Ivory Coast, The

The, a French colony in western Africa. It lies between Liberia and the British Gold Coast. Area about 130,000 square miles. There are 300 Europeans in the colony and some 2,000,000 natives. There are plantations of maize, pineapples, bananas, plantains, and coffee. The natives bring in forest products, including cocoanuts, rubber, and palm oil. Mahogany is exported. Gold to the amount of a few thousand dollars is obtained annually. The ports are visited by ships from France, Great Britain, Germany, and Belgium. The French share of the exports of plantations and forest productions amounts to $600,000 a year. There were in 1908 fifty-one miles of railway and several telegraph lines. Telephones have been introduced.