Dutch and English

Common and Botanical Names.

Native Names.

Weight of a cubic foot

Cost of working

Fir being = 1.

Remarks.

lbs.

Assegai wood, or Cape Lancewood (Curtisia faginea)

Oomhlebe .

56

1.5

' Colour, light red; grain like lancewood, very tough and elastic, used for wheel spokes, shafts, waggon rails, shafts of assegais, for turners' work, etc.

Cedar Boom ( Widdringtonia Junipernoides)

....

41

1.25

A kind of cypress, grows principally on the Cedar Mountains division of Clanwilliam, N. and W. of Cape Colony; used for floors, roofs, and other building purposes; grain not unlike Havannah cedar, but of a lighter colour; will not stand exposure to the weather.

Castanie, or Wild

Chestnut (Calodendron capense)

.......

...

...

Timber very inferior, and warps much in seasoning.

* By Henry Hall, Esq., F.R.G.S., Surveyor in the Royal Engineer Department, and who for many years was professionally employed in South Africa.

Table - continued.

Common and Botanical Names.

Native Names.

Weight of a cubic foot.

Cost of working

Kir being = 1.

Remarks.

lbs.

Doom Boom, or

Karaeel Doom

(Acacia giraffe,

A. horrida)

Mokohala Motootla

40

1.25

Several varieties of this species afford small timber available for fencing, spars, etc, and is also much used for fuel, charcoal, etc. Bark em-ployed in tanning, otherwise of little value: there are several varieties according gum

Cape Ebony (Euclea pseudobaenus, or E. lanceolata)

Itoomgatizi

Oomgwali

Guarri

60

...

Not of any commercial value.

White Els, or

Alder (Weinmannia, or Platylophus trifoliatus

....

38

1.25

Used for paling, posts, and ordi-nary carpenters' work.

Red Els (Cunonia capensis)

.. ..

47

1.60

Grain the colour of red birch; is used for waggon building and farm purposes.

Rock Els (Plec-tonia mundtiana),

...

....

A harder and smaller variety of the last.

Essen Hout, or Capo Ash (Eke-bergia capensis)

Oomnyarnuti

48

1.40

Used for common floors, palings, etc.; is a tough and valuable timber, somewhat resembling elm: can be procured up to 18 inches square.

Flat Crownwood

..

....

1.30

Grows in Natal to 2 feet diameter. The wood is similar to elm, but of a bright yellow colour, with a fine and even grain; used for the naves o wheels.

Iron wood, black

(Olea laurifolia, or Milletia Caffra)

Tambooti, or Hooshe

64

2.00

Very heavy; the grain fine, like pear-tree; used for waggon axles, cogs for machine wheels, spokes, telegraph poles, railway sleepers, piles, etc.: is very durable, and can be obtained in logs up to is inches square.

Ditto, white (Vepris lanceolata)

Oomzimbiti

....

...

Used for the same purposes as the black variety.

Kafir Boom ( Erythrina Caffra)

Oomsinsi, or

Limsootsi

38

...

Wood, soft and light; the grain open and porous; splits easily; and is used principally for roof shingles, owing to its not being liable to take fire.

Melk Hout, or Milk wood (Sideroxylon inermc) (Mimusops Obovata)

Oomtombi..

52

1.75

Colour, white: used in the con-struction of wazgons (wheclwork). There is also a darker variety.

Table - continued

Common and Botanical Names.

Native Names.

Weight of a cubic foot.

Cost of working

Fir being =

Remarks.

lbs.

Red Mangrove (Rhizophora Natalensis)

...

...

...

Used in Natal for posts and for fencing generally

Oliven Hout, or

Wild Olive (Olea verrucosa)

Konka ..

60

2.00

This wood is of small size, and generally decayed at the heart: used lor fancy turnery, furniture, etc.

Pear Hout

(Olinia capensis)

Kwa ..

46

...

Resembles European pear-tree; but is closer in the grain.

Saffraan Hout (Ilex crocea)

...

54

..

A kind of evergreen oak; used for farm purposes. The wood is strong and tough; the bark is used for tanning.

Nies Hout, or

Sneezewcod

(Pteroxylon utile)

Oomtata ..

68

3.00

A most durable and useful timber, resembling satinwood; very full of a gum or resin resembling guaia-cum; burns like candlewood; invaluable for railway sleepers, piles, etc, as it is almost imperishable, and is very useful for door and sash sills or similar work. It is difficult to be procured of large scantling.

Stinkwood

(Laurus bullata, or

L. Oreodaphne)

...

53

1.6

Resembles dark walnut in grain; is used for furniture, gun-stocks, &c; while working, it has a peculiar odour; stands well when seasoned; usually to be obtained in planks from 10 to 16 inches wide and 4 inches thick; there are one or two varieties, which are inferior.

Geel Hout, or

Yellow wood

( Taxus elongatus, or Podocarpus

Thunbergii)

Oomkoba ..

40

1.35

This, which is of the Yew-tree genus, is one of the largest trees that grows in the Cape, and is often found upwards of 6 feet in diameter. The wood is extensively used for common building purposes; it warps much in seasoning, and will not stand exposure to the weather; the colour is a light yellow, which, with the grain, resembles lancewood; it shrinks in length about 1/60th part. There is another variety called Bastard Yellow-wood," that grows along the banks of rivers, which is inferior to the other.

Wilge Boom, or Willow (Salix gariepina,)

....

38

...

This wood, which grows along the batiks of rivers, is of little value, as it is soon destroyed by worms; but is used where other timber is scarce. It, however, makes good charcoal

603. Besides the timber trees given in the foregoing Table, there are several varieties of smaller size, such as the Tam-booti, Sandal, Ebony, Bastard Ebony, and Lignum Vita;, found in the forests of Kaffraria, Natal, and the Zambesi region. They are generally very heavy and of close grain; used by the natives for manufacturing clubs, weapons of war. domestic utensils, etc, but at present of little value for building purposes.*