THE COCOA TREE AND ITS FRUIT 21 
‘“The fame of the Gold Coast carrier traffic has spread far into the 
northern regions of the country, with the result that the recognized 
caravan routes now come right down through the Northern Territo- 
ties. These carriers, many of them from around and even beyond 
Lake Chad, drive herds of cattle down to the Gold Coast colony 
about harvest time. They sell the cattle and then catry cocoa for 
the season. When the main harvest is over and there is little cocoa 
carrying, they purchase loads of kola nuts, which they take back 
with them to the far interior and sell en route at a considerable 
profit. 
‘“The transport of cocoa being chiefly in the hands of alien labor, 
should its flow cease from any cause whatever the cocoa industry 
would suffer a check from which it would take some time to recover. 
The coastal regions are fairly secure, for most of the districts within 
twenty miles of the coast are reached by a daily service of motor lor- 
ries under the management of the European cocoa-buying firms. 
“Many of the native farmers within thirty miles of Acera, how- 
ever, prefer to sell their cocoa at a higher price at the port of em- 
barkation, and so have created the interesting system of ‘barrel 
rolling.’ In the cocoa season strongly bound and ponderous casks 
are filled with the beans and rolled to the seashore. Traveling 
along the somewhat primitive roads one meets at frequent intervals 
perspiring natives struggling with the barrel which, filled with 
cocoa, weighs considerably over a quarter of aton. Asarule three 
men roll two casks, one relieving the other. Therefore it is evident 
that there is a transport problem for the producers, large consign- 
ments of cocoa being sometimes lost for lack of means of trans- 
portation.”’ 
