THE TECHNOLOGIST. [June 1, 1865. 



516 THE KOLA-NUT. 



vince of N'gola southward of the equator, these fruits have from time 

 immemorial been held in inestimable value, and their virtues so highly- 

 prized, that their employment has become an indispensable and per- 

 manent luxury. Within the last few centuries, however, their use has 

 been even still more extensively diffused, and to such a degree as to 

 excite a large commercial intercourse to spring up between the coastal 

 districts and the regions of Central Africa, or Soudan. This profitable 

 trade has been carried on both by Pagan and Mahomedan merchants, by 

 the latter especially into more remote countries beyond the Sahara, so 

 that for many years these valuable commodities have been offered for 

 sale in the markets of Fes, Tripoli, and other local depots, on the shores 

 of the Mediterranean. 



The first Portuguese adventurers, in their exploration of the coasts 

 of Western Africa, were soon made aware of the great repute in which 

 this produce was regarded, and taking advantage of the circumstance, 

 they without delay commenced collecting considerable quantities of these 

 seeds, from their stores in the Congo and Isle of St. Thomas, and sup- 

 plying various trading factories in other portions of the coast ; and 

 thus by retailing them at a great increase of price, managed to secure a 

 monopoly for a long succession of years, which perhaps, of all the in- 

 digenous products of local commerce, proved to be the most lucrative. 



Implicitly crediting the assertions of the natives that their usage 

 was viewed as a luxury, exclusively reserved for the chiefs and richer 

 classes of people, and merely as a means for rendering water sweet and 

 palatable, when drunk before or after meals (a fact confirmed from their 

 being observed masticating the seeds, more or less throughout the day), 

 they (i.e., the Portuguese) never entertained the most remote idea of 

 investigating the causes of this extraordinary uniformity of demand, or 

 rather special craving of the human system, for a nitrogenous substance, 

 that would tend to compensate for the void caused by the deficiency of 

 animal food ; for in West Africa, as in other countries, the flesh of 

 animals is scarce, and difficult to procure. Hence the induction of a 

 peculiar instinctive law, which has led the negro and other uncivilised 

 races to select, as if by intuition, such products of the vegetable king- 

 dom as contain a predominance of highly azotized elements, to supply 

 the waste of the human frame ; and to this inordinate desire for a diet, 

 chiefly composed of nitrogenous constituents, they appear to have been 

 guided by an importunate constitutional want. 



Prior to entering into any general details, we may briefly advert to a 

 few of the more prominent aboriginal customs which, from their 

 ordinary occurrence, could not but fail of attracting the attention of 

 Europeans to the marked popularity attending the use of these nuts. 



Should a white trader or native personage of rank visit any chief, 

 whether of ceremony or otherwise, the presentation of a few seeds, 

 or even the half of one, constitutes the highest compliment he could 

 receive, as conveying an assurance of friendly welcome and protection. 



