THE
AGRICULTURAL AND
FOREST PRODUCTS OF
BRITISH WEST AFRICA

PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION

Since the first edition of this book appeared, British West Africa has experienced a serious set-back in its development through the occurrence of the Great European War. From that war, however, many lessons will have been learnt, which will, it is hoped, make the course of progress in the future more sure and perhaps more rapid.

The cultivation of cotton has now been shown to be successful and profitable in Nigeria. In the Northern Provinces great progress has been made in perfecting a cotton originally grown from “American Upland” seed, whilst the Southern Provinces have produced increasing quantities of an improved native cotton of the type of “Middling American.” The future of cotton production in Nigeria is now assured, and its further development chiefly depends on effective action being taken on commercial lines.

The products of the oil palm and especially palm kernels have been in increased demand for edible purposes, the war having led to a far greater use of margarine and similar materials. The perfection of processes for the better extraction of palm oil from the fruits which had nearly reached success at the outbreak of war now awaits completion, when a large additional source of edible oil will be available. In the meantime the trial cultivation of this palm in other countries has been attended with remarkable success, the growth of the palm in plantations having been entirely satisfactory and furnished yields of oil which exceed those given by the wild palm in West Africa. The Dutch East Indies, where large plantations have been made, and also British Malaya, where similar enterprise has been shown, may before long be formidable rivals to West Africa in the production of palm kernels and palm oil. The neglect in West Africa of the wild trees, the imperfect methods followed in extracting the palm oil, and the large number of palms unutilised are questions which now need renewed attention, and in fact the entire subject of the development of the palm-oil industry in West Africa demands the most serious study in all its aspects if the industry is not to be supplanted by the enterprise of other countries.

In this and other directions where the continuous acquisition of new knowledge is requisite, it is satisfactory to learn that the staffs of the Agricultural Departments in West Africa are to be extended and better remunerated. In addition to this step, and perhaps equally important, will be the increased interest and activity of those merchants and manufacturers who utilise the raw materials of the country, and to whom the commercial development of West Africa has hitherto owed so much.

There are many other subjects which, it will be seen from the new edition of this book, have come to the front since the first edition appeared, and now need increased attention.

The only rubber tree which has survived as a producer in the years of strenuous competition is Hevea brasiliensis, from which Para rubber is obtained. Successful plantations of this tree have been established both in the Southern Provinces of Nigeria and in the Gold Coast, and from the former commercial rubber is now being produced of quality equal to that of the rubber plantations of the East.

The Gold Coast has become the chief cocoa producer of the world, but it is clear that unremitting care and attention in connection with the cultivation and the preparation of cocoa in that country will be necessary if that supremacy is to be maintained.

In connection with the production of fibres, cinchona bark, cinnamon, tobacco, and many other materials, there are promising possibilities in various parts of West Africa, including those new territories for which, as a result of the war, Great Britain is now responsible. Above all, there is the dominant problem of the growth of foodstuffs sufficient to maintain the native populations of these countries.

Mr. Dudgeon, within the limits imposed in the production of a revised but not greatly enlarged edition, has successfully brought this Handbook up-to-date, and it is hoped that it will continue to serve as a standard guide to all those who require general information respecting the agricultural and forest products of West Africa.

WYNDHAM R. DUNSTAN.

PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION

The present series of Handbooks is intended to present a general account of the principal commercial resources of the tropics, and has been written with special reference to the resources of British West Africa. These Handbooks will furnish a description of the occurrence, cultivation and uses of those tropical materials, such as cotton and other fibres, cocoa, rubber, oil-seeds, tobacco, etc., which are of importance to the producer in the tropics, as well as to the manufacturer and consumer in Europe.

Without attempting to include all the detailed information of a systematic treatise on each of the subjects included, it is believed that these Volumes will contain much information which will be of value to the tropical agriculturist as well as to the merchant and manufacturer. They will also be of importance to Government Officials in tropical Colonies where the advancement of the Country and the welfare of its inhabitants depend so largely on the development of natural resources. In recent years those candidates who are selected for administrative appointments under the Colonial Office in British West Africa are required to pass through a short course of instruction in tropical cultivation and products, which is now arranged at the Imperial Institute. For these prospective officials the present series of Handbooks will be helpful in the study of a large and generally unfamiliar subject. Similarly it is believed that the series will provide a valuable aid to the teaching of commercial geography. It is hoped also that the Handbooks will not be without interest for the student of Imperial and national problems.

The increase in the productivity of the tropics, and especially of the tropical regions within the British Empire, is important, not only for the natives of those countries, and others who are actually engaged in tropical enterprise, but for the merchant and manufacturer at home. The preparation for general use of cotton and other fibres, of tea, coffee and cocoa, of oils, of tobacco, and of numerous other products exported from the tropics, provides the means of employment and livelihood for a very large proportion of the working population of this country, whilst every one at home is interested in securing an adequate supply at a moderate cost of these necessaries and luxuries of life.

The subjects of these Handbooks, treated as they will be, as far as possible, in non-technical language, should therefore appeal to a large class of readers.

The present Handbook deals with the Agricultural and Forest Products of British West Africa and serves as an introduction to this series. Mr. Dudgeon, who until lately was Inspector of Agriculture in the West African Colonies and Protectorates, writes with an unrivalled knowledge of his subject, and gives a comprehensive account of the vegetable products of that country, which will afford to the general reader some idea of the enormous possibilities of this British territory now in the process of rapid commercial development.

WYNDHAM R. DUNSTAN.

CONTENTS

LIST OF MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS

THE GAMBIA

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 4s. 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.

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.

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.