4 
No. 10. Soft shelled strain :-= 
First whorl 10 female flowers ; second whorl 8 female flowers ; third whorl 2 female 
flowers. 
No. 11. Local strain 
First whorl 7 male flowers ; second whorl 2 female flowers ; third whorl 3 female 
flowers ; fourth whorl 4 male flowers. 
No. 12. Soft shelled strain :— 
First whorl 12 male flowers ; second whorl 9 male flowers ; third whorl 4 male 
flowers; fourth whorl 2 female flowers. 
One of the flowers of the fourth whorl developed into a very small head with ODly 8 
fruits. 
Weight of one fruit 
„ depericarped nut 
„ one pericarp ... 
11*5 grams o/o 
4-7 „ 100 
4.0 „ 34.8 
The kernel measured 3 m/m. 
Weight of shell 
„ kernel 
3.7 grams ... 78*7 o/o_ 
11*3 „ ... 27-0 „ 
The results obtained hitherto with these two sets of soft kernelled palms indicate that 
©ne tree at the Botanic Station in hard laterite soil and one tree at the “Palms” in damp 
alluvial soil out of 2 trees which fruited in each case came true to type. The very small head 
©f No. 12 of the Palm series is to be discarded as being too much undeveloped although the 
shell is thin, being 3 m/m. The experiment will be continued as it would be most interesting 
to ascertain if 50 o/o of the tree will in all cases continue to breed true. The experiment, 
as already stated, is being duplicated at various altitudes and a comparison will also be made 
with trees derived from seeds obtained from Lagos in 1912. The undeveloped bunches in so 
many cases is accounted for from want of sufficient pollination owing to small number and 
young age of trees grown. For the sake of comparison a small head obtained from a tree 8 
jears old of local strain was examined and gave the following results 
Weight of bunch 
Number of fruits 
Weight of fruits 
„ of stalk 
... 
3,628 Grams 
127 „ 
1,676 „ 
1,950 „ ... 
o/o of fruits. 
33 
of pericarp (fresh) 
. . • 
660 
3 > 
39-3 
33 
of depericarpel cut 
(dry) 
986 
$3 
58-3 
33 
of shell ... 
• « • 
755 
33 
o/o of nut 
76-5 
33 
of kernel 
o a . 
210 
33 
21-3 
33 
of oil . 
• « e 
246 
33 
... 14-6 o/o of fruit. 
The oil was extracted bv the native process after fermentation. Some time ago when T 
asked an Ashanti political prisoner to extract some oil from a few bunches, I was surprised to- 
see that he took away with him all residues including the sediment of the hard oil and the 
water in which the oil was boiled and skimmed off. This shows that no material from the 
fruits of the palm is lost and that such a precious palm i3 to the native of W, Africa what a 
coconut or Pal my rah palm is to an Indian. 
It is no wonder that enquiries are being held in Europe at present as to the future of this 
wonderful palm. According to a report recently published by the Colonial Office it ap¬ 
pears that the oil obtained from the pericarp of fresh fruits contains only 2 o/o of fatty 
acids and is fit for edible purposes. New machines have been invented for depericarping the 
fruits in which the nuts are thrown off clean by centrifugal power. It appears that the melt¬ 
ing point of palm oil is exactly the melting point required for making margarine. The nuts 
are cracked by special machinery which must be power driven. The pieces of shell which 
remain among the kernels can be separated by immersion into brine or by using big jig tables 
as they use in mines. The kernels are either pressed after being ground small and heated 
©r after giinding they are placed in a special cylinder and mixed with a fat solvent generally 
benzine or tricliloi'ethylene. The solvent which carries the oil with it into another receptacle 
Is recovered by distillation and the oil remains. The resulting cake (obtained by pressing) or 
meal (obtaiued by chemical extraction) is used for feeding pigs and other live stock. Accord¬ 
ing to experiments, mostly German, milk fat is increased by 10 o/o by feeding cows with palm 
bernel cake. The cake does not turn rancid when it is heated to 70° c. The palm cake oil is- 
re fined and manufactured into edible fats. It is very similar to refined coconut oil and inter¬ 
changeable with it. These two nut oils are replacing animal fats in the manufacture of mar¬ 
garine, lard and cocoa butter substitutes. The future of nut oil is thus very great and if fish 
and other cheap liquid oil can be transformed into edible fats by the hydrogenation process, 
the competition for many years to come is not to be dreaded as the demand for nut oils greatly 
exceeds the supply, they being used as well for manufacture of non edible products (soap). 
There is no plant which grows more easily than the palm oil. In West Africa the rule of the 
mative for centuries past has been to throw the seeds broadcast on the land cultivated for one 
jf@ar or two in ground provisions and then abandoned for pastures new. The varieties of palms 
growing at present are not found present in the wild state in virgin jungle. There is no doubt 
however that the native method of planting them can be much improved. 
