FORESTRY OF WEST AFRICA. 119 



From the Catalogue of the Products of the French 

 Colonies, exhibited at the Paris Show of 1878, I 

 extract as follows (in translation) : — 



Senegal Gums (gums proper). — The commerce of 

 gum is one of the chief resources of Senegal ; about 

 three million kilogrammes* are exported annually. 

 The harvest, which begins in November with the 

 winds of the desert, and after the periodical inun- 

 dations, is made from several species of Acacia, 

 principally the Acacias Verek, Neboued, albida, 

 Adansonii, &c., &c. The first gum, called Bas du 

 fieiive, is generally found buried, in the moist soil, by 

 Moorish slaves sent to seek for it ; it loses greatly in 

 weight and value by drying, and is generally covered 

 by a light layer of sand. The gums of the second 

 * I kilogramme = 2-205 lbs. avoirdupois. 



