83 



No. 233. Red Wood, or sometimes called Red CASE 

 Sandal Wood {Adenanthera %)avonina^ L.). A 43. 

 deciduous tree of India, Malay Islands, China and the 

 Philippines. The heart-wood is red, hard, and close- 

 grained, and is used in South India for hou^e-building, 

 cabinet purposes, and as a red dye. The seeds are worn 

 as necklaces by the women and children, and are used as 

 weights by goldsmiths and jewellers, weighing on an 

 average four grains each. They also yield an oil. 



Note roots of Elephantorrhiza Burchellii, Bth., known 

 as Elands Bontjes, occasionally imported into this 

 country from Natal for tanning purposes ; note also the 

 curious pods of Tetrapleura Thonningii, Bth., from West 

 Africa, remarkable for the strong ridge down the back of 

 each valve. They contain saponine and are sold in the 

 markets of Sierra Leone for washing purposes and are 

 also occasionally imported into this country as a soap 

 substitute. 



On a lower shelf observe wood of the Mesquit Tree 

 (Prosopis jaliflora^ DC.) from Jamaica, where it is known 

 as Cash AW. The wood is hard and durable, and a gum 

 resembling Gum Arabic exudes from the trunk. The 

 leaves, shoots and pods are used to feed cattle. In dry 

 weather the pods are said to be as nutritious as corn ; but 

 after rains horses often die from the distention due to the 

 germination of the seed in the stomach. It is a nativ'e of 

 the West Indies and Central America. P. pubescens, Bth., 

 sometimes called the Screw Mesquit of which the 

 twisted pods are also used as fodder, is found in Texas, 

 New Mexico and California. 



No. 234. Candlestick, work-bags, and other orna- CASE 

 mental articles formed of the shining brown seeds of 44. 

 Leucaena glauca, Bth., a low erect tree, probably native 

 of Tropical America, but now widely spread throughout 

 Tropical Asia and Africa. 



No. 235. Iron WOOD of Pegu and Arracan (Xylia 

 dolahriformis, Bth.). A large deciduous forest tree. 

 The timber is durable, heavy, but difficult to work ; 

 it is however largely used for railway sleepers in Burma 

 and India, and is also recommended for paving blocks, &c. 



