422 WEST AFRICAN FORESTS AND FORESTRY 



THE CONGO FRANgAISE, OR THE FRENCH GABOON 



To English-speaking mahogany producers and users the latter name 

 conveys more, and reminds them of one of the chief products, Gaboon 

 Mahogany, Oukoumea Klaineana, which had but a poor name in the 

 London market. This rich French colony, however, should mean 

 a great deal more to us with its huge extent, upwards of 300,000 

 square miles, and its comparatively large open waterways all flowing 

 into the giant Congo. Its comparatively thin population per unit of 

 area, and its almost impenetrable forests make it one of the largest 

 of the last remaining primeval forests of Africa. Already before 

 the war it was the largest timber exporting country of the West Coast 

 of Africa. However, its somewhat ill-regulated timber trade had one 

 or two drawbacks and laboured under several disadvantages. Most 

 of the timber was shipped in the round — i.e. round logs. This means, 

 of course, that in stowing these logs in the ship space is lost between 

 them, and that space is charged for by the shipping company, despite 

 the fact that it is often filled with " dunnage " in the shape of Ebony 

 billets or even Camwood. In the round log, too, there is all the 

 sapwood, and for this the merchant does not expect to pay much, if 

 anything, and there is no doubt that it tends to depress the value 

 of the timber, whatever it may be. The mere fact that the log is 

 in the round is sufficient. Quite apart from that factor, too, a round 

 log, even when it is a beautiful bit of redwood, never looks so well 

 nor so workmanlike as a hewn squared log with clean-cut sawn ends. 

 The sapAvood, being softer than the heart wood, is more easily damaged 

 than the heartwood in the squared log, so this is an additional reason 

 why the round log often does not look as well as a squared one. 



Amongst the most important timbers exported from the French 

 Gaboon which are known and have been found suitable to the English 

 market are the following : 



1. Okoume or Angouma. Gaboon Mahogany. Oukoumea 

 Klaineana. 



2. Zaminguila or Ombega. Mahogany. Canarium ?. 



3. Duika. Mahogany. Irvingia Barteri ?. 



4. Kambala. Oak. Chlorophora excelsa. 



5. Mandji or Bilinga. Afzelia Africana, or sometimes said to be 

 Sarcocephalus Pobegundii. 



The first named has always sold at a cheaper rate in the London 

 market than the timber obtained from the other genii of West African 

 Mahogany, such as Khaya, Entandrophragma, Pseudocedrela and 

 Lovoa. First of all, as with other timbers, the Gaboon Mahogany 

 is shipped in round logs, which are cut none too straight at the ends, 

 owing to the rough usage they get in the long transport bj^ water ; 

 before and when reaching the port of shipment they are often much 



