THE GOLD COAST, ASHANTI, AND THE NORTHERN TERRITORIES.
The Gold Coast, Ashanti, and the Northern Territories have a total area of about 80,000 square miles, and a population which is probably between 1,500,000 and 2,000,000. Except in the north, where it belongs to the Upper Guinea plateau, the country is generally flat or undulating. The mean annual temperature varies ; but, as a rule, it falls between 78° F. and 82° F., the range throughout the year being small. Owing to the configuration of the coast, the rainfall decreases rapidly from west to east ; and AXIM has over 80 inches, while Kwitta has less than 20 ; it also decreases inland, and in the northern part of the country the precipitation is about 40 inches. There, are, therefore, two well marked natural regions. The Gold Coast, except in the east, and the southern part of Ashanti are covered with forest, while the remainder of the area consists of savanna land.
THE FOREST.—The rapid advance of cacao to the premier place among the exports of the Gold Coast is partly due to the recent adoption of better methods of preparing the bean for market, though the native grower still leaves something to be desired in this respect. Rubber is obtained from Funtuntia elastica, which grows in a wild condition ; but the quality is inferior, and plantations are being established in those districts where the wild plant has been destroyed by reckless exploitation. The yield of
palm oil and palm kernels has decreased, largely as a result of the greater attention paid to the cultivation of cacao. Kola nuts, much in demand for chewing purposes among the natives of the Sudan, are obtained from trees found in the forests north of Kumasi.
Mahogany, which is floated down from the interior, is the most valuable timber of the region. Gold ranks next to cacao in the list of exports, and is obtained partly by dredging the rivers, and partly by mining.
The SAVANNA is freely cultivated, but its exports are incon siderable. Cotton is grown for home consumption, and it is unlikely that the area under it will be increased until the existing means of transport to the coast have been greatly improved. Small quantities of gum, shea butter, and rubber, and some cattle, are at present the chief exports of the region.
COMMUNICATIONS.—The country is handicapped by the want of a good port, and the inadequacy of its communications. The Volta is navigable for some distance, but its course is obstructed by falls ; and the only railway which penetrates far into the interior is that from Sekondi to Kumasi.