INDIGENOUS TIMBERS 123 



grows on shaley and calcareous soils. The timber is white with a fine 

 grain, but is not quite a first-class timber. 



Callitris robusta, or " white cypress pine," is a slow growing tree 

 producing durable, ant-resistant wood. It is suited for dry country 

 planting, especially in sandy soil, and stands fairly severe frost. This 

 tree is suitable for wind-breaks. The timber is prettily figured. 



Indigenous Timbers 



There are a few, more or less useful, indigenous timbers produced in 

 South Africa. The trees which furnish these timbers, however, cannot 

 be successfully grown in regions other than their natural habitat, hence 

 the most the forester can do is to improve the existing indigenous forests, 

 which stretch in a much broken belt along the coastal mountain slopes 

 from Cape Town to the North-east Transvaal. These indigenous forests 

 are commonly called " yellow- wood forests," since yellow-wood is the 

 only large timber tree present. 



The following indigenous timber trees are of commercial import- 

 ance : — 



1. Podocarjnis clongata, and Podocarpus thunbergii, or the "large" 



or " Outeniqua yellow-wood," and the " small " or " upright 

 yellow-wood," respectively. 



These two yellow- woods were extensively used by the 

 early colonists for building purposes. The Knysna forests 

 produce a large amount of this timber, which is used for 

 sleepers, being creosoted for that purpose. It is much 

 esteemed for flooring boards. Horses will not chew yellow- 

 wood, and for this reason it is sometimes employed for 

 mangers, and the upper rails of stall divisions in stables. 



2. Ocotea bullata, or " stink- wood," is the most valuable of all 



the indigenous timbers. It emits a strong odour when worked. 

 The stink-wood tree is rarely large. Stink-wood is used in 

 waggon-making, and for felloes, cart-poles, swingle-bars, 

 neck-bars, ox-yokes, and furniture. Stink-wood furniture is 

 costly, but very beautiful. 



3. Olea lauri/olid, or " black ironwood," may be classed as a 



medium-sized, and in some cases a large, tree. The wood, 

 as is indicated by the name, is extremely hard, but is not 



