CROP PLANTS 353 



is of little economic importance, partly owing to the effects of 

 drought and locusts in Tanganyika in recent years. In West Africa, 

 especially the Gold Coast, however, this industry has continued 

 to expand, a large part of the production being consumed within 

 the Colony (Gold Coast, Agriculture, 1936-7, D.R.). During 

 1935 a series of experiments with the 'Chula' copra drier were 

 made, as the humidity of the atmosphere necessitates artificial 

 methods of drying. The copra produced in French Togoland, 

 where large plantations were developed under the German admin- 

 istration, is better in quality than that from the Gold Coast, because 

 there is a compulsory system of inspection. Coconut growing is 

 an important industry in Mozambique. Plantations extend all 

 along the coast, but are most numerous in the Quelimane District, 

 where some of the largest plantations in the world are situated. 

 The industry is said to be capable of still further expansion by 

 native producers there. 



The state in which the product arrives at markets in Europe 

 has been the subject of an investigation under Professor Munro 

 at the Imperial College of Science and Technology in London. 

 Badly preserved copra entails a loss to the producer, owing to the 

 loss of weight before sale and consequent reduction in the price 

 paid, though to the manufacturer the higher content of the stereic 

 acids required for the production of margarine is an advantage. 

 Much attention has been devoted by the department of agricul- 

 ture in Zanzibar to improvements in the quahty of copra. The 

 storing of nuts in the heap, so as to allow them to mature fully 

 before turning them into copra by kiln drying, has been actively 

 encouraged. The department has also carried out seed selection 

 work. 



Nuts from the wild shea tree [Butjrospermum parkii) yield a solid 

 fat, the chief use of which is for native food, but which has been 

 exported from West Africa and, more recently, from Uganda. The 

 Imperial Institute and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, have 

 co-operated in regard to variations known to occur in the fruit 

 obtained from different areas in British West Africa. This industry 

 may increase in importance with improvements in facihties, since 

 large unexploited supplies exist in the northern parts of Nigeria 

 and the Gold Coast. The selection of trees has been started by the 



