NIGERIA SOUTHERN PROVINCES 

 and sold under the name of mahogany are obtained in 

 the Central Province, and are cut from trees belonging to 

 the genera Khaya, Pseudocedrela, and Entandrophragma , 

 of the Natural Order MELIACE&. Mr. Thompson, Con- 

 servator of Forests, remarks that a fair number of logs cut 

 from a species of Guarea, of the same Natural Order, have 

 been shipped, and have obtained good prices in Europe. 



A red wood, called locally " Iroko " (Chlorophora ex- 

 celsa), which is in good demand in the country for making 

 furniture, etc., has been shipped to Europe, but at present 

 there is little demand for it. A photograph of another 

 timber tree (Terminalia superba) is given (Fig. 24). 



Mahogany cannot be relied upon as a product capable 

 of permanent exportation, as trees are only useful for 

 felling in the vicinity of creeks and rivers, whence the 

 logs may be inexpensively transported to the sea. The 

 rate at which the available trees are becoming worked 

 out is much greater than that at which they can be re- 

 placed by nature. 



The export values for some recent years are as under : 



1910 60,191 I 1915 54,559 



1911 . . 55,575 



1912 . . 78,007 



1913 . . 105,440 



1914 . 86,522 



1916 . . 49,361 



1917 . . 21,282 



1918 . . 68,480 



1919 . . 116,820 



The ebony exported from the country is chiefly ob- 

 tained in the Cross River District of the Eastern Province, 

 but during recent years the trade in it has diminished, 

 and it is said that immature trees are frequently felled. 

 The sources of ebony are two species of trees belonging 

 to the genus Diospyros. The value of ebony exported 

 during the two years 1909 and 1910 is stated to have 

 been 1,298 and 166 respectively. 



Several other trees have recently been examined for 

 export value, most of them coming into the mahogany 

 or red- wood class. (See articles on " Timbers from 

 Southern Nigeria," Bull. Imp. Inst., vol. vi. [1908], p. 

 144, vol. xviii. [1920], p. 199, and note on next page.) 



CATTLE. The greater part of the moist zone is almost 

 devoid of cattle, partly owing to the prevalence of 

 " tsetse " fly, although mainly, perhaps, to the less 

 advanced condition of the inhabitants. As soon as the 



