COPRA AND DYES 83 



although apparently yielded by the same tree. That 

 which is deemed preferable is clear and pale yellow ; 

 milky pieces should be sorted out, as they are valued 

 at a lower figure. Blocks have been obtained which 

 weighed over twenty pounds. Sorting is said to have 

 been adopted by some of the local merchants, and as 

 high a price as 605. per cwt. is reported to have been 

 obtained for sorted copal. 



COPRA. Some special attention has been given to the 

 extension of the copra industry on the coast, and it will be 

 observed that the average annual exports have nearly 

 doubled during the last eight years. The coconut 

 (Cocos nucifera) is found on the greater part of the coast- 

 line x and the dried contents of the nut constitute the 

 product known as copra. (Cf. Oil Seeds and Feeding 

 Cakes, Imp. Inst. Monograph, 1915.) No use is appar- 

 ently made of the fibrous covering of the nuts, which is 

 exported from other parts of the world under the name of 

 coir. Locally the nuts are cut down in an unripe condi- 

 tion, and the " milk " from the interior is used as a drink. 



DYES AND PIGMENTS. Camwood is the trade name 

 applied to the wood of a tree known as Baphia nitida, 

 Afzelius, belonging to the Natural Order LEGUMINOS&. 

 It has been suggested that the bright red colouring-matter 

 is produced by decomposition on exposure to air, the 

 material shipped from different places in West Africa 

 being apparently in this condition, but investigations in 

 other parts of West Africa show that the fresh wood is 

 frequently used in making the colouring-matter. A 

 very small quantity is exported from the Gold Coast, 

 but the natives make some use of it for staining different 

 materials. 



Indigo. This is prepared from two or three species of 

 Indigofera, which are found growing near villages, but 

 the process of preparation in the Gold Coast does not 

 appear to have been recorded, though probably similar 

 to that employed in the other West African countries. 



The resin from the copal tree, mentioned above, is 

 crushed, together with the bark of a tree called " Krobo," 

 in Akim especially, and the balls formed from this mixture 

 are rubbed down, with the addition of a little water, 

 into a fine sort of lather, when a greenish-grey-coloured 

 thin paste is procured. With this designs are traced 



