CATALOGUE OF THE TIMBERS OF THE WORLD 159 



Mimusops Elengi, Linn. Weight, 54-87 lbs. (Gamble). India, the 

 Andaman Islands. 



This timber, which is only obtainable in very small quantities, is 

 exceedingly rare and has never yet been seen in commerce in the United 

 Kingdom. Gamble speaks of it as being " very hard, close, and even- 

 grained ; sap-wood reddish brown, heart-wood dark red . . . used for 

 house-building, carts, and cabinet work. 



" Pores small, in short lines, which are generally radial but often 

 irregular and oblique. Medullary rays very fine, very numerous, uniform 

 and equidistant. Many parallel, wavy, concentric bands, narrow but 

 conspicuous." 



Mimusops littoralis, Kurz. Weight, 66 lbs. The Andaman Islands. 



This is a handsome wood, sometimes known as bullet-wood, and greatly 

 resembling M. Elengi, but it is of a lighter red and has a more wavy grain. 

 It is smooth, and takes a good polish. Gamble says that it is apt to 

 split. " The timber is extracted in squares up to 50 feet long with a 

 siding of 2 feet. It is difficult to cut and saw or to drive nails into. . . . 



" Pores very small, elongated, subdivided, in radial or obUque lines. 

 Medullary rays very fine, very numerous, uniform, and equidistant." 



MiNGRis. Koompassia Beccariana, Taub. Weight, 52 lbs. 14 oz. 

 Borneo. 



This timber is hard, and is of a dull, brick-red colour. In Borneo it is 

 not considered durable, and it seems Uable to twist and warp. It very 

 much resembles the somewhat inferior varieties of Dipterocarpus. 



The numerous open pores are filled with gum. The very fine medullary 

 rays are parallel, but not quite equidistant. 



MiRABOW or MiRABOO. Ifitsia Bakeri, Prain ; Afzelia palembanica. 

 Baker, and possibly Intzia [Afzelia) irijiiga, Colebr. Weight, 

 60 lbs. 10 oz. Malay Peninsula, Borneo, India, the Philippines. 



Intsia Bakeri occurs in the Malay Peninsula, Borneo, and Sumatra ; 

 no such narrow limits mark the coastal species, /. irijuga, which is widely 

 distributed over the tropics of the old world from Madagascar and the 

 Seychelles to India, Malaya, and over the Pacific Ocean as far as the 

 Sandwich Isles. According to Foxworthy the woods of the two species 

 are named respectively " miraboo " and " ipil " or " miraboo laut," 

 but are so similar in appearance that he could detect no structural 

 difference between them. It is possible that the wood of commerce may 

 be derived from both species. It has been imported in sawn planks and 

 boards of various sizes. 



The timber is so hard and heavy that it is sometimes numbered among 



