FORESTRY OF WEST AFRICA. 453 



Brown sugar ; after having been refined and cast in 

 conical moulds it is known as Lump or Loaf sugar, 

 the uncrystallised portion being Treacle or Molasses ; 

 from the scum and rough portions of the latter Rum 

 is distilled. The domestic uses of sugar are very 

 numerous ; it is a powerful antiseptic, and is largely 

 used for preserving meat and fruit, but is considered 

 of little importance from a medical point of view. 

 Treacle is used in pharmacy to give cohesiveness to 

 pill-masses, to preserve them in a softened state, and 

 to prevent mouldiness, &c. Megasse or Bagasse, the 

 refuse cane after the juice has been extracted and 

 which has hitherto been used only as fuel, contains a 

 fibre that may be utilized for paper-making. A ton of 

 Bagasse will yield about 650 pounds of fibre, while 

 every ton of the latter can be converted into 1500 

 pounds of pulp ; numerous experiments have satisfac- 

 torily ascertained that paper of an excellent quality 

 can be made from this substance. — 'Dictionary of 

 Economic Plants,' Smith ; ' Medicinal Plants,' Bentley 

 and Trimen, No. 298 ; ' The Paper-maker's Monthly 

 Journal,' March 19, 1884, &c. 



Spear Grass {Heteropogoii contortus, R. and S. 

 \_Andropogon contortus, L.]). — Stems erect, one to 

 two feet high. Cattle are said to eat this grass when 

 fresh ; it also makes good hay when the seeds fall 

 ofiT. The leaves afford a fibre suitable for paper- 

 making ; the yield is 50 per cent, of half stuff, and 



