OIL BEANS, SEEDS AND NUTS 451 
“Inoy”’ kernels would yield a nutritious cake for feeding 
cattle. 
Thus far no use has been found for the round small, pear-shaped, 
nut-like fruits of the Red Mangrove, Rhizophora racemosa. Consider- 
ing the large quantity found floating about in the creeks and rivers, 
further investigation seems warranted. 
In the Euphorbiacex family the Nsa-sana (Efik) or Okkwen nuts of 
the Benis have been found to contain 45-2 per cent. of oil by the 
Imperial Institute.1 This nut is obtained from Ricinodendron Africana 
and R. Rautenii, and is known to the Yorubas as Erimado. In each 
fruit there are two, three, or even four nuts. The flesh of the fruit 
soon dries or rots away, leaving the uncracked nuts among the debris. 
The shell of these is hard and thick, and the inside a bright white 
colour. In some experiments carried out on a comparatively large 
scale at the end of 1907 and at the beginning of 1908, in Benin, it was 
found that more than half the kernels were broken in the cracking 
of the nut. However, in the Cameroons, where the nuts are used 
for alimentary purposes, they are boiled for a short time, and then 
it is possible to crack them quite easily without damaging the kernel 
inside. Further experiments at Benin showed that six boxes (gin 
cases) of green fruit yield one box of nuts containing actually 7,528, 
which weigh 35 lb. 4.0z. One box of fruit contains 418 seeds and 
yields 720 nuts. An average of 7,419 seeds is contained in each box, 
155 nuts weighing 1 Ib. Each fruit contains on the average two 
and one-ninth seeds. On the average 9d. per box was paid for fruit, 
and Is. per box for uncracked nuts. Twenty boys cleaned and got 
ready 24 boxes of uncracked nuts per day at the cost of 5s. Paying 
at the rate of 1s. a case for the uncracked nuts, the cost would 
be £17 per ton. However, with regular quantities being brought: 
in, no doubt this cost could be reduced. In a similar way, 
if the nuts were boiled in quantity and immediately cracked, the 
kernels would be got out at a cheaper rate. The native working for 
himself, as with the palm nuts, would turn out greater quantities in 
a shorter time. 
The yield of the oil pressed from the kernels was 47 per cent., or 
14 per cent. on the whole nut. It is light yellow in colour and has a 
pleasant taste, very much like that of the ground nut. The chemical 
examination showed a resemblance to Tsung oil (Chinese wood oil). 
It possesses the same property of drying on exposure to air under 
ordinary atmospheric pressure. The oil could be used for similar 
purposes, or for the making of soft soap, and would be worth from 
about £18 to £20 per ton for this purpose, and it appears that 
the oil would have a ready sale in England, and have a value, equal 
to linseed oil, of about £21 per ton. According to the investigations 
1 Colonial Report, 88, Oil, Seeds, Fats and Waxes, Imperial Institute, 1914. 
