85 



Egyptian Cotton," Lawrence Balls in Year Book, Khedivial Agric. 

 Soc. Cairo, 1907, pp. 91-111.— The Cotton Plant ; its Development 

 and Structure, and the Evolution and Structure of the Cotton Fibre, 

 Flatters, pp. J 12, with numerous plates (Sherratt and Hughes, 

 London, and Manchester, 1907). — The Structure of the Cotton Fibre 

 in its Relation to Technical Application, Bowman, pp. xx + 470, 

 with many coloured and other illustrations (MacMillan & Co., 

 London, 1908). — British Cotton Cultivation, Dunstan, Col. Rep. 

 Misc. No. 50, 1908, pp. 1-46. — Indian Cotton Seed, Its Industrial 

 Possibilities, Noel-Paton, Comm. Intellig. Agency, Calcutta, 1908, 

 pp. 1-28. — Comm. Prod. India, Watt, pp. 569-624. — Reports of 

 the British Cotton Growing Association, various. 



ADANSONIA, Linn. 



Adansonia digitata, B. Juss. ; Fl. Trop. Afr. I. p. 212. 



III.— Cav. Diss. t. 157 ; Lam. Encycl. t. 588 ; Tuss. Ant. iii. 

 tt. 33, 34 ; Desc. Ant. iv. t. 291 ; Bot. Mag. tt. 2791, 2792 ; Rchb. 

 Exot. v. t. 350 ; Belgique Hortic. ix. 1859, p. 76, f. 6 (tree), p. 79, 

 f. 7 (fl. br.), p. 81, f. 8 (fruit) ; Bot. Centralb. lix. 1894, t. 1, f. 3 

 (fruit) ; Engl. Pflan. Ost. Afr. B, f. 16 ; Baillon, Hist. Madagas. t. 

 71 B, f. 3 ; Gard. Chron. Jan. 27th, 1900, p. 57 ; Sem. Hort. 1900, 

 p. 29, f. 11; Ann. Inst. Col. Marseille, 1902, f. 1 ; Goetze & Engl. 

 Vegetationsansichten Deut. Ost.-Afr. f . 4 ; De Wildeman, PI. Util. 

 Congo, t. 12 ; Pobeguin, Fl. Guin. Franc, t. 17 ; Transv. Agric. 

 Journ. iv. t. 7, v. t. 169 ; Karst. & Schenck, veg. bild. v. t. 42. 



Vernac. names. — Kuka (Kontagora, Dalziel) ; Oshe (Lagos, 

 Dawodu) ; Nbondo, Imbondeiro (Angola, Welwitsch) ; Gongalasu 

 (Khartoum, Colville). — Baobab ; Sour Gourd ; Cork Tree ; Cream 

 of Tartar Tree ; Monkey Bread Tree ; Maputa. 



Niger ; Idda ; Nupe ; Kontagora ; Lagos ; Old Calabar, and in 

 all parts of the Colony. Native of Tropical Africa ; common in 

 India, and introduced to the West Indies. 



The inner bark yields a strong useful fibre, used in Africa for 

 making nets, rope, twine, sacking, and cloth (Mus. Kew). It is 

 much used as a coarse textile and for various domestic purposes in 

 Kontagora (Dalziel, Bull. Imp. Inst. 1907, p. 260). Sacking and 

 wrappers made of this fibre are largely used in'Angola for the 

 conveyance of cotton, gum copal, and orchella weed (Cat.. Welw. 

 Afr. PL i. p. 80). In India it is used for making elephant saddles, 

 &c. (Diet. Econ. Prod. Ind.). In England Maputa cloth was 

 formerly used for paper making, chiefly strong packing papers : 

 but its use for this purpose is now superseded by that of wood 

 pulp (Bull. Imp. Inst, 1906, p. 277). 



As a material for papermaking it is considered remarkable for 

 its strength and toughness, the papers showing a resistance to 

 tearing not unlike that of the Japanese papers (Hiibner, in Journ. 

 Soc. Arts, 1903, p. 837). Helmets, caps, and ladies 1 hats have also 

 been made from this material (Mus. Kew). The trade in this 

 fibre has always been somewhat limited. Supplies come chiefly 

 from Portuguese West Africa, but the importations in L896 

 amounted to only 2 tons ; 190 tons were imported in 1887 (Dodge, 

 Cat. Fib. PI. p. 41). It comes occasionally into Liverpool in bales 

 held together by hoop-iron (Hillier, Kew Bull. 1907, p. 63). 



