38 SIERRA LEONE 



GROUNDNUTS. Practically no trade at present exists 

 in this crop, but efforts are being made to reintroduce 

 the cultivation into Bullom, where at one time a large 

 quantity was grown for export. 



The cultivation of groundnuts for local consumption 

 is carried on, but the ridge system of planting, which is 

 in vogue in the Gambia, is not adopted in Sierra Leone, 

 and the groundnut stalks are removed from the ground 

 without the nuts attached to them. The nuts in Sierra 

 Leone are permitted to remain in the ground and de- 

 preciate in quality through insufficient drying. The 

 success of groundnut cultivation depends largely upon 

 the plant being grown on a loose bed of friable soil, 

 and, where such conditions exist, the Gambian method 

 should prove satisfactory. 



Experiments show that the nuts should be decorticated 

 before sowing. The usual local method of sowing is to 

 scatter the nuts upon the unbroken ground and then 

 cover with loose earth. Some damage is done by rats, 

 bushpig and termites, and in 1914 a fungoid disease 

 (Cercospora personata) appeared in Karene. The Agri- 

 cultural Department has obtained 12 cwts. to the acre 

 in its trials. 



The variety of nut grown is apparently identical with 

 that of the Gambia, from which country the seed has 

 probably been obtained in the past. 



COCOA. Some years ago cocoa was introduced into the 

 Colony, but, although some of the Colonial planters had 

 received their training in the cocoa estates of Fernando 

 Po and San Thome, no success attended their efforts in 

 Sierra Leone. The heavy rainfall, combined with the 

 long period of drought peculiar to the country, is detri- 

 mental to the industry. More recently experiments have 

 been conducted in the Protectorate, where a lighter 

 rainfall occurs ; but here also the conditions are not 

 generally favourable, as the long period of dry weather 

 is not compensated for by humidity in the atmosphere. 



Importance of Correct Climatic Conditions. Cocoa plan- 

 tations, in order to be successful, require atmospheric 

 moisture fairly constantly throughout the year, and will 

 not thrive if exposed to excessive and prolonged drought, 

 or too much rain. Meteorological records taken at Bo, a 

 place not far distant from that where cocoa experiments 



