OIL BEANS, SEEDS AND NUTS 451 



" Inoy " kernels would yield a nutritious cake for feeding 

 cattle. 



Thus far no use has been found for the round small, pear-shaped, 

 nut-like fruits of the Red Mangrove, Rhizophora racemosa. Consider- 

 ing the large quantity found floating about in the creeks and rivers, 

 further investigation seems warranted. 



In the Euphorbiaceae family the Nsa-sana (Efik) or Okkwen nuts of 

 the Benis have been found to contain 45*2 per cent, of oil by the 

 Imperial Institute.^ This nut is obtained from Ricinodendron Africana 

 and R. Rautenii, and is known to the Yorubas as Erimado. In each 

 fruit there are two, three, or even four nuts. The flesh of the fruit 

 soon dries or rots away, leaving the uncracked nuts among the debris. 

 The shell of these is hard and thick, and the inside a bright white 

 colour. In some experiments carried out on a comparatively large 

 scale at the end of 1907 and at the beginning of 1908, in Benin, it was 

 found that more than half the kernels were broken in the cracking 

 of the nut. However, in the Cameroons, where the nuts are used 

 for alimentary purposes, they are boiled for a short time, and then 

 it is possible to crack them quite easily without damaging the kernel 

 inside. Further experiments at Benin showed that six boxes (gin 

 cases) of green fruit yield one box of nuts containing actually 7,528, 

 which weigh 35 lb. 4 oz. One box of fruit contains 418 seeds and 

 yields 720 nuts. An average of 7,419 seeds is contained in each box, 

 155 nuts weighing 1 lb. Each fruit contains on the average two 

 and one-ninth seeds. On the average 9d. per box was paid for fruit, 

 and Is. per box for uncracked nuts. Twenty boys cleaned and got 

 ready 2| boxes of uncracked nuts per day at the cost of 5s. Paying 

 at the rate of Is. a case for the uncracked nuts, the cost would 

 be £17 per ton. However, with regular quantities being brought 

 in, no doubt this cost could be reduced. In a similar way, 

 if the nuts were boiled in quantity and immediately cracked, the 

 kernels would be got out at a cheaper rate. The native working for 

 himself, as with the palm nuts, would turn out greater quantities in 

 a shorter time. 



The yield of the oil pressed from the kernels was 47 per cent., or 

 14 per cent, on the whole nut. It is light yellow in colour and has a 

 ' pleasant taste, very much like that of the ground nut. The chemical 

 examination showed a resemblance to Tsung oil (Chinese wood oil). 

 It possesses the same property of drying on exposure to air under 

 ordinary atmospheric pressure. The oil could be used for similar 

 purposes, or for the making of soft soap, and would be worth from 

 about £18 to £20 per ton for this purpose, and it appears that 

 the oil would have a ready sale in England, and have a value, equal 

 to linseed oil, of about £21 per ton. According to the investigations 



1 Colonial Report, 88, Oil, Seeds, Fats and Waxes, Imperial Institute, 1914. 



