494 MISCELLANEOUS SUBJECTS 



Gums. Commercially only one or two of the acacia 

 gums have any value and the most important of these 

 is the gum of the " Adad " tree (Acacia Verek, G. and P.). 

 The gum of this tree is found in large globules or irregu- 

 lar lumps and tears, and when freshly exuded is 

 colourless. 



In the western parts of Somaliland, chiefly in the 

 vicinity of the rivers Shebeleh, Genale, Wabi and Juba, 

 the " Wadi " acacia is very common and the gum col- 

 lected from it, although slightly inferior to the " Adad " 

 gum, has a fair market value. It is seldom mixed with 

 "Adad " gum as these two gums are brought down to 

 the coast by different tribes. 



Most of the gums of the other acacias, such as the 

 " Marra," " Galol," " Gurha," " Sog-sog," etc., are so 

 deeply pigmented, some being of a dark port wine or 

 even purple colour, that they have no market value and 

 consequently are never collected by the Somalis. 



The total annual export of myrrh, frankincense, 

 scented bdellium and gum arabic is about 7,000 to 8,000 Ib. 

 The output might easily be increased if the trees were 

 protected and judiciously tapped. 



Fibres. (i) Sansevieria Ehrenbergii, Schwein. Somali 

 name: " Hig." This fibre has always been used by the 

 Somalis in the manufacture of their camel ropes. Even 

 when cleaned by hand after the rough and ready native 

 methods it fetches a good price on the London market. 

 It is classed with the best Sisal hemp, and when properly 

 cleaned should command from 34 to 35 per ton. 



This Sansevieria is very common throughout the 

 country and the supply is practically unlimited. An 

 attempt has already been made to exploit it but owing 

 to the troubles in the interior the project had to be 

 abandoned. 



(2) Sansevieria guineenis, Willd. Somali name " Dig 

 wein." This species only grows sparingly in favour- 

 able localities and owing to the shortness of the leaves 

 is not likely to be as valuable as the foregoing. The 

 fibre is used occasionally by the Somalis and appears to 

 be finer and softer than the fibre of 5. Ehrenbergii. 



(3) Calotropis procera, R. Br. The bast fibre from 



