THE COCONUT BELT 37 



cultivation. On the other hand, the phenomenal 

 rise in the price of copra during the past four years 

 has awakened a number of European firms trading 

 in the country to the possibilities of this industry, 

 and induced them to interest themselves in its 

 development by up-to-date methods. A notable 

 example of this activity is furnished by Messrs. 

 Lever Brothers, of Sunlight Soap fame, who have 

 secured a vast area of coconut-growing land and 

 started planting on their own account. They 

 intend, it is stated, to spend quite 1,000,000 in the 

 development of these plantations, and this far- 

 sighted policy can scarcely fail to assure them an 

 ample and regular supply of coconuts for their 

 own manufactures and thus render them inde- 

 pendent of the fluctuations of the markets. It is 

 estimated that in about six years' time their planta- 

 tions will be yielding millions of coconuts per 

 annum. 



Altogether, there is no doubt that the West 

 Coast of Africa offers an attractive field for 

 planters and others prepared to develop coconut 

 estates by scientific, up-to-date methods, for 

 which the conditions are exceptionally favourable, 

 because : 



(1) The climate and soil are peculiarly suitable 

 for coconut cultivation and the products of some 

 of the best plantations in West Africa should com- 

 pare favourably even with those of Malabar. 



