SIERRA LEONE 27 



the shape, size and colour of an oak-apple. The capsule has five faint 

 ribs on its surface, but contains only three seeds. The little seedling, 

 with light grey stem and white lenticels, is easily recognized. It 

 usually has also only three leaflets on its leaves, instead of forming 

 true digitate leaves as a full-grown tree. The sapling once started 

 shows fairly rapid growth, and during the early years stands a 

 good deal of shade. It should therefore be classified as a slight 

 shade-bearer. African Oak is a dark reddish-brown wood, which is 

 very hard and most durable. It has, of course, a much closer grain 

 than ordinary oak. A very smooth surface can be obtained by planing 

 the timber. Locally, small trees are cut for conversion by pit-saw 

 into timber for boat keels. This timber was exported as teak from 

 Sierra Leone 1827 to 1835 for use in the English Navy. It was after- 

 wards lost sight of, though the natives continued to use it locally. 

 During 1908 a few round logs of short length (12-16 feet) of this timber 

 were exported to England and sold in a Liverpool market for 2s. 6d. 

 per cubic foot (extreme measure). 



2. Ironpost, or African Oak, or Red Ironwood {Lophira procera), 

 is the most common tree throughout the peninsula. According to 

 the Conservator of Forests in Sierra Leone, 80 per cent, of the trees 

 of the peninsular forest are Lophira procera. All stages of growth 

 are found, from the smallest seedlings to the largest tree, over 

 100 feet high and 20 feet in girth. In the forest the tree has an 

 orange-coloured bark, which rapidly turns grey when exposed to the 

 rays of the sun. The bole is not always quite cylindrical, especially 

 near the base, where it often develops rather angular root protu- 

 berances. This seems to occur more often on rocky ground, such 

 as that where the tree is found in the peninsula. For a similar 

 reason the bole is not always straight, though in the ordinary way 

 the tree has a comparatively small crown with short branches. Thus, 

 in proportion to the size of the tree, the bole is very long, the twigs 

 are thickish, and the long thin paper-knifelike leaves appear at the 

 ends of them. Seedlings seem to come up wherever suitable con- 

 ditions of reproduction are found. A clear bole is typical of 

 these trees in the pole stage of growth. Illustration No. 2 shows a 

 large specimen on the edge of the forest, and there are 

 many large trees with the peculiar root protuberances, growing in 

 the forest. The timber is very hard and of a dark red colour, which 

 it retains when dry. The heartwood forms comparatively early in 

 the life of the tree, and although the sapwood is white, it is almost 

 as hard as the heartwood. For this reason comparatively small 

 trees yield timber, and thus can be felled earlier than trees in 

 which the heartwood forms later. Of course, in this connection it 

 should not be forgotten that the market does not desire logs of too 

 small a size, i.e. of 18 inches or under, when squared. Locally this 



