134 NIGERIA NORTHERN PROVINCES 



transport has been facilitated sufficiently to establish 

 a continuous trade with a particular market. 



The chief markets for the product were Marseilles and 

 Hamburg, where it was employed for the expression of 

 oil, used principally for admixture with, or as a substitute 

 for, olive oil. Although formerly almost entirely sent to 

 the German port, they now come mostly to England. 

 (Cf. Bull. Imp. Inst., vol. xvi. [1918].) 



GUMS. In the drier regions Acacia trees of several 

 species become plentiful, but many of these do not seem 

 to produce gum. 



Some of the gum in the Sudan is said to be derived 

 from A. arabica, Willd., which is not uncommon in certain 

 localities, but is almost entirely unproductive in this 

 country. 



The tree known in Haussa as " Gawo," identified as 

 A. Albida, Delile, is perhaps the commonest species near 

 Kano, and one which produces a small amount of reddish 

 gum. None, however, is apparently collected from the 

 tree in the district. 



The species from which most of the gum is 

 collected in Bornu is said to be identical with that 

 called " Karu " in Kano, of which only immature speci- 

 mens have as yet been examined. This is probably 

 referable to A. Verek, Guill. & Perr., which is the most 

 important source of the Senegal product, and to which 

 Bentham refers A. Senegal, Willd. 



In Kontagora a good quality of gum is obtained from 

 a tree which has been identified as A. Caffra, Willd. 

 This tree does not appear to occur plentifully here, but 

 further investigation is necessary with regard to it in 

 the dry uninhabited regions where it is found. An 

 illustration of this tree is given (Fig. 29). 



Another species which has been recorded by Barter 

 from the Niger, and is said by him to yield " a gum like 

 gum-arabic," is A. mellifera, Bentham, and may be one 

 of those from which the present exported product is 

 collected. 



On examination of the trade specimens, it is noticeable 

 that the quality is inferior to most of the Sudan and 

 Senegal kinds, owing, mainly, to the want of cleaning 

 or sorting previous to sale. It has been suggested 

 that an improvement in the quality might be effected 



