FORESTRY OF WEST AFRICA. 133 



On the red and white gum of the Portuguese 

 Possessions in West Africa I extract as follows, from 

 Monteiro's 'Angola and the Congo': — 



" The red gum copal called 'maquata' by the natives 

 is of the finest quality, and is almost entirely the 

 product of the Mossulo country. It is known to exist 

 north, in the vicinity of Mangue Grande, but it is 

 'fetish' for the natives to dig it, and consequently 

 they will not bring it for trade, and even refuse to tell 

 the exact place where it is found ; but there can be no 

 doubt about it, as they formerly traded in it with the 

 white men. 



"Until about the year 1858 it was a principal 

 article of export from Ambriz ; vessels being loaded 

 with it, chiefly to America, but with the American War 

 the trade ceased, and it has never since attained 

 anjrthing like its former magnitude. 



" It is obtained from a part of Angola where white 

 men are not permitted by the natives to penetrate, 

 and I have consequently not been an actual observer 

 of the locality in which it occurs: but by all the 

 accounts received from intelligent natives it is found 

 below the surface of a highly ferruginous hard clay or 

 soil, at a depth of a few inches to a couple of feet, and 

 is said to be found in irregular masses, chiefly flat 

 in shape, and from small knobs to pieces weighing 

 several pounds. 



" These are all carefully chopped into small nearly 

 uniform pieces, the object of this being to enable the 



