CHAPTER XXI. 
BURMAH. 
THE Pyengadu, or Iron-wood tree, the Jngazylocarva 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 filled 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 
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