In connection with the production of fibres, cinchona bark, cinnamon, tobacco, and many other materials, there are promising possibilities in various parts of West Africa, including those new territories for which, as a result of the war, Great Britain is now responsible. Above all, there is the dominant problem of the growth of foodstuffs sufficient to maintain the native populations of these countries. Mr. Dudgeon, within the limits imposed in the production of a revised but not greatly enlarged edition, has successfully brought this Handbook up-to-date, and it is hoped that it will continue to serve as a standard guide to all those who require general information respecting the agricultural and forest products of West Africa. WYNDHAM R. DUNSTAN. IMPERIAL INSTITUTE, _March_ 1921. =PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION= The present series of Handbooks is intended to present a general account of the principal commercial resources of the tropics, and has been written with special reference to the resources of British West Africa. These Handbooks will furnish a description of the occurrence, cultivation and uses of those tropical materials, such as cotton and other fibres, cocoa, rubber, oil-seeds, tobacco, etc., which are of importance to the producer in the tropics, as well as to the manufacturer and consumer in Europe. Without attempting to include all the detailed information of a systematic treatise on each of the subjects included, it is believed that these Volumes will contain much information which will be of value to the tropical agriculturist as well as to the merchant and manufacturer. They will also be of importance to Government Officials in tropical Colonies where the advancement of the Country and the welfare of its inhabitants depend so largely on the development of natural resources. In recent years those candidates who are selected for administrative appointments under the Colonial Office in British West Africa are required to pass through a short course of instruction in tropical cultivation and products, which is now arranged at the Imperial Institute. For these prospective officials the present series of Handbooks will be helpful in the study of a large and generally unfamiliar subject. Similarly it is believed that the series will provide a valuable aid to the teaching of commercial geography. It is hoped also that the Handbooks will not be without interest for the student of Imperial and national problems.