566 



At Old Calabar there were some good sized trees in 1897, 

 fruiting regularly ; but in West Africa the only particulars . 

 available of an experiment in bark production, come from the 

 Gold Coast. A sample of quills grown at Aburi was described 

 as *' stout and coarse but of good flavour and worth about 5d. 

 to 6d. per lb. in London (1906 — when the price of good cinnamon 

 was Sd. to 9d. per lb.) and it was considered that '' cinnamon of 

 good quality might be obtained from West Africa if more care 

 was taken in the selection and preparation of the bark " (Evans, 

 Dept. of Agric. Gold Coast, Ann. Eep. 1907 (for 1906) p. 11; 

 Chem. & Druggist, Oct. 19, 1907, p, 624; Bull. Imp. Inst. 1907, 

 p. 184). 



It is essential to observe that '' the product was from an old 

 bush that had been left standing in order to obtain seed for 

 propagating purposes " (Evans, he), which would account for 

 the statement " stout and coarse " in the valuation. Another 

 sample of bark — '* rather stout quills of fair quahty but of poor 

 flavour " was valued at I^. per lb. ex wharf, London, (Jan. 1918) ; 

 it gave a high 3deld of oil of good quaUty and a few cwts. were 

 added for further examination (Bull. Imp. Inst. 1918, pp. 146- 

 147). Other records might be quoted as to distribution — Sierra' 

 Leone in 1792 (Col. Hep, Misc. No. 3, 1893, p. 21), Zanzibar- 



introduced almost 70 years ago and still grows in many places : 

 but no attention paid to cultivation (Kew Bull, 1892, p. 90) ; 

 cultivated, banks of the River Dande near Bombo, Barra de 

 Dande. Introduced from the island of St. Thomas ; cultivated 

 and almost wild in Princes Island (Hiern, Cat. Welw, Afr. PI. 

 iv. p. 914), Grenada — " an increased demand for cinnamon has 

 caused it to be advised that more trees shall be planted " (Rep. 

 Bot. St. Grenada, 1909-10, p. 16), Queensland (Bernays, Cult. 

 Ind. for Queensland, 1883, p. 36), Eala (Equator) (Bull. Agric. 

 Congo Beige iv. 1913) — all of which go to show that this appears 

 to be one of the products that notwithstanding its easy growth 

 never seems to have become of any value away from its original 

 home ; due in the first place probably to the hmited demand ; 

 and it suggests that if all become successful in cultivation, it may 

 amount merely to a transfer of the trade from one country to 

 another. 



The bark as a spice is the principal use and the quills that 

 come into commerce are cut from shoots approximately two 

 years* old, when they are about 3 or 4 ft. long and about ^ in. 

 thick ; but an oil is distilled from waste pieces and also from 

 the leaf and root. The oil from the bark is the most valuable 

 and may be obtained from bark grown as for spice, under a 

 system of coppicing or from older trees. 



The tree may be propagated from seed, cuttings or layering, 

 and in a plantation require from 6-12 ft. distance between each 

 plant. 



Full particulars of the cultivation, yield, preparation, &c. 

 will be found in the following works. 



