FORESTRY OF WEST AFRICA. 125 



Resin abounds on the Gold Coast behind Accra 

 and in Aquapim, the Akims, and Croboes, also in 

 Appolonia ; and its greater development requires 

 attention, and the friendly defeat of the prejudices of 

 the natives. 



From the Colony of Lagos there has been no- 

 export trade in this article, which I will prove to be 

 somewhat surprising. 



I have had some correspondence and personal 

 interviews during one of my stays in England with 

 Mr. Ingham Clark, a gentleman who has much 

 experience, and takes deep interest in the " gum " of 

 commerce. I learnt that Accra co/«/ (fossilized resin) 

 is not -much sought after in the trade, as sufficient 

 attention has not been turned to promote its de- 

 veloprrient into a regular export and steady supply, 

 as has been done in the cases of Zanzibar, Animi,, 

 Sierra Leone copal, and the Kauri gum of New 

 Zealand ; further, that the last-mentioned gums are 

 properly sorted, cleaned and washed when put on 

 the market, so that the varnish manufacturers can 

 suit their tastes and pockets. It would seem that 

 there has been an improvement in the imports of Accra 

 copal, which had been for some time chiefly an inferior 

 quality — " dusty, drossy, full of bark, the gum opaque 

 and acidy. The latter fault is much against Accra." 



Such conditions of import are not favourable to a 

 ready sale; in fact, manufacturers fight shy of "Accra," 

 which, on the contrary, if collected clean, like a 



