156 
is a gratifying evidence of the appreciation of its usefulness in 
South Africa that that Government has now spontaneously also 
made a grant in aid of its publication. 
A Substitute for Lignum Vitae—In the Indian Forester for 
December, 1908, p. 717, a short account is given of a substitute for 
the Lignum Vitae (Guiacwm officinale, L.) of the West Indies. 
The new wood is called Mancono (Xanthostemon Verdugonianus, 
Naves) and is found in considerable abundance in north-eastern 
Mindanao, Philippine Islands, 
The wood is said to be so heavy and hard that it is difficult to 
cut and the splitting of a log is almost impossible. According to 
Mr. Dunlap of the Bureau of F orestry for the Philippine Islands 
it grows along steep slopes near beaches, whence it can be shipped 
by water transportation, and as it is only required for use in short 
lengths the work can all be done in the forests. The wood of the 
Mancono tree even in the Tropics is practically indestructible and 
is not attacked by white ants, Many of the Filipinos of the 
Southern Islands use the logs for posts and ground timbers. 
he heartwood of the tree is uniformly reddish-black, but after 
a number of years of Seasoning it turns a black walnut colour. 
Like all Philippine hardwoods it takes a fine polish. 
The wood is of such density that it sinks in water, so that the 
logs have to be rafted between native boats to keep them on the 
surface of the watér when being taken to the steamer. 
The wood has been used as a substitute for Lignum Vitae at the 
United States Naval Station, Cavite, P.I., and has been pronounced 
a success after a year’s trial. It has also been satisfactorily tested 
in the shipyard of the Bureau of N avigation, Manila. 
are very efficacious in the cure of snake bites in Siam. The plants 
roved to be Barleria Prionitis, Linn, and Justicia Gendarussa, 
in the case of the bite of a hamadryad though death was 
oa for a considerable time. 
lows :— 
“Nai No, a labourer, aged 26, lived in Bantawai . . - - 
with his adopted mother Amdeng Chan in Bantawai. 
