238 



(Hameg, Muriel [I.e.]) ; [Ghelanibann (Ouloff) ; Koffe (Toucouleur) ; 

 Koffo (Malinke, Bambarra, Kassonke) ; Irifin Ouassalou), Chevalier']. 



African Blackwood. Sometimes known as West African Black- 

 wood, China Blackwood, Cape Damson, Ebony Tree, Ebony Wood, 

 Ebony, Mozambique Ebony, Unyoro Ebony, Senaar Ebony, Ebene 

 du Senegal, African Grendilla-wood, Sierra Leone Ebony, Senegal 

 Ebony, Congo-holz. 



Yola ; Katagum : and throughout Tropical Africa from Senegal to 

 Angola on the west, extending through the Soudan, Uganda and the 

 Zambesi region to Mozambique on the east. Cultivated in India. 



A very valuable wood, recommended as a substitute for Ebony 

 proper (Diospyros spp.), suitable for furniture work, musical instru- 

 ments, turnery &c. 



Used for the tips of the Natives' arrows and the wooden hammers 

 used in the manufacture of bark cloths in Madi (Grant, Trans. Linn. 

 Soc. xxix. 1872, p. 62) ; for rafters (Moloney, For. W. Afr. p. 323), 

 for roofing most of the principal houses in Omdurman (Kew Bull. 

 1899, p. 198), for tent mallets and walking sticks (Hutchins, Report, 

 Forests B. E. Afr. 1909, p. 5). 



It is very hard and heavy — weighs 78^ lbs. per cubic foot (Bull. 

 Imp. Inst, 1908, p. 239) ; 74-| lbs. per cubic foot (Stone, Timb. 

 Comm. p. 61). A specimen in the Museum at Kew has a specific 

 gravity of 1*177 = 73*5 lbs. per cubic foot. 



Small logs 2% to 4 ft. in length, 4 to 9 in. in diameter have been 

 imported into Liverpool (Messrs. Jos. Gardner & Sons 1908) 

 described as " very defective and of irregular shape particularly 

 favoured by amateur turners " (Hillier, Kew Bull. 1908, p. 185). 

 Logs 3 ft, or more in length, and about 8 to 16 in. in diameter 

 are recommended for export, and would be w T orth about £6 to £7 

 per ton in London (Bull. Imp. Inst. 1909, p. 269). 



The wood is said to be insect-proof, but a sample from Uganda 

 in the Kew Museum shews the borings of some insect, 



The root is used as a cure for toothache in Madi (Grant, Trans. 

 Linn. Soc. I.e.) ; as an ingredient in a local preparation of arrow 

 poison ; added to " bammi " or " palm wine," and medicinally in 

 Kontagora (Dalziel, Bull. Imp. Inst. 1907, p. 257, Dalbergia sp.).* 



May be raised from seed, said to grow freely in all soils ; found in 

 Uganda as a prickly bush or small tree, rarely of any useful size 

 (Dawe, Rep. Bot. Mission, Uganda, 1906, p. 29) ; with a maximum 

 diameter of 9 ins., south of Karkanj, on the Blue Nile, and on the 

 Sobat River (Kew Bull. 1899, p. 198) ; very abundant, though rarely 

 exceeding a height of 20-25 ft. in Kontagora, and in Lokoja 

 (Dalziel, Bull. Imp. Inst. 1907, p. 257, Dalbergia sp. : presumably 

 this species, but there is no specimen at the Kew Herbarium 

 to support this view)* ; widespread throughout the coast scrubs 

 (up to about 1200 ft.) of B. E. Africa, usually as small trees with 

 crooked stems up to 2 ft. in diameter, but probably too scarce and 

 crooked to export with profit, and too slow growing to be profitable 

 in forest plantations (Hutchins, Report, Forests B. E. Afr. 1909, 

 p. 5) ; as a climbing shrub, wild or often planted in the Konkan and 

 N. Kanara, India (Gamble Man. Ind. Timb. p. 247). 



Ref. — " African Blackwood, Dalbergia melanoxylon" in Timbers 

 of Commerce, Stone, pp. 61-62 "Dalbergia melanoxylon" in 



* This may apply more correctly to Ormosia laxifl'jra ; Eee p. 243. 



