472 WEST AFRICAN FORESTS AND FORESTRY 



been planted at, or thinned out to, a distance of 24 feet between each 

 tree. On the poorer soils the distance might no doubt be 18 to 20 

 feet, and on the very best probably a distance of 30 feet will not be 

 found excessive. Where lime or other manure is available and compara- 

 tively cheap, and in some cases heaps of humus from the outskirts of 

 villages, it would pay to put this on the land in the late autumn when 

 the ashes from the previous crops are being spread on the land. In 

 addition to these crops, careful surface cultivation round each Oil 

 Palm is essential, not only to prevent the growth of weeds but also 

 to keep the aeration of the soil good, prevent the desiccating effects 

 of the dry season, and accelerate the growth of the Oil Palm. Besides 

 planting these crops by directly paid labour under European super- 

 vision, using as many modern labour-saving appliances as possible, 

 parts of a plantation could no doubt be let out at a nominal 

 rent to the natives, even to some of the labourers, to work it in their 

 own time, but only planting such crops as would fit in with the 

 rotation and not lead to the impoverishment of the soil. Apparently 

 the greatest danger to the tropical soil is to leave it bare for any length 

 of time. In the rainy season all the mineral matter and tilth is liable 

 to be washed away, and in the dry season fissures are formed in it, 

 and if it is at all argillaceous it is liable to be dried out for a depth 

 of over 2 feet. Constant covering is thus necessary to ensure the 

 growth of the Oil Palm. 



6. Destruction of Oil Palms. — This is carried out for the 

 following purposes : For farming (Onitsha) and making palm 

 wine. Sometimes many of these trees are destroyed by fire in 

 the Ahoada Okigwi, North Owerri, Afikpo, Abakaliki, Ogaya, and 

 Obudu. Grubs, too, are a very frequent source of destruction 

 among them. The trees are tapped in the Yoruba country to 

 obtain palm wine, but it is not known exactly to what extent this 

 reduces the yield of palm oil and kernels. On the whole it is 

 harmful, owing to the fact that insect and other pests can obtain 

 entrance to the tree through the holes made in tapping it. 

 With the steadily rising price of gin the tapping of the Oil Palm is 

 increasing annually, resulting in a destruction of many thousand trees 

 each year, chiefly in the Obubra and Ikom districts, and to a lesser 

 extent by tapping the trees in the Yoruba country. Wherever the 

 rainfall does not exceed much over 50 inches and the soil of the 

 locality is shallow over laterite or some rock formation, the fires 

 become usually an annual occurrence. The Oil Palms which at first 

 come up on the clearing of the forests then get burnt, and after 

 a few years cease to grow faster than the leaves are burned each year, 

 and subsequently die. In a similar way the young seedlings which 

 may come up are very easily killed by these annually recurring fires, 

 and thus the whole district is impoverished. This process can be 



