GOLD COAST REPORT ON FORESTS. 27 



fied for want of specimens of the flowers), the timber of which is 

 called the " flint wood " by the European miners, and is exces- 

 sively hard. It is used for mine props, and is said to be very 

 durable and immune to the attacks of termites (" white ants "). 

 This small tree only grows on high well-drained land and is 

 never, as far as I know, found in the moist hollows close to 

 streams. The s \vampy areas are inhabited by the same species 

 mentioned before as composing the fresh-water swamp forests 

 found in the neighbourhood of the saw-mills at Gaiyin Krorn. 

 The cosmopolitan silk cotton tree is of course found everywhere, 

 and forms a conspicuous feature of most West African landscapes. 



The Huni River, close to the ferry opposite the village, has 

 some fairly deep pools that are crowded with a beautiful white 

 flowered lily-like Amaryllid, Cnnuin natan*. There is also 

 a fine specimen of the Baku tree (Mimuxopx Jjjace) to be 

 seen on the left bank close to the place where the main road 

 crosses the stream. 



The next march was from Hunisu to Prestea. This again was 

 across very broken country intersected by two fairly high ranges 

 of hills that are clothed with rather dense evergreen tropical 

 forests. Forests of secondary growth and of comparatively 

 recent age are, however, the prevailing forms to be met with, 

 especially along the roadside in the vicinity of the present 

 villages or their old abandoned sites. The oil palm, which has up 

 to this point apparently been scarce, now makes its appearance 

 for the first time in somewhat large numbers, but it does not 

 seem to be anything like as fine a tree as it is in some parts of 

 Southern Nigeria. Cedars are far from rare on the higher ridges 

 and a few examples of the ordinary Diibini were also seen. The 

 descent from the water-parting between the Ankobra River and 

 its feeder, the Huni, to the banks of the former is rather abrupt, 

 and ends in very swampy ground, probably reduced to that con- 

 dition by the overfkrw from the river. Before the final descent 

 is made the water-parting assumes a somewhat terraced forma- 

 tion, the narrow plateau-like steps of which are usually very 

 moist and give rise to numerous .small feeders of the Huni and 

 Ankobra Rivers. Some huge examples of the Baku were seen 

 about here as well as fine specimens of the Odouin. After cross- 

 ing the Ankobra River, which at this, the lower, ford, is a fail- 

 sized -i ream with a sandy bottom and high, steep banks, a stiff 

 climb brought us to the crest of the range on one of the lower 

 western spurs of which the mines are situated. Near the top of 

 the ridge I noticed some more cedars, Pseudocedrela cylindrica, 

 a new species, and examples of the gum copal tree 

 (Cyanothyrsus oyea) ; a very large species of Piptadenia, 

 and an apparently new species of Brachystegia, of elegant pro- 

 portions. The forest about here appeared to me to be somewhat 

 drier than those we had lately come through, otherwise it is 

 very similar to the vegetation found near Huuisu, and only 

 differs in minor details such as the relative proportions in which 

 the different species are found growing together and in the 

 appearance of a few others not seen in the forests previously 

 examined. The Awama (Tticinodendron africanus), for instance, 



