BRITISH SPHERE OF THE CAMEROONS 417 



clethra macrojyhylla, Red Ironwood, not quite so prevalent ; LopMra 

 procera, Paddle Wood, Uvaria Busgenii, Gum Copal, Pterogopodium 

 sp., Wild Mango, Irvingia Barteri, Light African Greenheart, Pipta- 

 denia Africana, Camwood or Barwood, Pterocarpus santalinoides, 

 Wood Oil Nut, Ricinodendron Africanum, Hard Yellow Wood, Conla 

 edulis, and Ironwood, Bridelia stenocarpa. Although the Bakundu 

 and Balong natives are more active in their farming operations near 

 the banks of the Mungo, there are still very large areas of compara- 

 tively untouched forests, and more especially in the upper regions 

 of the river. In four separate places beyond the crossing of the 

 Bakossi Road there are four different rapids or waterfalls on the river, 

 which would provide water-power for saw-mills, or other wood-using 

 industries. On the left bank of the river, bej'ond the Bakossi crossing, 

 there is an area almost without population in which there are large 

 numbers of Oil Palms, as well as other forest trees. On this road, 

 too, is seen the very picturesque waterfall and narrow gorge of a 

 tributary of the Mungo, which is also suitable for generating pov/er 

 for one kind of mill or another. 



Turning now to the Bakossi forests, which culminate in the more 

 or less isolated peak of Mount Kuppe (altitude 6,300 feet), the land is 

 all covered with forest with the exception of some rocky points on the 

 eastern side. A small amount of land has been cleared at an altitude of 

 about 3,000 feet, for the making of tobacco plantations, but the rest, 

 with the exception of the taking of a few trees for local felling, remains 

 intact. The Bakossis have made large farms in the valleys, and are 

 very industrious, but still the forests situated higher up are largely 

 untouched. It is interesting to notice that the walls of the round 

 and conically roofed houses are made with about five circular rows 

 of tree-fern stems, cut to the length of the height of the wall and 

 placed one behind the other. These are most durable and are a 

 most unique example of the utilization of the produce of these forests, 

 although many of the tree-fern " stands " have been cut down and 

 have quite disappeared ; a few remain in isolated places. 



Some of the more common species found in this forest are the 

 following : Bush Maple, Triplochiton schleroxylon. Ebony, Diospyros, 

 Mahogany, Khaya Euryphylla, Bush Teak, Chlorophora excelsa. Gum 

 Copal {Copaifera Demeusii), Bilinga {Afzelia Zenkeri), Hardwood {Mil- 

 lettia sp.), Scented Mahoganj^ {Entandrophragma Candollei), Light 

 Mahogany {Canarium Schiveinfurthii) , Hardwood {Dialium Standtii and 

 Newtonia Zenkeri), Yellow HardAvood {Ongokea Kamerunensis) , African 

 Whitewood {Enantia chlorantha) , Camwood {Pterocarpus Soyauxii). 



There is less forest near the Manenguba Mountains, most of it being 

 situated on the banks of the Mo and Mbu Rivers (tributaries of the 

 Cross River). Continuing along the boundary line between the grass 

 country and the tree-fern forest, we have the Mbo and Foto Ranges, 



27 



