West African Forests and Forestry

West African Forests and Forestry opens as a practical, richly illustrated guide to the timberlands of British West Africa, with Nigeria at its center and neighboring territories in close view. A. Harold Unwin frames the book as a field manual for timber getters, users, and forestry workers, offering clear guidance on identifying useful trees and understanding forest administration without demanding technical botanical training. From the start, the work treats forests as both economic resources and living landscapes shaped by rainfall, coastlines, soil, and elevation. Its chapters move from broad ecological classification—mangrove swamps, evergreen belts, fringing and hill forests—to regional surveys of the Gambia, Sierra Leone, Liberia, the Ivory Coast, the Gold Coast, Togo, Nigeria, and the Cameroons. Along the way, it examines timber species, oil beans, seeds, nuts, the oil palm industry, agriculture, exports, and forest reserves. The detailed illustrations reinforce the book's documentary purpose, presenting a vivid catalog of plantations, reserves, and valuable trees such as mahogany, iroko, teak, and oil palm, alongside practical notes on uses, growth, conservation, and commercial potential. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.