SOUTH AFEICAN TIMBER 
205 
Hard Pear (Olinia cyviosa) is a very bard, tough, yellowish 
wood, and in common with red pear and milkwood is used 
for wagon construction and wheel wrigl its' work generally, 
but they are only used to a small extent, as they cannot be 
obtained in large section or in any great quantity, and none 
of them are quite reliable or satisfactory for heavy work. 
Ironwood is a common name for many hardwoods in 
different parts of the world. The wood known by this name 
in Cape Colony is Sideroxylon inerme. The Dutch name is 
Melkhout. It is largely used for boat-building, and for the 
decking of bridges is considered practically indestructible, 
even when exposed to excessive heat or damp, but being 
excessively hard it is difficult to work and too expensive for 
ordinary use. The colour varies from light to dark brown, 
with black streaks, and the proportion of brownish sapwood 
is often large. 
Weight up to 73 lbs. per cubic foot. 
Yellowwood or Geelhont, of which there are two varieties, 
the upright and ordinary, is found in large quantities of 
great length and diameter. The ordinary variety {Podo- 
carp'iis elongata), of Hght yellow colour, is only suitable for 
indoor work unless artificially treated with creosote or 
other preservative, and even after careful treatment it 
is liable to bend and warp. The uprignt yellowwood 
{Podocarpus thunhergii) is much stronger and more durable, 
but so far, owing to absence of roads and railways, the cost 
of transporting large trees is too great. The colour is a 
brownish white, the grain close and even and of smooth 
surface. The larger portion of the timber felled is used for 
railway sleepers, but even for this purpose the supply is 
insufficient ; it is also used for ceilings and flooring boards. 
It has been but little used in constructional work, so that 
its true value has not yet been ascertained. A timber bridge 
