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timber is split up into the little pieces, which they sell at so much 

 the basket load, M. to 6d. The tree is common and is found all 

 ' over the Central Province j it grows chiefly on the lower-lying 

 land and attains a girth of 9 ft. as a maximum. 



There are two other hardwood trees, found in the moist ever- 

 green forests of the eastern portion of the Western Province and 

 the southern portions of the Central Province, that deserve 

 mention. They belong to the genus Piptadenia and attain large 

 dimensions. The timbers of both are excessively hard and almost 

 indestructible, as they resist attacks from insects. The larger 

 species " Okan " of the Benis is known locally as the African 

 "Greenheart" and is used for house construction. The wood, 

 however, is exceedingly hard and difficult to work, and is con- 

 sequently not so frequently employed as some of the softer and 

 less durable kinds. The other species appears to be Piptadenia 

 africana, Hook. It is known to the Benis as the " Ikhimi." 

 The wood is much lighter in colour than that of the " Okan," but 

 is just as durable. 



Of softwood trees there appears to be only one species that is 

 likely to furnish timber suitable for the home market or to replace 

 locally the large quantities of pitch pine imported from Europe. 

 The timber is fairly close grained, light coloured, easy to work 

 and very durable. It has been extensively used by the Public 

 Works Department for building purposes along the Niger. The 

 tree is either a species of Sterculia or Cola and has not yet been 

 identified botanically. It reaches large dimensions, is fairly 

 common, and has a tendency to grow gregariously ; the natural 

 regeneration is also good, and if the timber ever comes into general 

 demand there will not only be a large supply immediately available, 

 but it will be a comparatively easy matter to get the age gradations 

 into a more or less normal state for future demands. 



An unnamed species of Terminalia, common in the mixed forests 

 of the Central and Western Provinces, is also likely to furnish 

 timber suitable for the home markets. It is a tree of lofty growth 

 and exceptionally good "form figure," the girth being well 

 maintained up to a great height. The Yoruba name of the tree 

 is " Epepe." 



Ebonies. — The Ebony exported from Southern Nigeria is fur- 

 nished by two species of Diospyros* viz., Diospyros mespiliformiSj 

 Hochst., of the mixed forests, and Diospyros Dendo y Welw., of the 

 evergreen forests. The former is still fairly plentiful, but the 

 majority of the large trees belonging to the latter species have 

 been practically exhausted in the drainage areas of the Calabar 

 and Cross rivers, from which the bulk of the Southern Nigerian 

 Ebony used t<? be exported. The natives have now taken to felling 

 immature trees of this species, and the supply of large billets 

 suitable for the home markets will rapidly diminish in the near 

 future. 



The following additional notes have been taken from Mr. A. H. 

 Unwin's list of the timbers of the Central Province, and refer to 

 timber not mentioned by Mr. Thompson. 



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