26 SIERRA LEONE 



less independent and more accustomed to co-operate with 

 European enterprise. 



Export Figures. The average annual export of palm 

 oil and kernels for the first nine years of the century, 

 and the annual total of the subsequent ten years are 

 given : 



Voor Palm oil Palm kernels 



Gallons Tons 



1900-1908 Av. . . 303,790 26,630 



1909 .... 851,998 42,897 



1910 .... 645,339 43,031 



1911 .... 725,648 42,892 



1912 .... 728,509 50,751 



1913 .... 617,088 49,201 



1914 .... 436,144 35,915 



1915 .... 481,576 39,624 



1916 .... 557,751 45,316 



1917 .... 543,111 58,020 



1918 .... 260,442 40,816 



RUBBER. Until 1907 the African tree rubber (Funtu- 

 mia elastica) had not been recorded from any part of 

 the country, although its congener, F. africana, was 

 found everywhere. A number of trees of the first-named 

 species have been recently discovered in the Panguma 

 and Gola forests, and have been carefully examined. The 

 latex, from trees tapped in the former locality, yielded 

 a good quality of rubber when boiled with three volumes 

 of water. 



Native Method of Preparation. The tree is known to 

 the Mendis as " Gboi-gboi," and in order to obtain the 

 latex it is customary to fell the tree, afterwards ringing it 

 at intervals of about one foot. The latex, which flows, is 

 collected in leaf cups or other receptacles, and is heated 

 in an iron pot. When in a state of semi-coagulation, 

 induced by heat, it is poured upon plantain leaves, 

 placed on the ground. Another plantain leaf is then 

 used to cover the mass, which is stamped out with 

 the feet into a rough sheet. The sheet is hung up to 

 dry in a hut, in which it obtains the benefit of the fumes 

 from the wood fires used by the occupants. The next 

 process is to cut the sheet into strips, which are subse- 



