CHAPTER XXI. 



BURMAH. 



THE Pyengadu, or Iron-wood tree, the Ingazylocarva of 

 the botanists, is a species of Acacia, of straight growth, 

 found in the Burmese forests, and also in the country 

 occupied by the Karens, towards Western China, where 

 it is often seen rising to 70 or 80 feet clear of branches, 

 and of very large circumference. It yields timber in the 

 log 12 to 24 and even 30 inches square, and of great 

 lengths. 



The wood is of a reddish-brown colour, hard, heavy, 

 tough, strong, rigid, and frequently possesses some figure 

 in the grain, which has the appearance of being both 

 waved and twisted ; its pores are rilled with a remark- 

 ably thick glutinous oily substance, which oozes out upon 

 the surface after the wood has been worked, leaving a 

 clamminess which cannot be completely got rid of until 

 the piece is thoroughly seasoned. This oily substance 

 has probably a preservative property about it, and may 

 be conducive to the durability of the timber. 



The Pyengadu was highly spoken of by the officers 

 at Moulmein, who supplied considerable quantities of it 

 to the Madras Government for the manufacture of gun- 

 carriages, and also for other purposes. Although it was 



K 



