THE SHEA NUT. 63 



A French firm tried the experiment of sending out to 

 West Africa thin tinned sheet-iron which could be folded 

 into boxes. In this case the cost of material for packing 

 1 ton of butter is said to have been only 13s. 



The fact that the residual oil-cake from shea kernels 

 does not fetch a high price in European markets renders 

 it possible that it may ultimately be found more profit- 

 able to prepare the fat in West Africa. The preparation 

 of the fat or butter from the kernels as practised by the 

 natives is a tedious and wasteful process : one native 

 can prepare about 8 Ibs. in one day, but more than half 

 the fat is not extracted from the kernels, and is thus 

 altogether wasted. After the removal of the nut shells 

 the kernels are roasted in a kind of oven built of earth, 

 in which the kernels are placed upon grids of sticks. 

 This roasting appears to serve two purposes that of 

 rendering the kernels easier to grind, and also of coagu- 

 lating the latex and preventing it from being extracted 

 with the fat, which it would contaminate. The roasted 

 kernels are then crushed in a mortar or between two 

 flat stones, and the crushed mass is boiled with water, 

 the fat being skimmed off as it rises to the top and 

 purified by treatment with water and by straining. 

 The methods employed in different localities are the same 

 in principle, but vary in detail. The prepared butter 

 is generally stored in large empty gourds, in which it is 

 allowed to solidify. When required for transport it is 

 removed from the gourds and wrapped in leaves, forming 

 a spherical or ovoid mass usually weighing 40 Ibs. and 

 upwards. 



