cutting out
branches, to avoid making jagged cuts or slashes. The West African
native does not prune with these objects in view, but employs a
“cutlass” or “machete” to cut out those branches which
seem to be giving too much shade or which have become interlaced,
regardless of their value to the tree or of the wounds inflicted
in the operation. Efforts have been made to teach pruning at the
Botanical Stations, but the demonstrations have not been largely
attended, and a great deal of damage continues to be done through
ignorance of the objects and effects of pruning. Many of the older
plantations, owing to bad treatment and too close planting, are
yielding an annually diminishing crop, but new ones are springing
up in increasing numbers each year, which is an obvious indication
that the industry is proving a profitable one.
=Insect Pests and Vegetable Parasites.=—Wounds, such as those
described above, often render the tree more susceptible to the
attacks of insect pests; but, although it has been stated that cocoa
trees in the Gold Coast are seriously affected in this way, such
is not often the case. Beetles of the _Longicorn_ group are found
damaging the tree to some extent wherever it has been planted. Two
species are recorded from the West Indies: _Steirastoma histrionica_,
White, from Trinidad, and _S. depressa_, Linn., from Grenada. On
the trees in the Gold Coast _Armatosterna buquetiana_, White,
and a _Glenea sp._ have been found doing similar damage. These
insects deposit their eggs in crevices of the bark or on wounds,
and the grubs which emerge bore into the trunk, living and growing
in size in the interior of the wood until mature, when they change
into pupæ, and finally into beetles. The presence of these grubs
is easily detected by the quantity of fine particles of wood or
“frass” which are thrown out of the entrance hole; and, if a
flexible wire be inserted until it reaches and impales the grub,
it will often prevent the damage becoming serious. The nests of
large red ants (_Œcophylla sp._), which feed upon the saccharine
juices which exude from the pods, may often be observed on cocoa
trees, but as the ants viciously bite any living thing which may
venture upon the tree, they are probably a safeguard against the
depredations of rats and squirrels that eat out the contents of
the ripe fruit while still on the tree.
[Illustration: COCOA AT MRAMRA ATTACKED BY BLACK COCOA-BARK BUG.
Fig. 16, p. 51.]
[Illustration: DRYING COCOA BEANS AT MRAMRA.
Fig. 17, p. 53.]
[Illustration: NATIVE TAPPING INDIGENOUS RUBBER TREE (_FUNTUMIA
ELASTICA_), OBOAMANG, ASHANTI.
Fig. 18, p. 61.]
In 1909 the writer drew attention to a black hemipterous insect
causing destruction to plantations in the Ashanti-Akim region,
where careless cultivation prevailed (cf. _Bull. Entom. Research_,
vol. i. pt. viii. 1910). This insect, known as the “Black
cocoa-bark bug” or “Sankonuabe,” was named _Sahlbergella
theobroma_, Distant, and subsists in all its stages upon the
sap of cocoa branches obtained through punctures made by its
proboscis.[2] The attacked trees are atrophied or killed outright
(Fig. 16). Spraying with petroleum-soap emulsion has proved
an effective remedy, but native planters do not readily adopt
it. Recently the insect has been found sapping the silk cotton
tree, and planters are warned against having this tree in their
plantations.
Another insect, which belongs to the same Order as the last,
and the genus _Helopeltis_, has been observed puncturing the pods
and causing them to become black-spotted, distorted, and sometimes
killed by the attack. This is allied to _H. Antonii_, Sign., which
punctures cocoa pods in the same manner in Ceylon. The insect
does not appear to be numerous at present, but should be sought
on damaged pods and killed at every opportunity, as some species
of the same genus have developed into the worst enemies of tea and
cinchona in other parts of the world.
Fungoid parasites appear to be rare in the Gold Coast, although they
have been observed commonly in other places in Africa. In some of
the damper parts of Ashanti a fungoid thread blight was observed
on cocoa, and was found to be common upon several forest shrubs in
the same places. This is perhaps _Stilbum nanum_, Massee; it should
be treated by means of scraping with a wooden knife combined with
spraying with Bordeaux mixture.
=Harvesting and Preparing.=—The native cocoa grower collects the
pods from his trees at the time when he estimates he can gather
the most, and, in consequence, many over-ripe and under-ripe fruits
are taken with the ripe. The effect of this is to give an irregular
product which can never possess the attributes of a good cocoa. The
pods are usually pulled off the tree, a knife being seldom used;
and in the action of pulling off, the cushion, upon which the pod
is borne, is often torn and injured. As it is from this point, or
near it, that the successive crops of flowers and fruits proceed,
the bearing power of the tree is frequently diminished in this
way. The use of a knife and the necessity for frequent pickings,
to ensure the pods being taken when mature, are among the most
important lessons which the native planter should be taught. The
pods after collection are thrown into a heap upon the ground, and
are often left without further attention for two or three days,
after which they are broken open with the aid of a “cutlass,”
and the contents are scooped out into a basket. The result is
a mixture of beans, in their surrounding pulp, in different
stages of maturity. The length of time that the beans remain in
the basket is generally only regulated by the convenience of the
collector. The next operation is to remove as much of the pulp as
possible by washing in a stream, and this is more easily effected
with the over-ripe beans or with those which have been allowed to
“sweat” or ferment. After washing, the beans are spread thinly
upon mats, raised upon rough frames, in order to dry them in the
sun. An illustration is given showing this process (Fig. 17). Such is
the crude and irregular method employed by the natives of the Gold
Coast, who until quite recently had little or no knowledge of the
advantages of fermentation. Owing to the small quantities with which
they worked at one time, it is probable that the fermenting action
in the pulp was seldom set up. During the last few years attention
has been given to this by the more intelligent planters, and it is
not uncommon to find that boxes and barrels have been brought into
use by them, and that fermentation has been allowed to proceed for
from four to ten days with satisfactory results. Drying is still
conducted in the manner described above, and is often incomplete,
but, to remedy the defects of this, one of the European buying
firms has erected a drying machine, in which all the cocoa bought
is thoroughly dried before shipment.
The skilled cocoa planter of the West Indies and Ceylon is careful
to pick only those pods which are quite mature, and, in order to do
this, he is obliged to go over his plantation frequently. Mature
pods are those which have assumed a yellowish or reddish colour,
and considerable experience is necessary to judge this with
accuracy. The pods are removed by means of a cutting instrument
called a “cocoa hook,” with which care can be more easily given
to the preservation of the cushion. The pods are placed in heaps
and, in the case of small estates where one day’s picking is
insufficient to procure a fermentation, they are left for, perhaps,
two days until a sufficient quantity has been obtained. Sorting,
according to variety and degree of maturity, is resorted to before
opening, and, again, when cut open, care is taken to separate such
beans as are found over-ripe. This practice is strictly adhered
to in Ceylon, but is often disregarded in the West Indies. No
washing is done at this stage, but the beans, with their pulp
attached, are placed in barrels, boxes, or vats for the purpose
of fermentation, which is brought about by the decomposition
of the pulp, and is complete when the liquor, thus formed, has
impregnated the interior of the bean and changed the colour of it
from purple to rich chocolate brown. The shell becomes toughened,
and the remaining pulp is more easily removed after this process
has been undergone. Washing, if it is considered necessary, is then
proceeded with, and is generally done in Ceylon, though not in the
West Indies. Drying is chiefly done in the sun in the West Indies,
and the beans are spread thickly and turned constantly. Drying
houses, which have roofs capable of being slid over the cocoa on
the approach of rain, are used. In Ceylon hot air distributed by
centrifugal fans is the common method. Polishing, which is often
employed in the West Indies, is done by sifting finely powdered
red earth over the partly dried beans while they are exposed to
the sun, when, it is maintained, the earth assists to remove the
remaining pulp as well as to absorb the moisture, at the same time
giving the surfaces of the beans a polished exterior. Annatto is
said to be used instead of red earth in Venezuela, but the addition
of this is, presumably, with the object of colouring, rather than
polishing. “Dancing” is an operation designed to prevent the
development of mildew, and consists of treading the beans with the
bare feet.
Some of the large manufacturers in Europe have recommended that
the Gold Coast planters should ferment their produce, but should
not wash the beans after fermentation.