KOLA NUTS AND RED PEPPER 29 



KOLA NUTS. The importance of the kola nut in West 

 Africa is very high. Sierra Leone produces generally a 

 better quality, for local consumption and export, than 

 other countries. The kola trees (Kola acuminata and K. 

 vera) do not, however, occur in a wild state in the country, 

 and the whole produce is obtained from plantations, which 

 are to be seen near almost every village in the moist region. 

 A photograph is given showing a kola tree at Mano 

 (Fig. 12). The destination of the exported kola is 

 chiefly Bathurst (Gambia), Dakar (Senegal), Bissao 

 (Portuguese Guinea), and to a small extent Dahomey. 

 The exports of this commodity in recent years are given 

 below as well as their average annual values per ton, 

 which, as will be seen, exhibit great fluctuation. 



Tons Valued at Equal to per ton 



1906 . . 1,155 104,084 90 



1907 . . 1,374 113,674 83 



1908 . . 1,162 108,895 94 



1909 . . 1,320 153,848 116 



1910 . . 1,508 191,878 127 



1911 . . 1,597 194,260 121 



1912 . . 1,649 276,473 167 



1913 . . 1,865 328,003 176 



1914 . . 1,924 279,185 145 



1915 . . 2,041 233,388 119 



1916 . . 2,484 302,720 122 



1917 . . 1,702 321,105 188 



1918 . . 2,302 397,726 173 



Kola nuts are second only to palm kernels in Sierra Leone 

 in importance as an export, although they are practically 

 entirely consigned to other coast ports ; an insignificant 

 amount of dried kolas only being destined for Europe. 



RED PEPPER. Capsicum annuum and C. frutescens 

 are both grown among the multitude of plants, the seeds 

 of which are mixed and broadcasted in the farms ; but 

 whereas most of the other plants are annuals, these are 

 left in the ground for two years or more, and yield almost 

 continuous crops during that period. The country of 

 origin of these plants is probably South America, but 

 the date of their introduction is unknown. 



Beside the extensive local use of the pods, the export 

 statistics of 1909 show that 41 tons were shipped. 



