Hods and Rod Material. 141 



PYENGADU. 



This wood is a native of Burmah. It is also called 

 the Ironwood-tree, and is the Ingazylocarva of the bot- 

 anists. It is a species of acacia, of straight growth. It 

 grows to a height of seventy or eighty feet without a 

 branch, and of corresponding diameter, and yields logs 

 even up to thirty inches square and of great length. The 

 wood is of a reddish-brown color, hard, heavy, tough, 

 strong, rigid, and frequently possesses some figure in the 

 grain, which has the appearance of being both waved 

 and twisted ; its pores are filled with a remarkably thick, 

 glutinous, oily substance " which oozes out upon the sur- 

 face after the wood has been worked, leaving a clammi- 

 ness which cannot be completely got rid of until the 

 piece is thoroughly seasoned. This oily substance has 

 probably a preservative property about it, and may be 

 conducive to the durability of the timber." 



Mr. Laslett quotes from Lieut.-col. II. W. Blake in ef- 

 fect, that it is one of the largest trees in Burmah, and 

 combines in itself the properties of wood and iron. It 

 is heavier than water and more indestructible than iron. 

 Time and exposure seem to harden it, since a rifle-ball, 

 fired at a distance of twenty yards, rebounded and failed 

 to penetrate an ancient post of this material. 



He quotes from Dr. Hooker in effect, that it is found, 

 but not universally, in India. Throughout the Malay 

 peninsula it is called "Peengado." It is abundant in 

 the Bombay Presidency, where it is called " Jambea " and 

 " Yerool ;" in the Godavery forests it bears the name of 

 " Boja ;" it is common in Singapore, and is plentiful in 

 the Philippine Islands. Everywhere the wood bears a 

 high character for hardness and durability. 



