Commenting on the fluctuation in the exported amounts of rubber, His Excellency the Governor (Sir Hugh Clifford), in his message to the Legislative Council in October 1918, explained the recrudescence during 1916 and 1917 as due to the development of rubber plantations under European control. It remains to be seen whether the Gold Coast will be able to successfully compete in this work with the Far East. Articles on Para rubber from the Gold Coast are to be found in the _Bulletin of the Imperial Institute_, vol. x. (1912), vol. xi. (1913), vol. xii. (1914), vol. xv. (1917) and vol. xvii. (1919). =PALM OIL AND KERNELS.=—Records are available showing that the export of palm oil from West Africa has continued for over one hundred years, but the quantity shipped from the Gold Coast during the last fifteen years shows a rapid decrease from the average of the twenty years previous. The tree which yields the oil of commerce is known as _Elæis guineensis_, Jacq., and is placed in the Tribe _COCOINEÆ_ of the Natural Order _PALMÆ_, together with the genus _Cocos_, to which the Coconut palm belongs. (Cf. _Bull. Imp. Inst._, 1909, p. 357; 1920, p. 209.) =Habits of the Oil Palm.=—The oil palm occurs most plentifully in the moist regions near the coast, although it will not thrive on land which is perpetually marshy. The palm becomes scarcer when the dense forests of Ashanti are reached, but it is not entirely absent until the ultra-forest tract commences. The tree often bears fruit when it has only attained the height of ten feet, which it is said to do about the seventh year, but the yield is supposed to increase annually until the tree is thirty or more years old, often continuing for a much longer time. It is not possible to give any positive assurance on this point, as observations have not been recorded for any length of time. Although the oil is principally obtained from wild trees, one extensive plantation in the Krobo Hills has been successfully carried on for many years by the chief of Odumassi. His trees are planted at regular intervals and care is given to their upkeep and cleanliness. Concessions have recently been granted to Europeans for planting as well as exploiting the wild palms, and experimental work in the mechanical extraction of pericarp and kernel oil have given some promise. Two British companies that have erected extraction plants in the Western Province have laid tram-lines designed to keep them constantly supplied with the palm fruit. Trees that have become old and practically barren are usually tapped for the extraction of “palm wine,” being frequently cut down for the purpose. In some parts of the country fruitful trees are tapped while standing, and, as this necessitates the base of the terminal shoot being cut into, the tree is generally killed in consequence.