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The bark of B. mpalensis of the Katanga Plateau and N.W. 
Rhodesia is a native remedy for coughs (Rogers). 
Fibre-—On the south Tropical African plateau the bark of 
certain species is the principal source of fibre for the manufacture 
of rope, cord, string, thread, game-nets, snares, fishing-lines, sacks, 
grain bags, etc. The twine is quickly prepared by. rubbing 
between the palms of the hands. The following species have 
been reported as yielding bark used for cord, etc.; doubtless 
other species of the genus are also so used :—B. stipulata, B. 
filiformis, B. Boehmii, B. utilis, B. tamarindoides, B. edulis, 
B. Randii, B. Bragaei, and the allied Berlinia globiflora. 
Bark-cloth—Before the widespread introduction of cotton 
goods, the principal clothing worn by the natives of the Brachys- 
tegia Forest region was made of fibrous sheets. beaten out of the 
bark of several species of Brachystegia, and Berlinia, and also of a 
species of Ficus (Ff. natalensis).(4) Roscoe(*)() states that King 
Semakokiro of Budu, in the western part of Uganda, who lived 
about 150 years ago, is said to have compelled all his people 
to cultivate the bark-cloth tree (Ficus natalensis ‘), and that 
bark- “cloth became the national dress of the Baganda in the reign 
emakulu, about 100 years ago. Semakulu made laws 
that each peasant should plant a number of the trees on his land, 
and also that every man and woman should be clothed, for till 
then the natives were practically naked. This was not done from 
a sense of decency, but because bark-cloth yielded revenue 
o the King. But the use of bark-cloth is now fast disappearing, 
Bedeore states, owing to the introduction of unbleached calico, 
“which is of a stronger texture, more durable, and more easily 
cleaned.” ‘‘Itis a pity,” he adds, “ that the bark-cloth industry, 
which was so extensive and so useful, should be allowed to die; 
if only some other use could be made of the bark-cloth, it would 
be an advantage to the natives, who would reap some benefit 
from the trees on their estates.’’ Sim (1) notes that in the northern 
districts of Portuguese E. Africa, the natives make all their 
cloth from the bark of B. (Bragaei?) and other species of the 
genus Brachystegia. 
Preparation of Bark-cloth —In Angola, according to Welwitsch, 
the bark was boiled and “prepared” for manufacture into 
white sheets. Roscoe describes the making of bark-cloth as 
practised in Uganda when he was there, as follows :—The tree- 
trunk was stripped to a height of eight or ten feet according to the 
height at which the branches forked; where the trunk was 
stripped it was smeared with cow-dung and wrapped round with 
plaintain leaves ; a new bark soon formed which after ten or twelve 
months was ready to be used for bark-cloth. The third and 
fourth barks thus obtained were the finest in quality, though the 
tree might yield up to eight or more barks. 
The bark used is the inner, or second, bark of the tree; both 
arks are removed from the tree together, and the outer, which 
is thin, is then scraped off. The inner bark is left during the 
