THE TIMBERS OF COMMERCE 



Colour. Reddish-orange. "Reddish-brown to brownish- 

 violet " (131). Darkens upon exposure. 



Anatomical Characters. Transverse section : — 



Pores. Conspicuous from their arrangement, size 3 : few, 

 single or in small groups of 2 to 3 embedded and connected by 

 soft-tissue into short arcs suggesting at times a fragmentary 

 pore-ring. 



Rays. Just visible to good sight, size 5 to 6, uniform, weak, 

 not avoiding the pores : tapering both ends to fine points : about 

 a pore-width apart : lighter in colour than the wood : 6 to 9 per 

 mm. 



Rings. Doubtful, no certain limit, but the arrangement of 

 the pores at times suggests a boundary, but this usually much 

 interrupted. 



Soft-tissue the most conspicuous feature : in arcs connecting 

 the pores : sometimes branched. 



Pith. ? 



Radial Section. Pores rather coarse, chambered grooves : often 

 stopped by pellets of a whitish substance. Rays, inconspicuous 

 lines visible by contrast of lustre only. Soft-tissue, lighter- 

 coloured lines. 



Tangential Section as the Radial, but the rays appear as minute 

 lines about 1 mm. high, and the soft-tissue as fringed loops and 

 lines. 



Type specimen from commercial sources, not authenticated. 



No. 61. SAPPAN-WOOD. Csesalpinia Sappan (?) 



Linn. 

 Plate V. Fig. 38 {see below). 



Natural Order. Leguminoseae. 



Synonyms. C. angustifolia. Salisb. C. Sappoa. Linn. C. 

 Sapang. Nor. 



Alternative Names. For those in the Indian dialects see 

 Gamble, Bukkum-wood : Narrow-leaved Braziletto. Bois de 

 Sappon in the Isle de France (3). Roro in Tidore. Solau in 

 Ambon : Gabanholz (130). Ostindische Rothholz : Japanholz 

 (131). Tjang in Bali. Sitjang in the Sunda Archipelago (23). 



Sources of Supply. Tropical Asia. South India, Burmah. 

 Siam. The Philippines. 



Physical Characters, etc. Recorded dry-weight 60 to 61 lbs. 

 per cu. ft. Hardness Grade 1, excessively hard, compare Ebony. 

 Splits readily and cleanly. Smell or taste none. Burns well, 

 but the embers expire in still air, leaving the carbonized wood : 

 heat expels drops of gum. Solution with hot water, olive-brown, 



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