March, 1912.] 



197 



Oils and Fats, 



The book is evidence of a vast amount 

 of labour undertaken in the spirit of 

 enthusiasm, but its utility for the general 

 reader is curtailed by the want of 

 condensation in dealing with experi- 

 ments and tabular results, and the 

 absence of definite statements or deduc- 



tive conclusions. It is elaborately illus- 

 trated by photolitho plates, containing 

 a. large number of photographs and line- 

 drawings of the minute histological 

 structure of the different parts of the 

 plant, as well as by some fine photo- 

 graphs of desert surroundings. 



OILS AND FATS. 



PALM OIL INDUSTRY OF WEST 

 AFRICA. 



(From the Oil, Paint and Drug Reporter, 

 Vol. LXXXI., No. 4, January 22, 1912.) 

 Washington, January 19, 1912. 



The palm oil industry of West Africa 

 is regarded by United States officials, 

 who have investigated it, of importance 

 that is little realized by the American 

 people. This is stated in the report just 

 received at the Commerce Department 

 from Sierra Leone. The report shows 

 that palm oil is used iu the countries 

 of that region instead of lard, and is 

 exported for the manufacture of soap, 

 candles and lubricating oils. The state- 

 ment is made that palm oil will bring 

 $150 per ton in Europe at the present 

 time, and that the chief drawback to 

 reduction in the cost of delivering palm 

 oil to the different commercial countries 

 is the lack of transportation facilities. 

 The report also gives an account of the 

 exports of palm oil and details of the 

 industry itself as follows :— 



The amount of palm oil annually ex- 

 ported from British West Africa now 

 amounts to 15,160,000 imperial gallons 

 (imperial gallon equals 1*2 American 

 gallons), valued at not less than $5,750,000, 

 while the yearly export of palm kernels 

 is 226,000 tons (ton equals 2,240 pounds), 

 valued at over $16,000,000. These figures 

 do not include the exports of palm oil 

 or kernels from French West Africa, 

 German West Africa nor the Kongo. 

 The palm tree from which the oil and 

 kernels are obtained is indigenous and 

 grows in great quantities in all West 

 Africa. It is most prolific from the Came- 

 roons to and including a part of French 

 Guiana, the area embracing Northern 

 and Southern Nigeria, the Gold Coast, 

 the Ivory Coast, Dahomey, Togoland, 

 the Kongo, Liberia and Sierra Leone. 



The only drawback to the widespread 

 development of the palm oil industry in 

 West Africa is the lack of transport- 

 ation, and this will not be overccme 

 until the country is well opened up, 

 Steady progress is being made in this 



direction, however. There are large 

 palm-bearing districts not far^ from the 

 coast, and on the verge of wide navig- 

 able rivers, where the question of trans- 

 portation involves no great difficulty 

 for expense, and it is in these districts 

 that the industry will first be under- 

 taken on a large scale. As palm oil will 

 bring $150 per ton in Europe at the 

 present time, and as handled on a large 

 scale, it could be delivered in Liverpool 

 for $75 per ton. including all charges 

 with cost of production, it can be easily 

 seen that future developments will be 

 rapid and have an important bearing on 

 the general prospects of V/ est Africa. 

 The amount of trade here is doubling 

 every ten years, and promises in the 

 near future to rival that of South Africa. 



The trees are 30 to 40 feet high and 

 bear as many as seven or eight cones of 

 fruit, each about the size of a man's 

 head. These cones are studded with the 

 kernels, which consist of the fibrous 

 outer coating or peiicarp, which con- 

 tains the palm oil and the palm nut, 

 inclosed in a thin shell. The pericarp 

 and the kernel yield about 60 and 50 

 per cent, respectively of their weight 

 in oil. The oil obtained from the peri- 

 carp is a deep yellowish blood red, while 

 that from the kernel is white. Both the 

 palm oil and the palm nut oil are used 

 locally instead of lard. The natives and 

 some Europeans claim that it is a fine 

 flavour. The oils are used in Europe in 

 the manufacture of soap, candles and 

 lubricating oils. 



There is no cultivation of the fruit 

 other than gathering it when matured. 

 The kernels are prepared by beating the 

 fruit in a mortar until the pericarp is 

 separated from the unshelled kernel. 

 The emulsified pericarp is then boiled 

 in water in a large pot, that part of the 

 oil that has not already been free col- 

 lecting at the top. The kernels are 

 cracked one at a time with a hammer 

 or stone by the women and children. 

 There are now in the market several 

 machines for removing the pericarp and 

 cracking the kernels, but they have not 

 as yet proved a success. 



