67 
that the soil forms a suitable nidus for the development of the 
malarial parasite : natives suffer, but to a less exten 
The rainy season is the most unhealthy time of Pec: 
IIT.—VEGETATION., 
Two very distinct regions —— which merge into each other, 
1. The so called * b 
2. The forest re onam 
The ‘bush’ forms a belt along the coast for many miles varying 
in width from 3 to 25 miles. It consists of a dense undergrowth 
f erect, scandent and twining ah ubs with compara ratively few 
(Bombax buonopozense) appear. At Akeoful, 15 miles inland, 
forest trees become fairly numerous, increasing to Mansu, 
42 miles inland, where the dense forest region commences. Clumps 
of bamboos grow to a great size and in are numbers oe 
the ground is swampy. Villages are very numerous as far as 
Mansu, and each possesses a tract of aii. land. Then atives 
plant umbrageous trees, commonly figs, in and around every, 
village for the benefit of the shade afforded by them. By the 
road-side hedges of Jatropha Curcas, which possesses a copious 
white milky juice, are frequent. Strophanthus gratus and 
S. sarmentosus are common climbers with handsome 2d 
as are also Ipomæa palmata and TI. involucrata, the form 
having conspicuous purple flowers. Passiflora fot wtida, oat 
d Amarantus spinosus and the orickly climber, Acacia 
pennata,also occur. Myrianthus arborescens,a tree which perme 
very ‘ie leaves, each of the six leaflets being over a foot long, is 
of not infrequent pe trom near Dunquah. Sedges and grasses 
are to be seen in small numbers. Many plants which are in 
abundance in the forest first make their appearance at Dunquah. 
The ponds from which drinking water is procured are frequently 
covered by Veste € ratiotes ; this plant is said to havea purifying 
effect on the w 
The forest Mieres commences about Mansu and is said to extend 
to the Kong mountains. The trees are of great height (100-200 
AL 
and very numerous; each has its smooth clean trunk free from 
epiphytes and climbers, which here find no eet and radiating 
from the base large buttress-roots. Far abov the t tops of the 
other trees the branches begin to come off an i carry in the full 
Other trees of the forest blond to the CINE genera ; uh 
Sterculia, Carapa, Eriodendron, Monodora, A Albizz 
Pentaclethra, ce iar Kickxia, Ficus, Musan qu a haroni 
and Diospyro. 
The leaves ot the trees form an almost uninterrupted layer of 
foliage which intercepts the sun's rays and causes a perpetual 
16829 i A2 
