148        ON  THE  KOLA-NUT  OF  TROPICAL  WEST  AFRICA. 
ON  THE  KOLA-NUT  OF  TROPICAL  WEST  AFRICA,  (THE 
GTJREE-NUT  OF  SOUDAN.) 
By  Dr.  W.  F.  Daniell,  F.  L.  S. 
The  seeds  of  the  cola  tree  (cola  acuminata  R.  Br.,)  said  the 
author,  have  been  from  time  immemorial  an  important  article  of 
commerce  among  the  natives  of  Central  and  Western  Africa, 
and  are  to  be  found  also  in  the  markets  of  Fez,  Tripoli,  and 
other  mercantile  depots  on  the  Mediterranean.  The  Portuguese 
merchants  have  always  accepted  the  statement  of  the  native3 
that  the  nuts  are  a  luxury  reserved  for  the  chiefs  and  richer 
classes  of  natives,  and  are  merely  used  as  a  means  of  rendering 
water  pure  and  palatable;  and  thus  never  dreamt  of  the  seeds 
containing  a  highly  nitrogenised  body.    But  the  circumstances 
that  all  who  can  procure  the  nuts  indulge  in  chewing  them  all 
day  long,  might  have  suggested  that  they  contained  something 
of  much  value,  if  not  of  actual  necessity,  in  a  country  where 
animal  food  is  scarce,  and  often  difficult  to  procure.    Dr.  Dan- 
iell then  proceeded  to  give  an  interesting  account  of  the  uses 
of  the  seed  in  aboriginal  customs.    It  seems  that  when  a  trader 
visits  a  chief,  the  present  of  a  few  seeds  from  the  latter  conveys 
an  assurance  of  welcome  and  protection.    When  sent  as  a  pres- 
ent by  one  chief  to  another  at  a  distance,  the  seeds  are  received 
as  a  sign  of  friendship,  and  the  compliment  is  always  recipro- 
cated.   In  parts  of  the  country  where  the  kola  tree  is  not  in- 
digenous, no  business  can  be  done  with  the  higher  classes  with- 
out the  gift  of  some  of  the  nuts.    Wives  also  are  purchased 
with  kola  seeds;  and  the  fetish  man  who  raises  the  dead  com- 
pletes his  charms  with  the  offering  of  some  of  the  seeds  the 
deceased  loved  so  much  when  alive.    They  are  used,  too,  as 
propitiatory  offerings  to  malignant  spirits,  and  with  peculiar 
customs  to  decide  the  question  of  peace  or  war  between  distant 
tribes.    They  are  highly  appreciated,  too,  as  a  gift  on  the  de- 
parture of  a  guest  for  a  long  journey,  in  the  course  of  which 
they  are  found  of  the  greatest  value  in  supporting  strength  and 
allaying  hunger.     The  Portuguese,  Dutch  and  English  residents 
in  Western  Africa  have  adopted  the  use  of  the  seeds,  and  now 
they  seem  to  have  become  a  necessity.    They  are  not  eaten  at 
meals,  but  are  carried  in  the  hand,  and  fragments  are  chewed 
