THE VIRTUES OP BARLEY SUGAR

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2741, 8 April 1916, Page 12

THE VIRTUES OP BARLEY SUGAR

- • * . - (Special to "The African World," by Sir Harry Johnston, G.0.M.G., K,C,8.) . (Published by 'Arrangement.) Without descending into the arena of strife at the present moment, and in this connection, and keeping as much as possible my anti-alcoholic opinions to myself, I should like to say how interested I havo been to hear of the efforts made by "The African World" to arrange with Messrs. Pascall to send out a very large quantity of their famous barley sugar to British fcTces fighting in East Africa. I understand that the original suggestion calne from that great "African," Mr. I\ C. Selous. Mr. Selous all unconsciously was a plagiarist, .for I claim to have preceded him as an advocate of barley sugar for the European in tropical Africa nearly thirty years I picked up the idea from, the Baptist missionaries in the Cameroons, when I first went to that region as Vice-Consul in 1885. The Rev. Air. Fuller and his widely known and greatly respected wife —the "Mammy" Fuller of many a sick and grateful African, and the nurser-back-to-health of many a * European trader, seaman, consul, or missionarywere great believers in wholesome sweet tilings, and their house at Duala had a store in which, amongst other things, was kept quantities of barley sugar. I used to frequent their house for three things, amongst others—the language studies of Mr. Fuller (some of which I am about to use in my "Comparative Stwlv of the Bantu Language"), the wonderful collection of orchids on their verandah, and Mrs. Fuller's cakes and candies—most of all, the barley sugar. I would sit on what the Americans oall their "piazza" with possibly a naval captain and two or three tradors off fluty, and suck or crunch barley sugar. Not wishing to deplete their provision, I soon sent to England for large supplies 011 my own account, and distributed it with a lavish hand. Peoplo who could have barley sugar did not want gin cocktails or any other unwholesome form of alcohol. I am convinced that if we really _ wished to attack the "African" craving for alcohol in an absolutely destructive fashion we should do so by means of sweet things which the ordinary inan does riot think of eating in a cool climate, and of all such barley sugar is the most wholesome. 1 It is interesting to note that Messrs. James Pascall, bt<L. have just executed an order for 40,000 tins of their famous barley sugar to tho New Zoa> land troons*