PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION 



THE present series of Handbooks is intended to present 

 a general account of the principal commercial resources 

 of the tropics, and has been written with special reference 

 to the resources of British West Africa. These Hand- 

 books will furnish a description of the occurrence, culti- 

 vation and uses of those tropical materials, such as cotton 

 and other fibres, cocoa, rubber, oil-seeds, tobacco, etc., 

 which are of importance to the producer in the tropics, 

 as well as to the manufacturer and consumer in Europe. 



Without attempting to include all the detailed in- 

 formation of a systematic treatise on each of the subjects 

 included, it is believed that these Volumes will contain 

 much information which will be of value to the tropical 

 agriculturist as well as to the merchant and manufacturer. 

 They will also be of importance to Government Officials 

 in tropical Colonies where the advancement of the 

 Country and the welfare of its inhabitants depend so 

 largely on the development of natural resources. In 

 recent years those candidates who are selected for 

 administrative appointments under the Colonial Office 

 in British West Africa are required to pass through a 

 short course of instruction in tropical cultivation and 

 products, which is now arranged at the Imperial Insti- 

 tute. For these prospective officials the present series 

 of Handbooks will be helpful in the study of a large 

 and generally unfamiliar subject. Similarly it is believed 

 that the series will provide a valuable aid to the teaching 

 of commercial geography. It is hoped also that the 

 Handbooks will not be without interest for the student 

 of Imperial and national problems. 



The increase in the productivity of the tropics, and 

 especially of the tropical regions within the British 



