422 WEST AFRICAN FORESTS AND FORESTRY 
THE CONGO FRANQAISE, OR THE FRENCH GABOON 
To English-speaking mahogany producers and users the latter name 
conveys more, and reminds them of one of the chief products, Gaboon 
Mahogany, Oukoumea Kiaineana, which had but a poor name in the 
London market. This rich French colony, however, should mean 
a great deal more to us with its huge extent, upwards of 300,000 
square miles, and its comparatively large open waterways all flowing 
into the giant Congo. Its comparatively thin population per unit of 
area, and its almost impenetrable forests make it one of the largest 
of the last remaining primeval forests of Africa. Already before 
the war it was the largest timber exporting country of the West Coast 
of Africa. However, its somewhat ill-regulated timber trade had one 
or two drawbacks and laboured under several disadvantages. Most 
of the timber was shipped in the round—i.e. round logs. This means, 
of course, that in stowing these logs in the ship space is lost between 
them, and that space is charged for by the shipping company, despite 
the fact that it is often filled with “‘ dunnage ” in the shape of Ebony 
billets or even Camwood. In the round log, too, there is all the 
sapwood, and for this the merchant does not expect to pay much, if 
anything, and there is no doubt that it tends to depress the value 
of the timber, whatever it may be. The mere fact that the log is 
in the round is sufficient. Quite apart from that factor, too, a round 
log, even when it is a beautiful bit of redwood, never looks so well 
nor so workmanlike as a hewn squared log with clean-cut sawn ends. 
The sapwood, being softer than the heartwood, is more easily damaged 
than the heartwood in the squared log, so this is an additional reason 
why the round log often does not look as well as a squared one. 
Amongst the most important timbers exported from the French 
Gaboon which are known and have been found suitable to the English 
market are the following : 
1. Okoume or Angouma. Gaboon Mahogany. Oukoumea 
Klaineana. 
2. Zaminguila or Ombega. Mahogany. Canarium ?. 
3. Duika. Mahogany. Irvingia Barteri ?. 
4. Kambala. Oak. Chlorophora exceisa. 
5. Mandji or Bilinga. Afzelia Africana, or sometimes said to be 
Sarcocephalus Pobegundii. 
The first named has always sold at a cheaper rate in the London 
market than the timber obtained from the other genii of West African 
Mahogany, such as Khaya, Entandrophragma, Pseudocedrela and 
Lovoa. First of all, as with other timbers, the Gaboon Mahogany 
is shipped in round logs, which are cut none too straight at the ends, 
owing to the rough usage they get in the long transport by water ; 
before and when reaching the port of shipment they are often much 
