C PREFACE 



\v rapped paper) that will serve as a means of regulating the 

 foeal distance. A gap must be cut in the side of the tube to 

 admit the light to the object to be viewed. Other accessories 

 are : a small plane (iron stock preferred), .a razor or sharp 

 knife, a supply of glass-paper (No. 00), a piece of pumice-stone 

 with one surface ground flat, and a fine hone, which will serve 

 for whetting the cutting-tools and for smoothing the cross- 

 section of certain obdurate woods. The whole of the apparatus 

 will add but little to the impedimenta of a prospector. 



As the vernacular names used in the various colonies are of 

 great use in identification, we have compiled a list from all 

 sources. These names are not, however, confined to those 

 met with in Nigeria, but are all that we have found connected 

 with the various species in any colony, and also in French, 

 Italian, and German works. Much duplication arises from the 

 different methods of spelling adopted by authors, and many of 

 the names are obvious errors in transcription. Further, many 

 native names are of a general character and apply to several 

 species of the same genus or family (hereafter indicated by the 

 abbreviation " com."), or even to trees superficially resembling 

 each other, or used for the same purposes. In such cases we 

 specify the trees concerned, but in any event, so long as the 

 native names are checked by the descriptions of the woods, the 

 render will not be misled. We have not thought it necessary 

 to append the name of the tribe using any particular tree-name, 

 as the former is of no interest in this connection, and the addi- 

 tion would entail much repetition, space and type-setting. 



The Key to the species can only be followed by readers 

 having already some acquaintance with the macroscopic 

 structure of woods, but notes and diagrams are provided so 

 that with a little practice all the features necessary for the 

 use of the Key can be understood. We are indebted to Mr. 

 |{ A. Sykcs, B.A., Probationer to the Colonial F.S., fof his 

 assistance in checking the Key and for his suggestions for its 

 improvement. Mr. Sykcs' knowledge of the Nigerian woods 

 has been of great service. 



All the descriptive schedules are constructed on the same 

 plan, and each detail falls approximately in the same place, 

 and can thus be readily found for comparison. Identical 

 terms are used to describe similar structures, and anv variation 



