156 THE TIMBERS OF THE WORLD 



building and bridges as well as for smaller work such as tool handles. 

 It would be a handsome panelling wood. 



Melta composita, Willd. Weight, 26-33 lbs. (Gamble). India, Ceylon. 



This soft, reddish - white wood, which is identical with M. duhia, 

 Hiern., shows a smooth glossy surface from the tool. Gamble says that 

 " the structure resembles that of toon [Cedrela Toona), but aU the pores 

 are of the same size, and the wood is softer. ... In Ceylon the outriggers 

 of native boats are made of this wood, which is highly esteemed also for 

 various other purposes." 



The same authority includes this timber in his list of woods which 

 are available in fairly large quantities and are likely to be worth trial. 



In the spring zone there is a narrow band of large and open pores, 

 the later growth showing small pores in a manner resembling EngUsh 

 ash. The medullary rays are very fine. 



Melia indica, Brandis. Weight, 50-52 lbs. (Gamble). India, Burma, 

 Ceylon. 



" A very important Indian tree. . . . The wood is durable ; it 

 is used for the construction of carts, in shipbuilding and for making 

 agricultural implements, and in South India for furniture. . . . The use 

 of it in furniture is believed to keep of! moths and other insects. 



" Annual rings doubtful ; the wood shows alternating bands with 

 numerous and with fewer pores ; also pale concentric lines, but whether 

 these are annual rings is doubtful. Pores scanty, moderate-sized, and 

 large, often oval and subdivided ; visible on a vertical section. 

 Medullary rays fine, numerous, white, prominent, bent outwards where 

 they touch the pores ; the distance between the rays less than the 

 transverse diameter of the pores," (Gamble.) 



Meranti. Hopea sp. Borneo, the Malay States. 



This timber has occasionally been imported in sawn planks and sold 

 under the name either of meranti or mahogany. It is of a light reddish 

 colour and has been used for those purposes for which common mahogany 

 is generally employed. Foxworthy states that the wood is identical with 

 the lauan of the Philippines {q.v.) 



Messaranduba. Leucuma procera, Mart. ; Mimusops elata, Fr. AUcm. 

 Weight, 71 lbs. 9 oz. Brazil. 



It is not clear whether this wood is produced by either or both of 

 the varieties above named. The same Brazihan name is commonly 

 given to both, according to Brazilian Woods, which also mentions that 

 in the State of Bahia it is named " apraiu." 



