133 
“‘ Musaasa ”’ (probably B. Randii) is by far the most common 
of the bark trees and is found all over Southern Rhodesia at an 
altitude of from 3,000 to 6,000 feet. It grows to 30 or 40 feet 
in height, has a rough outer bark in the large trees but almost 
smooth in the young trees. The leaves are bright green when 
mature, but in the early Spring they are of a great variety of 
beautiful colours in red and pink. ey are arranged in pairs 
on the stalk like those of the preceding trees and are about 
23 X § inches in size. 
The trunks of the ‘‘ Musaasa’”’ vary in diameter from 8 to 
24 inches. The ‘“‘Muwuzhe”’ trunks are about the same size, 
but the “ Mufuti”’ are seldom more than 12 inches in diameter. 
The ‘‘ Muwuzhe ” and “ Mufuti” barks are used for making 
game nets, fishing lines, bags, and blankets. That of ‘‘ Musaasa”’ 
being much inferior is principally used for making blankets and 
sacks, itis not strong enough for nets and game traps. As far 
as is known this is not an article of commerce in the country, 
hence no market price can be given. 
Tan-bark.—The bark of one of the mooSaambas (B. tamar- 
indoides or B. utilis) is used in the Katanga for tanning hides. 
A sample was secured which has been examined at the 
Imperial Institute, through the courtesy of Professor Wyndham 
R. Dunstan, F.R.S. It was found to contain only 6-6% of 
tannin, too small a quantity to make it of commercial interest 
in Europe in competition with materials of better quality. 
It produced, however, a pale reddish brown, soft leather, of 
promising quality, and there seems to be no reason why the bark 
should not be used locally in Rhodesia for tanning purposes. 
Information was received that in the Katanga the bark of a 
mooSaamba had been found to contain up to 30 % of tannin ; 
probably this was a different species from the one from which 
the sample referred to above was obtained. 
The bark of “ B. spicaeformis”’ of Sim (not of Benth., ie iad 
B. Bragaei or B. Randii) of Portuguese E. Africa, is said t 
contain about 18 % of tannin; Sim suggests that as there is 
such a vast quantity of it available, the tannin might be extracted 
on the spot and exported, as is done in the case of the Wattle 
bark of Natal, with considerable profit. The seeds also which 
are produced in enormous quantities, and which weigh well, 
he thinks ‘‘ will be found to contain a lot of tannin.’ 
Speke and Grant noted that a ‘“ blood-red juice” exuded 
on cutting the bark of B. Randii, in Tanganyika Territory, and 
Dr. Rand notes that in Rhodesia, where the same species is very 
plentiful, it yields “large quantities of a gum deep red in colour 
and very rich in tannin, which should be of some commercial 
value.” <A gum is also obtained from B. eurycoma of 8. Nigeria ; 
a brown resin from B. leonensis of Sierra Leone, and a dyestuff 
(a resin?) from a species of the allied genus Berlinia (B. Baumii) 
of Angola. 
