218 THE SHEA BUTTER OF AFRICA. 



When the tree grows old the leaves become smaller, and resemble those of 

 the Saint Jean pear tree. It blossoms at the extremity of its branches, and 

 the flowers, which are small, grow in clusters, and are supported by a very 

 strong pedicle. The petals are white, and the stamins are numerous and 

 scarcely perceptible to the naked eye. The fruit, when mature, is as large 

 as a guinea hen's egg, of oval shape, and equal at both ends. It is covered 

 with a pale green pellicle, beneath which is a green farinaceous pulp, three 

 lines thick, of an extremely agreeable flavour. The negroes are very fond 

 of it, and I liked it myself. Under this pulp there is a second pellicle, very 

 thin, and resembling the white skin which lines the inside of an egg-shell ; 

 this covers the kernel, which is of a pale coffee colour. The fruit being 

 disengaged from the two pellicles and the pulp, is inclosed in a shell as 

 thick as that of an egg, and the kernel is of the size of a pigeon's egg. The 

 fruit is exposed several days to the sun, in order to dry it, then pounded in 

 a mortar, and reduced to flour, which is of the colour of wheat bran. After 

 being pounded, it is placed in a large calabash ; lukewarm water is thrown 

 over it, and it is kneaded with the hand until it attains the consistency of 

 dough. To ascertain whether it is sufficiently manipulated, warm water is 

 thrown over it, and if greasy particles are detached from the dough and 

 float, the warm water is repeated several times until the butter is com- 

 pletely separated, and rises to the surface. The butter is collected with a 

 wooden spoon and placed in a calabash. It is then boiled on a strong fire, 

 being well skimmed, to remove any pulp that remains with it. "When 

 sufficiently boiled it is poured into a calabash, with a little water at the 

 bottom to make it turn out easily. Thus prepared it is wrapped in the 

 leaves of the tree, and will keep two years without spoiling. The butter is 

 of an ash-grey colour, and as hard as tallow. It is an article of trade with 

 the negroes, who use it both for food and for anointing their bodies. They 

 also employ it to burn for light ; and they told me that it was an excellent 

 remedy for pains and sores. The fruit of the ce is much larger in Baleya 

 and Amana than in Time. 



There is at Time a fruit called taman, which also produces an unctuous 

 substance, very good for eating, and more pure than the ce. It might be 

 advantageously employed in Europe for burning. The grease or fat, called 

 by the natives tamantoulon, is extracted by the same process as that em- 

 ployed with the ce. The tree which produces the taman grows on the 

 banks of rivulets, and is very common in the south. The kernel of the 

 taman is of the size of a horse chestnut, somewhat elongated, of a beautiful 

 pink colour, deepening a little towards the outside. It is exceedingly hard, 

 and the women, after setting it on the fire in earthen pots, crush it between 

 two flint3, previously to pounding it in a mortar. The butter of the taman 

 is of a light yellow colour. It is purer than that of the ce, and has no 

 smell. I preferred this to the other (the ce)." 



Shea butter is now being brought down by the natives in considerable 

 quantity from the interior of Africa, particularly from the southern banks 

 of the river Niger, where the trees bearing the fruit from which the oil is 



