458      Collection  of  Gum  Senegal  in  Senegambia. 
so  small  a  compass  that  in  the  middle  of  the  day  the  collectors  can 
return  to  the  wells  without  too  much  loss  of  time,  they  carry  only  a 
small  bag  made  of  skin,  into  which  the  balls  of  gum  are  placed.  But 
if  the  outskirts  of  the  forest  have  been  explored,  and  it  be  necessary 
that  the  collectors  penetrate  further  into  the  interior,  another  bag 
containing  a  small  provision  of  water  is  also  taken.  But  the  master 
never  allows  the  slave  to  carry  any  food  with  him,  stimulating  him 
to  greater  exertions  by  the  promise,  too  often  broken,  of  a  good  feast 
on  his  return.  Should  the  unfortunate  captive  not  have  gathered 
the  prescribed  quantity  by  the  evening,  and,  exhausted  by  hunger 
and  the  burning  heat,  dare  to  eat  any  of  the  gum  he  has  collected, 
he  is  mercilessly  beaten.  The  first  collection  of  gum  finishes  in  De- 
cember ;  a  second  is  made  in  March.  The  latter  is  more  abundant 
in  proportion  as  the  winds  have  been  stronger  and  more  prolonged 
during  the  year ;  that  is  to  say,  the  branches  previously  distended  by 
the  humidity  of  the  rains  have  become  more  thoroughly  dried,  and 
crack  more  deeply  and  in  a  greater  number  of  places.  The  trading 
in  the  gum  is  effected  in  the  months  of  January  and  March  ;  the 
tribe  abandoning  the  forest  as  soon  as  the  collection  is  finished,  and 
resorting  to  the  market.  In  disposing  of  the  gum  the  Moor  shows  a 
•considerable  amount  of  avarice,  selling  it  in  small  portions  at  a  time, 
and  going  from  ship  to  ship  on  the  chance  of  obtaining  a  better  price. 
In  the  time  of  Adanson,  about  1760,  the  quantity  of  gum  exported 
from  Senegal  was  nearly  30,000  quintals,  or  900,000  kilograms ;  in 
1827,  a  very  bad  year  for  collection,  the  exportation  amounted  only 
to  613,500  kilograms.  But  since  the  Moors  have  taken  more  pre- 
cautions for  preserving  the  forests  from  fire  the  production  of  gum 
has  greatly  augmented,  and  in  1868,  2,763,618  kilograms  were  ex- 
ported from  Senegal.  In  fact,  the  amount  of  3,000,000  kilograms 
has  frequently  been  surpassed. 
Probably  it  would  be  possible,  with  the  aid  of  the  blacks,  to  create 
plantations  of  gum  trees  in  the  vast  extent  of  country  which  forms 
the  centre  of  the  Senegambian  triangle.  Such  a  result  would  have 
a  direct  effect  on  the  amount  of  production,  and  would  tend  to  pre- 
vent the  sudden  and  unexpected  rises  in  the  price  of  gum  which  every 
now  and  then  occur. 
The  vereck  {A.  Verek)  produces  a  hard,  black-veined  wood,  which 
could  be  used  for  ebony  work  ;  it  is  especially  a  gum-yielding  tree,, 
and  abounds  in  Senegambia. — Pharm.  Journ.  and  Tram.,  Aug.  SO, 
1873. 
