Oo2 REPORT OF THE HARVARD AFRICAN EXPEDITION 
Aside from the rice fields in the vicinity, the gardens in the town are small 
and on the brow or else on the steep, terraced hillside. In these are raised 
such crops as the pineapple; Phaseolus lunatus; sorghum of a kind; Colocasia 
sp., of which the corms are eaten; Ipomaea batatas, or yam; Hibiscus escu- 
lentus of which the young fruits are eaten; okra, cultivated not only for its 
fruit, but also for its leaves which furnish greens; two species of Capsicum; 
a small tomato, Lycopersicum esculentum; two species of Solanum; cassava, 
and a fleshy-leaved chenopodiaceous vine that would probably make a very 
fine substitute for spinach. Tobacco is also grown, but in such small quanti- 
ties that the supply is not sufficient to satisfy the local demand of the material 

No. 431. — Method of packing rice for 
storage. Gbanga 
for snuff and for smoking. Of the fruit trees, oranges and limes, two species 
of Musa, the plantain and banana, and the breadfruit tree are present in small 
numbers. The Cola tree and a species of Ricinodendron, not in cultivation, 
add variety to the menu. Only the kernel of the fruit of Ricinodendron is used: 
the capsule is removed by boiling and then cracking. The freed kernel is then 
toasted and salted, if salt is available. The resulting product tastes very like 
cashew nuts, but is very oily. 
Just as at Gbanga, cloth is made from locally raised cotton. In addition, 
there is another industry in which the people of this district appear to excel. 
That is the manufacture of bags out of the fibers obtained by stripping the 
vascular tissue from the fronds of the Raphia palm. The resulting bags, used 
in the place of trunks or to carry tobacco and other necessary articles, are very 
durable, and although many are quite plain, others are elaborately decorated 
