RUBBER 27 



quently wound into large oval balls and enter the Free- 

 town market under the name of " Manoh twist." 



Owing to the wasteful method of tapping the trees, 

 the species has been exterminated in many places, and 

 the local Government have had under consideration the 

 formulation of an ordinance to prevent -the continuance 

 of such destruction. As the existing trees are now 

 practically only found in the dense forests near the 

 Liberian frontier, and are probably widely scattered over 

 a large area, it will prove a difficult matter to enforce 

 any regulations with regard to collection. 



Vine Rubber : Method of Preparation. Landolphia 

 owariensis, var. Jenje, is said to be the species of vine from 

 which the Sierra Leone " Red Nigger " rubber is obtained. 

 The Mendi name for the plant is " Djenje." A very de- 

 structive method is usually employed in the preparation of 

 the rubber. The vine is cut down and the roots dug out, 

 both of which are cut into small pieces and soaked in 

 water for several weeks. The bark is then removed, and 

 the wood is pounded and washed repeatedly until a 

 reddish mass of rubber remains, which usually contains 

 a large amount of woody matter. This is sold in the 

 form of balls. It is less common for the native to tap 

 the vine and to coagulate the latex upon the wound with 

 the addition of salt or lime juice, but this is occasionally 

 done, and balls of scrap rubber collected in this way are 

 sold in some localities. 



Another vine (Clitandra laxiflora), which yields an in- 

 ferior rubber by means of boiling the latex, is termed 

 " Jawe " by the Mendis. This was at first considered 

 to be Clitandra Manni, but more recent investigation 

 has proved that C. Manni, although called by the same 

 native name, produces a latex incapable of coagulation. 



The Quality of Indigenous Rubbers and the Export. 

 The prices obtained for Sierra Leone rubbers compare 

 favourably with those of the other British West African 

 countries. Puntumia rubber, which is generally largely 

 adulterated in the Gold Coast and Nigeria, is apparently 

 not so in Sierra Leone, when prepared in the form of 

 " Manoh twist." The vine rubber, made from the scrap, 

 is also of good quality, and the root rubber is not inferior 

 to that shipped from the other countries. The trade of 

 Sierra Leone is, however, small, and it is probable that 



