320 FORESTRY IN THE CROWN COLONIES. 



146,000 inliabitants, or 38 to the square mile. Forests in the 

 ordinary sense do not seem to exist now, but a certain amount 

 of timber is obtained from the drier part of the Colony. Early 

 in the nineteenth century a considerable amount of mahogany 

 was exported, but the quantity is now very small. The oil palm 

 exists and the average annual exports of kernels during the years 

 1910 to 1914 amounted to 479 tons valued at £6,571. The 

 average annual exports of ground nuts during the same period 

 amounted to 61,000 tons, valued at £530,000. The export of 

 natural rubber has practically died out. 



Sierra Leone has an area of 34,000 square miles, and a population 

 of 1,100,000, or 32 to the square mile. Formerly, the whole area 

 was probably covered with forests, varying from open savannah 

 and deciduous to dense evergreen rain forest, similar to those of 

 the Gold Coast and Nigeria. Now, scarcely 1 per cent, of the 

 area remains under forest. The most important tract is the 

 " Sierra Leone or Peninsula Mountain Forest " situated east of 

 Freeto^\^l. Its area is given as 48 square miles, which is eventually 

 to be extended to 75 square miles ; it has been declared a Reserved 

 Forest. There are other forests in several parts of the Colony. 



The Peninsula Mountain Forest extends gradually from the 

 water's edge to an elevation of 2,000 feet, with a rainfall of 100 

 inches. The growth is very luxuriant and the giant trees stand close 

 together, consisting of a large number of species, hard woods, as 

 well as soft woods. The most prominent species are given as : — 



Lophira procera, red ironwood, very common. A species of 

 Mimusops known as pearwood. Afzelia africana, the Ehodesian 

 mahogany. Oldfieldia africana, kno^vn as African oak. Pseudo- 

 cedrela, or cedar mahogany, which reaches a very large size. 

 Copaifera Salikounda, the true gum copal. Chlorophora excelsa, 

 known as rock elm. Lovoa Klaineana, African walnut. Alstonia 

 congensis, a soft whitewood. Eriodendron anfraduosmn, the 

 cotton tree. Several species of Albizzia and numerous others. 

 ElcEis guieensis, the oil palm, is scattered over the forest, but is 

 found in larger numbers in abandoned farms. 



The average annual exports of timber during the period of 

 1910 to 1915 amounted to 173,000 cubic feet, valued at £19,129. 

 Otlier exports are palm oil and kernels, cofiee, gum copal and 

 rubber. 



