44 
CAMEROONS. 
An account of the Oil Palm industry in the Cameroons was given 
in Der Tropenpflanzer, vi., 1902, pp. 450-476, by Dr. Preuss, 7 
the course of which (p. 456) reference is made to a special variety 
of the Oil Palm known to the Bakwili as “ Lisombe ” or “ Isombe 
thinner shell, which is the characteristic feature of the variety. 
The thickness of the shell is about that of the hazel-nut, and negroes 
crack them with their teeth. It is also stated that there appear 
to be two forms of Lisombe, according to the size of the fruit and 
kernel, but that they are not separated by the natives. 
Of this variety only four plants are known at Victoria, but it is 
more frequent at Duala in Bassa Dirfen and in Bakoko. 
In Der Tropenflanzer, 1906, p. 172, it is stated that 20,000 seeds 
of the Lisombe were distributed to stations and plantations from 
the Botanic Garden, Victoria. 
rom a few specimens of this variety in the Imperial Institute, 
it seems highly probable that the soft-shelled Lisombe is the same 
plant as the soft-shelled Oil Palm of British West Africa, 
Dahomey and Angola. 
A more recent paper on the Oil Palm in the Cameroons by Dr. L. 
Strunk* supplements the information given by Dr. Preuss. 
In his first “ Table ” particulars are given of eight varieties of 
the Oil Palm from the Cameroons which are compared with two 
from Togo taken from the account by Dr. Gurner. From the ratio 
of kernel to shell as shewn in this table, the most valuable varieties 
of Oil Palm can easily be seen. 
The Lisombe and three other varieties with similar characters, 
Avelle, Mbié and Ng 
égelén are considered to be the best, 
One of the most important parts of this paper, however, deals 
with the question of the constancy of a given variety when grown 
om seed, 
Lisombe seeds were sown at Victoria in the s 
which 17 plant i 
ey sora Dr. L., “Zur Olpalmenkultur,” in Der Tropenpflanzer, x., 1906, 
