PALM OIL AND KERNELS. 43 



of 14 square miles (about 9,000 acres) would be desirable 

 for the establishment of a factory working 10,000 tons 

 of fruit a year, but that such an area in full bearing 

 would produce over 25,000 tons of fruit a year, or 1,000 

 tons of fruit per annum from 360 acres, which agrees 

 closely with the figure arrived at above. It is obvious 

 that large factories would require considerable areas 

 even under plantation conditions, but that under the 

 present conditions, where the trees are largely wild and 

 irregularly distributed and where it is necessary to allow 

 for bad seasons, the loss of fruit owing to animal and 

 human depredations and other eventualities, a much 

 larger area would be required. From the above con- 

 siderations it is evident that even a moderate-sized 

 factory must be located in the centre of a large oil-palm 

 area, and that considerable quantities of fruit must be 

 collected and transported over long distances, necessi- 

 tating a good supply of cheap labour and adequate 

 transport facilities. 



Finally, one word about the packing and transport. 

 Care should be taken that kernels do not cause a fire 

 on board ship. In Nigeria six sacks of palm kernels 

 were submitted by the police department for investi- 

 gation as to the cause of a fire which occurred in the hold 

 of a ship loading in the Lagoon. The fire seems to have 

 broken out in several separate places in the cargo, which 

 consisted of bags of kernels solidly packed. 



The kernels had been stored some time in the bags, 

 and it was the dry season. There had been a blazing 

 sun and little breeze for several days previously during 

 the period of loading, and so not only was the fibre of 

 the sacking made very dry, but also it would have become 



