46 FORESTRY OF WEST AFRICA. 



Lagos, Bonny, Opobo, Old Calabar, Operta (Niger), 

 Cameroon, Sierra Leone, Sherbro, &c., are used princi- 

 pally for lubricating, and soap. 



Lagos oil, which is imported in a very pure state, 

 and fetches the highest price, is required largely Dy 

 tin-plate manufacturers in South Wales. 



The difference in nature of oil, although obtained 

 from the same tree, Elais gtdneensis, is attributed 

 to soil, climate, time of gathering nuts and mode of 

 preparation. And I am informed that "soft" oil is 

 shipped from rivers near to "hard" oil exporting 

 rivers. 



The market value of oil must depend largely on its 

 purity : that from Lagos, known as the purest, fetches 

 the highest price, and it is the only oil sold precisely 

 in the condition imported. All other oils from the 

 water and impurities contained have to be analysed 

 when sold, and the buyer is entitled to an allowance 

 proportionate to impure condition on analysis. 



The " regular " oil, that is, what comes from Bonny, 

 Benin, Old Calabar, Opobo, Niger, Operta, New 

 Calabar, Brass, Cameroon, Congo, Accra, Addah, &c., 

 is only subject to this allowance if the water and 

 impurities exceed 2 per cent. 



All other oil, that from Lagos of course excepted, 

 is called "irregular," and is sold on the basis of purity, 

 the buyer getting an allowance for the total percentage 

 of water and impurities found on analysis. 



Oil usually imported in an impure state is of less 



