THE TIMBERS OF COMMERCE 



Bark. Black, quite smooth and brittle like vulcanite : hard : 

 about ^V to T V inch thick. 



Grain. Rather fine. Surface dull. 



Uses, etc. " Well adapted for furniture, tools and screws, but 

 is used chiefly for wagon-work . . . timber 40-50 ft. long by 

 1-2 ft. in diameter . . . tough" (57). Rather difficult to work: 

 planes hard and badly. 



Authorities. Kew Guide (57), p. 32. Nordlinger (86), vol. iv. 

 p. 7. 



Colour. Heart-wood dirty brown, with occasional pieces of 

 Ebony, which are irregular in occurrence and shape, and are 

 sharply cut off from the rest of the wood. " Earthy- yellow " 

 (86). Sap-wood, 2^-3 in. wide, well defined from the heart-wood. 



Anatomical Characters. As those of Diospyros melanoxylon, 

 No. 134, but considerable variations, especially in the size of the 

 elements. 



Pores. On the limit of vision with a good lens, size 4, in 

 characteristic radial groups of as many as 10 : 40-60 per sq. mm. 



Rays. Size 5-6 : about 20 per mm. 



Rings. Not prominent, but clear : boundary a line of con- 

 trast in the density of the ground-tissue here and there : 

 scarcely visible. 



Soft-tissue. As in other Ebonies, but needs a high power of 

 magnification. 



Pith. " Very small, angularly-round, partly filled with red 

 contents " (86). 



Radial Section. Pores, not visible except when filled with 

 black pigment in the lighter-coloured wood. Rings scarcely 

 visible. 



Type specimen authenticated by the Forest Officer to the 

 Government of Natal. 



No. 136. OLIVE-WOOD. Olea europea. Linn. 



PLATE X. FIG. 86. 



Natural Order. Oleaceae. 



Synonym. O. verrucosa, Rafin. The 0. europea of Thunberg 

 is the O. verrucosa of Link. 



Sources of Supply. Southern Europe. Cultivated in many 

 other parts of the temperate zone. 



Alternative Names. Olijf (de geweekte) (51) at the Cape of 

 Good Hope. Oelbaum (131). 



Physical Characters, etc. Recorded dry-weight 57-69^ Ibs. per 

 cu. ft. Hardness Grade 2, compare Boxwood. Smell" faint or 

 none. Taste intensely bitter. Burns well, ignites readily, 

 embers glow in still air. Solution faint brown. 



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