CHAPTER XI 



THE OIL BEANS, SEEDS AND NUTS OF 

 THE FOREST 



In a separate chapter the Oil Palm and its produce are more fully con- 

 sidered, so that we give here a detailed account of the other important 

 Oil Seeds and Nuts. Oil-bearing nuts and seeds are usually found 

 in great profusion in the Tropics, and West Africa is no exception to 

 the rule. 



Amongst the botanical families in which the plants yield oil-seeds 

 or nuts are the Palmse, Leguminosse, Euphorbiaceae, Ochnacese, 

 Sapotacese, Rhizophoracese, Meliacese and Guttiferae. As far as the 

 Protectorates of Nigeria and Sierra Leone are concerned, the 

 " Oil Bean " {Pentaclethra macrophylla) is one of the most important. 

 According to the data in the Niger district, oil beans have been 

 bought for some ten years from the natives. They are also known 

 as Owala beans. The natives prefer a price of Is. per case, but the 

 minimum of 6d. and the maximum of 9d. per case was about the limit 

 for the nuts in pre-war days. Even then only a small profit was made 

 by the European merchant at the prices then ruling for the nuts in 

 England. With the much greater, almost universal demand for all 

 kinds of oil-nuts and seeds, it is probable that higher prices will be 

 paid for these nuts now that the war is over, provided a reasonable 

 charge for freight can be arranged. The natives themselves say that 

 the nuts should be cooked for twelve hours to be good for eating. 

 There are six or seven beans in each pod. 



Now that many roadsides in the Owerri province and other 

 districts have been planted with Oil-bean trees as a shade tree, there 

 will be a continual supply of nuts each year. The tree starts bearing 

 in the tenth year, and almost every year bears a fair crop. An example 

 of one of these avenues is seen on the Ikpoba Road, just outside Benin 

 City. The pods are used as a firewood, which makes a hot, rapid fire. 

 In Sierra Leone they are known as Fai beans. The beans are large 

 and flattened, covered with a hard brown seed-coat. They may be 

 from one and a half to two and three-quarter inches in length, 

 and from one to one and three-quarter inches in breadth, and 

 one-third to nearly half an inch in thickness. The kernels are white 

 and soft and contain a quantity of oil. 



