Vol. VIII. No. 88. 
IMPERIAL INSTITUTE JOURNAL. 
[April, 1902.] 99 
also to be undertaken. These often involve a determination of the chemical constitution of 
the substances present in the materials, from which definite and reliable results can only be 
slowly accumulated. 
The botanical work done by the society consists in the importation of seeds and cuttings 
of plants likely to furnish useful products, into the colonies. A complete list showing the 
importations of such materials during the past year is given in the report already referred to, 
with the name of the country of origin and their destinations. Central and South America 
appear to have been largely laid under contribution last year, and among the better known 
plants obtained thence may be mentioned several gum-yielding species of Acacia, 
Caesalpinias , the fruits of which are used as tanning materials. Capsicum annuum from 
which chillies are obtained, quebracho, orange, chayote, pomegranate, as well as several 
rubber and gutta-percha plants. From India were obtained seeds of Acacia catechu , which 
yields the black catechu of commerce, Acacia glauca and Modest a which furnish gums of the 
Arabic type, A Ihizzict lehhek , Tcctona grandis (teak), Casuarina species and other valuable 
timber trees. A considerable number of medicinal plants, such as the castor oil, camphor, 
coca (yielding the valuable alkaloid cocaine), cinchona, curcuma (turmeric), cassia and 
tamarind, were also secured in India and Burma. 
This branch of the Society’s work is identical with part of that carried on in the British 
Empire by Kew Gardens and the various botanical gardens in the colonies affiliated to the 
former and in constant communication with it. 
This work of the German Institute is organised almost on the same lines as those on 
which it is conducted in this country, but in the branch to which it devotes most attention 
there appears to be no counterpart in Great Britain, viz., in the equipment of expeditions to 
explore colonies for new products. Such work is done in this country by private firms for 
the articles in which they are interested, and the Foreign Office reports from certain countries 
occasionally chronicle the arrival of an expert sent by some enterprising firm to study the 
local supplies of certain materials. It is probable, however, that much help could be given to 
small manufacturers in this country if exact information on sources of supply were secured in 
this way by experts whose reports would be available for general use. 
Several of these expeditions are organised by the German Society every year; thus, 
last year, a botanist spent two months in German S.W. Africa investigating the best 
methods of cultivating and preparing rubber obtained from the roots of certain trees, 
whilst a second expert explored the central portion of German East Africa for gum-yielding 
plants, fibres, tanning materials, and medicinal plants, especially strophanthus, and at the 
present time Dr. Stuhbman, director of Agriculture in this colony, is in India studying the 
cultivation of teak, cinchona, and sun hemp. 
Similar expeditions are at present investigating the cultivation of cotton in the chief 
cotton-yielding districts of the world, with a view to the extensive cultivation of this staple in 
Togoland ; and another left Germany in December, 1900, to study the cultivation of gutta- 
percha, rubber, sago, gamber, tapioca, etc., in the South Seas, and especially in Singapore 
and Malacca. 
Full reports of several of the expeditions undertaken in former years have been published, 
such as that of Dr. Breuss to Central and South America, which resulted in the rich collection 
of seeds of economic plants, of which mention has already been made, and that of 
Mr. Schlechter, when the rubber-yielding plants of W. Africa were studied. 
The collections made by the various expeditions are exhibited usually in Berlin, and 
are finally deposited with the Colonial Museum, although small collections of typical 
products are freely sent to schools and colleges for the instruction of students. 
The results of the chemical, botanical, and other investigations are printed in the 
official journal, Der Tropenp flamer, which appears monthly, and consists usually of about 
thirty octavo pages, and contains, in addition to the above matters, special articles on the 
German colonies, their management, and utilization, together with notes of progress. The 
current prices of most natural products at Hamburg are also given, though the value of such 
information is rather problematical, since prices a month old are of little use to dealers. 
Supplements to this paper also occasionally appear dealing with specially interesting 
topics ; for example, the supplement for January of this year, contains an excellent account 
of the climate, government and natural resources of Anatolia, r the country through which the 
German railway, described in Turkish official circles as the Chemin de Fer Ottoman 
d’Anatolie, will run, and provides intending settlers with full information regarding the 
district. 
An “address book” giving the addresses of German dealers in natural products in all 
parts of the world, is also published, and contains, in addition, particulars of the best routes 
to the colonies and freight rates, as far as these can be known, of most shipping companies. 
Readers who are conversant with the work of the various departments of the Imperial 
Institute will see that the organisation of the German Society is planned on the same lines, 
the modifications introduced being such as are necessary in the cases of colonies whose 
resources are not so well explored as those of Great Britain. 
TWO DISEASES OF CACAO TREES. 
The occurrence of the disease known as “ thrips ” on the cacao trees of Guadeloupe has 
been reported upon by M. Aug. Elot, who states that the insect causing the disease is widely 
distributed among the cacao plantations. The pest was the subject of an article in the 
West Indian Bulletin, Vol. n. pp. 175-190, where its occurrence in Grenada, St. Vincent, 
St. Lucia and Dominica was noted, with a description of its habits and distribution in 
Grenada. The damage to the cacao trees is sometimes insignificant, sometimes great, 
according to climatic conditions, drought and neglect rendering the trees very liable to an 
attack. Experience shows that while proper care of the trees will do much to avert the 
disease, ultimate reliance must be placed on spraying the trees with kerosene emulsion. The 
insect appears to be closely allied to the “ thrips ” affecting cacao in Ceylon, both the 
Grenada and Ceylon larvae being characterised by a transverse crimson band. 
Professor Ciard, to whom an insect has been sent, has named it Physopus rubrocincla 
though it has been hitherto regarded as belonging to the genus Heliothrips. The geo- 
graphical distribution, as known at present, is Grenada, St. Vincent, St. Lucia, Dominica, 
Guadeloupe and Ceylon. It is not improbable that the insect will be found to occur in 
other parts of the West Indies and South America. 
A short Lime ago, attention was drawn to another disease which attacks cacao trees in 
Surinam, producing bunches of malformed tw'igs called “ witch brooms.” In 1900, 
Professor Bos, of Amsterdam, discovered ascl, or fruiting organs, of the Exoascus type, on 
the under side of two rudimentary leaves on the twigs of the “ witch brooms,” from which 
he concluded that the disease was due to a new fungus, related to Lhose which produce 
“ witch brooms” in other trees and which he named Exoascus theobromcc. Professor Went, 
of the University of Utrecht, has found that in cacao trees containing “witch brooms,” the 
pods are attacked by a fungus which causes a swelling at the side, and finally produces a 
worthless, hard and woody pod. Fie considers that the fungus causing this malformation, 
may be allied to that which produces the swelling, but since, up to the present, no spores 
have been observed, the identification of the fungus has been unsuccessful. The planters in 
Surinam find it advisable to cut out the “ witch brooms ” as soon as they are observed. This 
method is sufficient to keep the disease from making much headway, but, if carried on to a 
large extent, will undoubtedly impair the productiveness of the trees. 
S S 
LECTURES AND PAPERS. 
“THE OBSTACLES TO DEVELOPMENT IN WEST AFRICA.” 
(By C. F. Harford-Battersby, Esq., M.D.J 
Admiral Sir John Dai.RYMPLE Hay presided on the 17th February at a lecture 
given at the Institute by Dr. C. F. Harford-Battersby, Principal of Livingstone College, 
on “ The Obstacles to Development in West Africa.” 
Although the obstacles to development in West Africa were beyond the necessity of 
proof, the lecturer deprecated the adoption of a pessimistic attitude with regard to West 
African matters. The history of the British Empire was, to a great extent, but the record of 
obstacles surmounted, and be trusted that many of the difficulties that stood in the way of 
West African progress might, at any rate, be considerably mitigated. 
Before giving an account of the two main obstacles — the liquor traffic and the malaria 
question — the lecturer referred to some of the minor impediments, one of the chief of which 
had been the apathy with which, in the past, West African matters had been regarded. 
This indifference, however, no longer existed. There were, at the present time, three weekly 
papers devoted entirely to West African interests, and, if only the divers forces which were 
at work in this great region could unite, there was good hope of beneficial results. Reference 
was here made to the African Society, recently founded in memory of the late 
Miss Kingsley. 
One of the initial difficulties which struck the traveller on his first voyage to West Africa 
was that of landing. With the exception of Sierra Leone, there was not a good harbour on 
the coast, and, on account of the surf, landing could only be effected by means of special 
boats known as surf boats. 
Away from the great rivers the only method of transport, in most parts of the country, 
was still that of human carriers. Roads and railways were, therefore, of the utmost import- 
ance, and attention was now being given to the matter. Three lines — the Sierra Leone, the 
Gold Coast, and the Lagos — were being constructed, and several views were shown illustrating 
the difficulties, arising out of the nature of the country, with which the contractors had had to 
contend. 
The labour question had been another source of trouble, and this was important with 
regard, not only to the building of railways, but also to the general development of the country. 
It was clear that the African must be encouraged to work by making him appreciate the 
advantages that would accrue to himself therefrom. The lecturer here referred to the recent 
action of Lord Milner in South Africa in this connection, and hoped that those in authority 
in West Africa would profit from the experience that they might derive from South Africa. 
Beside the need of unskilled labour, West African progress was hampered by the dearth 
of trained workmen in various industrial pursuits, and the lack of suitable industrial schools 
had been a serious drawback. Plappily, however, this want was being remedied by the 
establishment of training schools, notably the industrial mission set on foot by Bishop Tug well 
on the Niger ; which promised to have far-reaching results, and where, in addition to 
carpentering and building, it was hoped that an agricultural department would be instituted. 
The Government were also taking up this question of agriculture. 
The matter, however, which vitally affected the whole prosperity of the African 
Continent was the introduction of the liquor traffic among the native races. Only ten years 
ago this traffic formed a very considerable proportion of the trade of England with her West 
African possessions. Since then, however, a considerable improvement had taken place. In 
Lagos, for example, in 1891 20 per cent, of the imports had consisted of liquor, in 1901 the 
proportion had fallen to 9 per cent. Even from a business point of view, the liquor traffic 
among the native races did not pay. Where the natives got drink, in most cases they wanted 
nothing else. Desire for articles of civilised life absolutely did not exist in those who drank 
imported spirits, and such men would not work longer than would suffice to enable them to 
get the amount of spirits they required. A diminution of the drink-bill did not, therefore, 
necessarily mean a loss to the British traders, as it might, and indeed statistics had proved 
that it had done so, be accompanied by a more than proportionate increase in the demand for 
other articles. A number of views were shown illustrating the demoralising effect that 
spirits, chiefly gin, had on the natives. Perhaps, said the lecturer, the best way to make his 
audience realise how inimical the trade was to all real progress, moral or material, in that 
part of the world was to draw attention to the fact that gin, in many parts, was still almost 
the only currency, and that labourers, until quite recently, had usually been paid in 
spirits. 
A general improvement, however, was taking place with regard to the drink traffic. 
The practice of paying wages in liquor was rapidly decreasing, other kinds of currency were 
being introduced, and people generally were beginning to recognise the advantages of other 
kinds of trade. Doubtless many agencies had been at work to bring about these results. 
The Native Races and Liquor Traffic United Committee, at whose request the Brussels 
Conference had been called, was one of the chief. This Conference had resulted in the 
Brussels General Act of 1891, which provided for the absolute prohibition of liquor to natives 
in various parts of Africa and for the general imposition of a duty of 6jd. a gallon on gin. 
This duty had since been advanced to 2s. 9d. and would, it was hoped, be still further 
increased. No measure, with the exception of the decrees for the emancipation of slaves, 
had had such far-reaching beneficial effects upon the welfare of the native races as this 
Act. 
It would, however, be a great mistake to rest content with the amount of success that 
had been already attained. On the contrary, the lecturer considered that there never had 
been a time when greater vigilance was required. Africa was now being opened up in a way 
absolutely unprecedented in previous history, and the increase of railways, and other methods 
of travel, would enable drink to penetrate to places as y$t uncontaminated. He spoke very 
strongly on this subject, and concluded this portion of the lecture by quoting some words of 
the late Queen to King Khama, who visited her whilst in this country. “I approve the 
provision excluding strong drink from your country. I feel strongly on the matter, and am 
glad to see the chiefs have determined to keep so great a curse from the people.” 
The greatest obstacle of all, however, was the unhealthiness of the country. The answer 
to the question “ Why is West Africa unhealthy?” could be given in one word, “ Malaria.” 
Happily, however, the persevering labours of a number of scientific men of different 
nationalities were grappling with the ignorance that had surrounded this mysterious disease, 
and malaria was now as well, if not better, understood than any other important fever. 
What was now required was the dissemination of the knowledge thus gained as widely as 
possible, in order that all might join in putting into practice the methods of prevention sug- 
gested by our experts. 
Dr. Harford-Battersby here gave a most interesting account of the discovery of the part 
played by the anopheles mosquito in spreading the disease among human beings. This insect, 
in the act of biting, discharged into the human blood the malarial poison, which, when once 
it entered the system in appreciable quantities, never really left it, but remained dormant in 
some part or other of the body, always ready, under favourable conditions, to increase to a 
sufficient extent to give rise to the fever. 
In this connection reference was made to Major Ross, and also to Dr. Manson, under 
whose leadership the London School of Tropical Medicine had done such useful work, both 
in educating a large number of medical practitioners proceeding to different tropical climates, 
and taking part in various expeditions organised for investigating the subject of tropical 
disease. The Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine had also conducted a series of 
