34 FOOD FOR THE TROPICS 



The two chief varieties are black, and white. In Bengal 

 the black variety is the more common, yielding a superior 

 oil. Moloney states that in West Africa, when the crop 

 is ripe it is cut and stacked for seven days, then sun-dried 

 for three days. This causes the pod to burst and liberate 

 the seeds. The removal of the seed is effected by shaking 

 the stalks, when half the seeds will drop from the pods ; the 

 stalks are allowed to dry two days longer, when the re- 

 maining seeds are removed in the same way. The seeds, 

 after removal, are washed in cold water several times, then 

 exposed to the sun to bleach, and the oil finally extracted 

 by pressure. Nine pounds of seed yields two quarts of oil. 

 In East Africa the seeds are dried and pounded in large 

 mortars, and, when the oil begins to appear, a little hot 

 water is poured in, and the mass forcibly squeezed between 

 huge pestles. All that floats is then ladled out into 

 pots and gourds. The oil, thus obtained, will keep for 

 many years without becoming rancid, either in taste or 

 smell. 



The seeds are often parched, ground into meal, and 

 made into cakes. This flour is sometimes mixed with 

 jaggery for making sweet cakes. In Demarara they are 

 parched, ground, and made into a rich soup. 



Palm Butter 



(Elcms gulneensis) 



This palm is distributed generally over tropical West 

 Africa, from the coast to four hundred miles inland. It is 



