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The paged version of this document contained the following header content in the margin: Productions of Africa.
England fetched a better price than the latter. He has seen the real cinnamon both at Bombay and Cambay, brought there as presents from Ceylon, and says, that the bark, leaves, and whole structure of the tree are alike in Africa and the East Indies. He has no doubt whatever but that [1] spices in general might be cultivated with great success in the African soil and climate.
In the fourth class it may be mentioned that there are gums of various kinds, but particularly the gum copal. Assafœtida also is to be found in Africa, and Mr. Wadstrom asserts, that the celebrated Dr. Spaarman, his fellow-traveller, among nearly three thousand plants, which he collected there for the Cabinet of Natural History of the Royal Academy at Stockholm, found a great part, if not the whole, of the Materia Medica, as well as drugs for various manufacturing uses.
In the fifth class may be included woods and roots. Among these are mentioned iron, wood, bar-wood, cam-wood, and ebony: also various woods, roots, and vegetables for dying: the root of a plant called Fooden, dyes scarlet, and the stalks of it a beautiful yellow. There are also orange and brown dyes produced from vegetable productions, which grow in such abundance, says Mr. Wadstrom, in the dominions of Darmel, that his whole army is dressed in cloth that is dyed from these. The same gentleman mentions also a kind of bean, in his possession, which is also used in dying, and carried on camels for this purpose, in quantities, to Morocco. There are also timber trees. Of the latter a species of the Ticktonia grandis is found in plenty all over the Gold Coast. This wood is considered as the best in the world for ship building, the worm neither touching, nor the iron corroding it. Sir George Young says, in addition to this, that he has found a great deal of fine timber fit for ship-building on other parts of the coast, and he once saw a vessel actually built of the woods of Sierra Leon.
- ↑ Captain Thompson only heard of the wild nutmegs being there, whereas the other articles have been both seen and collected.
Besides
