In addition to the inhabitants themselves collecting rubber, natives belonging to a tribe from Portuguese Guinea, called “Manjagos,” travel through the country for the purpose; the rubber which they obtain being sold in the French Colony to the south of the Gambia. The “Manjagos” are said to make a semicircular cut upon the thick vine-stems just above the ground, to induce the better flow of latex. This, they maintain, is not a destructive method, and that, as the root stock is uninjured, the plant continues to yield latex for a long time. At one time the rubber vine must have been plentiful, but the rush for it which occurred at the beginning of the present century has had the effect of exterminating it, except in the more inaccessible places. The export has declined and is now insignificant. The plant is known to the Mandingoes as “Folio.” An illustration is given showing this plant at Kotoo ([Fig. 4]).
Landolphia florida, Benth., is common in places similar to those where the last-mentioned vine occurs, but the latex is not used in any way to adulterate the good rubber, nor is inferior “paste” rubber made from it, as in other places in West Africa. Ficus Vogelii, known as “Kobbo” (Mandingo), has recently been used for extracting an inferior rubber, which has been shipped in small quantities. This tree is found growing in Bathurst as well as in many of the large towns, where it often attains a large size, and affords an excellent shade for native markets, etc. A view of a tree in Bathurst is shown ([Fig. 3]). Information regarding the composition and value of the rubber of Ficus Vogelii is given in the Bulletin of the Imperial Institute, vol. vii. (1909), p. 260.
Some of the South American species of rubber trees have been planted at different places, but for the most part the climatic conditions have proved unsuitable for their establishment. An exception to this is the Ceara rubber (Manihot Glaziovii), large trees of which were to be seen in Bathurst and at Bakau, but in the latter locality appear to have been cut down during recent years. It is generally acknowledged that Ceara rubber has not proved successful in plantations made in different parts of West Africa, for, although rubber of the finest quality can be easily prepared from the latex, the tree furnishes an extremely inconstant yield of latex. In the Gambia the tree reproduces readily, and, as far as can be judged, produces a latex capable of being coagulated into good rubber. As a shade tree it is recommended to be grown along public roads, and it might prove expedient in the country to make small experimental plantations, in the manner adopted in Togoland and elsewhere. By this system, tapping is continued for a few years, and whole blocks of trees are cut out as they cease to yield latex—the seedlings which have sprung up beneath these trees being permitted to take the place of the original trees. An illustration showing a Ceara rubber tree at Bakau is given ([Fig. 5]).
One specimen of Castilloa elastica, of which a photograph is given ([Fig. 6]), is growing in the Kotoo farm, about 12 miles from Bathurst. This tree has not, so far, proved successful in West Africa, and the example photographed is apparently in better condition than those grown in the Botanic Gardens of the Gold Coast and Southern Nigeria.
Funtumia elastica, the Lagos silk rubber tree, does not thrive in the Gambia, and the rainfall has been found to be insufficiently distributed for the cultivation of the Para rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis).
The observed facts point to the conclusion that further experimental trials of certain species of rubber trees in the Gambia should be made.
BEESWAX.—It will be observed that a large quantity of beeswax is annually exported, the quality of which is high. The native bee is a small form of Apis mellifera, var. Adansonii. It is found in a wild state forming nests in hollow trees or rock cavities. The Mandingoes collect the wild swarms and confine them in basket-hives, cylindrical in form and sometimes plastered over with mud. These are placed in high trees or in abandoned huts. The wax is sold in a crude form to the Bathurst merchants, who boil it down and strain it previous to shipment. The European market value of the cleaned wax is from £5 to £6 per cwt. A detailed description of methods for the refining of wild bees’ wax for export is published in the Bulletin of the Imperial Institute, vol. viii. (1910), pp. 23-31.
PALM KERNELS.—The West African oil palm, Elæis guineensis, is found commonly in some parts, but the heads produced are small and carry small fruits, containing little oil. This oil is used locally, and the kernels from the nuts alone are shipped. The palm is chiefly valued for the production of palm wine, which is tapped from the base of the fruiting stems into funnelled gourds, hung beneath the holes. The tree is apparently never felled for the purpose, and, by limiting the amount of wine extracted, it survives for a long period.
COTTON.—The Mandingoes and Jolahs cultivate cotton for making the yarn used in their native looms, in which they weave the strips of cloth called “pagns.” These strips are afterwards sewn together along their lateral edges and made into gowns.
The native cotton plant varies somewhat in appearance. In Kommbo, a long straggling form occurs, which is retained for two seasons to produce cotton, but in the Jolah country a small annual is most frequently seen. The former is grown as a mixed crop and the latter in separate patches.