WOODS. 



239 



The woods known to commerce are the 

 c Liwa,' a white-veined, faintly -perfumed, bastard 

 sandal from Madagascar : it is used for the 

 sacred fire by the poorer Parsees. Granadille 

 wood is exported from the Mainland to Europe, 

 where it is worked for the bearings of mills and 

 for the mouth-pieces and flanges of instruments. 

 The Arabs call it 'Abnus,' and the Sawahili 

 'Mpingo,' both signifying ebony, which it re- 

 sembles in appearance, though not in qualities. 

 Less brittle than ebony, and harder than lignum 

 vitae, it spoils the saw ; and being very heavy, it 

 refuses to absorb grease or water. It makes 

 good ram-rods, and the Usumbara people have 

 cut it into pipe-bowls long before our briar-root 

 was dreamed of. 



The sweet-smelling e Kalambak' (Vulg. Co- 

 lumbo), once common upon the Island, is now 

 brought from Madagascar. There are two kinds, 

 ■ — one poor and yellow, like our box, the other 

 hard, heavy, and dark red. Its fine grain takes 

 the high polish of mahogany, and it would make 

 good desks and work-boxes. Comoro men and 

 Indian carpenters turn out rude furniture of 

 this wood, which is wilfully wasted : in felling 

 and shaping it the plantation-slaves, who ignore 

 the saw, chip away at least half. The smoke is 



