168 
Some  African  Kolas. 
/Am.  Jour.  Pharnu 
\     March,  1884. 
keeping  the  "  bal  "  leaves  moist.  But  if  it  be  desired  to  keep  them  beyond 
that  time  the  operations  of  picking  and  re-packing  have  to  be  repeated 
about  every  thirty  days ;  the  seeds  being  washed  in  fresh  water  and  fresh 
"  bal"  leaves  placed  in  the  baskets.  The  baskets  usually  contain  about  3 
cwts.  of  seeds.  It  is  in  this  condition  that  "  kola  "  is  sent  into  Gambia  and 
Goree,  where  the  principal  dealings  in  the  seeds  are  carried  on.  In  Gam- 
bia they  are  sold  in  the  fresh  state  to  merchants  traveling  with  caravans 
into  the  interior,  who  dry  them  in  the  sun  and  reduce  them  to  a  fine  pow- 
der, which  is  used,  mixed  with  milk  and  honey,  by  the  tribes  of  the  inte- 
rior to  make  a  very  agreeable,  stimulating  and  nourishing  beverage.  It 
most  frequently  arrives  at  Sokota  and  Koukain  the  Soudan  and  Timbuctoo, 
where  large  sales  of  the  seeds  are  made,  in  the  fresh  condition  ;  from  the 
Soudan  markets  it  is  carried  by  caravans  to  Tripoli,  and  from  Timbuctoo 
into  Morocco.  As  might  be  expected  the  value  of  the  Kola  increases  as  it 
makes  its  way  into  the  interior  of  Africa,  and  the  authors  state  that  some 
of  the  tribes  furthest  removed  from  the  sea  pay  for  the  dry  powder  with  an 
equal  weight  of  gold  dust.  Kola  plays  an  important  part  in  the  social  life 
of  many  of  the  African  tribes,  and  the  authors  mention  some  of  the  occa- 
sions upon  which  it  is  used  in  terms  almost  identical  with  those  in  a  paper 
read  at  an  evening  meeting  of  the  Pharmaceutical  Society  eighteen  years 
ago  {Pharm.  Journ.,  [2],  vi.,  450.)  An  interchange  of  white  kola  between 
two  chiefs  is  indicative  of  friendship  and  peace,  whilst  the  sending  of  red. 
kola  is  an  act  of  defiance.  An  offer  of  marriage  is  accompanied  by  a  pre- 
sent of  white  kola  for  the  mother  of  the  lady  ;  the  return  of  white  kola  is 
equivalent  to  acceptance  of  the  suit,  whilst  red  means  rejection.  The  ab- 
sence of  a  supply  of  kola  from  among  the  marriage  presents  would  endan- 
ger the  whole  arrangement.  All  the  oaths  are  administered  in  the  presence 
of  kola  seeds ;  the  negro  stretches  out  his  hand  over  them  whilst  he  swears 
and  eats  them  afterwards. 
Fresh  kola  is  used  as  a  masticatory,  as  is  also  the  dried  powder,  by  the 
tribes  in  the  interior.  When  fresh  the  taste  of  the  seeds  is  first  sweet,  then 
astringent  and  finally  bitter.  When  the  seeds  become  dry  the  bitterness 
diminishes,  giving  place  to  a  sweeter  flavor;  but  upon  steeping  them 
in  water  for  a  couple  of  days  the  original  bitterness  is  nearly  restored. 
Preference  is  given  for  mastication  to  seeds  containing  only  two  cotyledonary 
segments,  it  being  asserted  that  they  are  less  rough  than  those  with  four 
to  six  segments ;  but  the  authors  did^not  find  anything  in  their  chemical 
examination  to  explain  this  preference.  The  practice  of  kola  mastication, 
which  is  always  accompanied  by  the  swallowing  of  the  saliva,  does  not  in- 
juriously affect  the  teeth,  as  is  the  case  with  the  betel  nut,  but  tends  to  ren- 
der the  gums  firm,  and  exercises  a  tonic  influence  on  the  digestive  organs. 
The  seeds  are  reputed  to  clarify  and  render  healthy  the  most  foul  waters, 
and  to  render  tainted  meat  edible,  and  when  chewed,  either  fresh  or  as  a 
dry  powder,  and  the  saliva  swallowed,  to  be  a  suie  preventive  against  dys- 
entery. They  are  also  said,  like  Erythroxylon  Coca,  to  possess  the  physio- 
logical property  of  enabling  persons  eating  them  to  undergo  prolonged 
exertion  without  fatigue,  which  is  probably  to  be  attributed  to  the  caffeine 
they  contain.  Further  it  is  said  that  kola  exercises  a  favorable  influence 
upon  the  liver,  and  that  white  people,  living  in  those  regions,  who  chew  a 
