VARIETIES OF OIL PALMS 71 



plish-black, pericarp very thin, and nut with thick shell. 

 Uncommon. 



4. " Abe-bobe." Fruit usually rather small, red and 

 black, pericarp thick and soft, nut with a thin kernel 

 (easily broken in the teeth). Trees rather scarce. This 

 is probably identical with the " Lisombe " variety from 

 the Kameruns. 



5. " Intermediate form between 2 and 4." Similar to 

 the last but with a thicker shell to the nut. 



6. " Seedless kind." A very rare kind, nearly corres- 

 ponding with the " Difumbe " variety from Angola, 

 which, however, possesses a kernel but no shell. 



The following are the percentages based on the total 

 weight of the fruit, in each case taken as 100 :.. 



Name Pulp Contg. Fibre Nut Contg. Shell 



oil etc. Kernel 



Nos. 4 and 5 seem to be most valuable from a com- 

 mercial standpoint, although at present Nos. 1 and 2 

 are the most commonly used, owing to the comparative 

 scarcity of the first two mentioned. No. 6 is chiefly 

 interesting from a botanical aspect, and is probably 

 incapable of reproduction. The sacred palm known 

 in the Gold Coast as " Abe-ohene," and identical with 

 " Ope-Ifa " of Southern Nigeria, belongs to a new species 

 called E. Thompsonii, Chev., but the fruits are not 

 employed for the extraction of oil. 



OTHER OIL SEEDS. Experiments were conducted at 

 the Imperial Institute in 1908 with the kernels of the 

 " Crabnut " (Carapa procera, D.C.). The kernels were 

 found to contain nearly 50 per cent, of oil, which was 

 reported to be worth about 20 105. per ton, but the 

 residual cake could not be used for feeding purposes, 

 owing to the presence in it of a bitter constituent, and, 

 on account of the rather low manurial value, was esti- 

 mated as worth only 2 per ton (Bulletin of the Imperial 

 Institute, vol. vi., 1908, p. 362). 



The oil seemed to be well suited for soap-making, but 



