THE TIMBERS OF COMMERCE 



easily : planes extremely readily and well though the wood is 

 tough and firm. 



Authorities. Wiesner (131). L. p. 119. Kew Guide (57), p. 56. 

 Charpentier (21), p. 137. Laslett (61), p. 44 1 - Nordlinger 

 (86), vol. 7. p. 19. Cape Land Almanack (19). 



Colour. Quite uniform, delicate reddish-brown : heart-wood 

 not very well defined from the lighter sap-wood, which is about 

 \ inch wide. 



Anatomical Characters. Transverse section : — 



Pores. Just visible with lens, size 4, uniform : scattered, 

 mostly single, a few subdivided pairs and threes between the rays, 

 but sometimes loose rows of as many as 9 : few 30-60 per sq. mm. 



Rays. Need lens, size 4-5 ; uniform though apparently of 

 two sizes : stout in the middle, but tapering to fine points both 

 ends: "middles" 3-5 per mm., or "middles and ends" to- 

 gether 10-15 mm - 



Rings. Vague : boundaries not visible in the solid but in- 

 dicated by a difference in the density of one zone and the next 

 as they resist the knife unequally. 



Soft-tissue. Needs the microscope. 



Pith.? 



Radial Section. Pores, extremely fine, lustrous scratches: 

 need lens but to good sight they appear as fine frost-like points. 

 Rays just visible in certain lights. 



Tangential Section as the Radial, but the rays appear as 

 minute red lines about 02 mm. high : just visible with the lens. 



Type specimen authenticated by the Forest Officer to the 

 Government of Natal. 



No. 6. AFRICAN OAK. Lophira alata. Banks. 



Plate I. Fig. 6. 



Natural Order. Dipterocarpese. 



S nonyms. L. simplex. G. Don. L. africana. Loudon. 



Alternative Names. Scrubby Oak (Henfrey) : Laintlaintain : 

 Meui : Millai in Sierra Leona (107). 



Sources of Supply. Gold Coast : Lagos. 



Physical Characters, etc. Recorded dry-weight 67-72 lbs. per 

 cu. ft. Hardness Grade 1, compare Ebony. Burns very well 

 with a noisy, explosive flame, embers glow in still air and consume 

 very slowly to the ash, no particular aroma. Solution colourless : 

 the watery solution becomes deep red with potash : the alcoholic 

 brown, with a ppt. 



Grain. Coarse and open. Surface lustrous. 



Bark. Bright brown, about J inch thick : of one layer : filled 



6 



