The agricultural and forest products of British West Africa

"The Agricultural and Forest Products of British West Africa" by Gerald C. Dudgeon is an early 20th-century scientific work that offers a detailed look at the farming and forestry possibilities of British West Africa, focusing specifically on the money-making potential of crops like cotton, cocoa, rubber, and oil plants, along with the social and economic impacts of growing them. The book starts by explaining the area's geography and weather patterns, which is important for understanding its farming environment and then examines things like who owns the land, the natural environment, and the main crops grown, highlighting crops like groundnuts and palm oil for both local use and export to other countries. The opening part mentions past economic difficulties caused by the Great European War but suggests a hopeful outlook for future growth in these farming industries, setting a tone of careful optimism as examined in later sections.