( 37 ) 
ence to the durability and strength of the 
wood. 
I find the Kuang-lang first described in 
the Nan-fang-ts‘ao &c., (4th century,) but 
mention is made of it in the History of the 
Post-Han 221-263 A. D. The Chinese 
authors describe this palm as follows : 
The trunk is 50-60 feet in height, several 
fathoms (!) in circumference, upright, with- 
out lateral branches. The tree resembles 
the Ping-lu (Chamaerops) the Pin-lang (Areca 
pluribus notis Cassiam refert, Icon. Rumphii dubie 
citata est Afceliae species. Specimen Loureirianum, 
errore quodam sub hoc nomine in Hb. Mus. Brit, 
servatum cum charactere nequaquam convenit.”— 
Chinese books give but little information as regards 
the Tie-li-mu. It is not mentioned either in the Pen- 
ts‘ao or in the Kuang-kiin-fang-pu. Only in the Chi- 
wu-raing &c. (descriptive part XXI 6 p. 100, article 
* Lii-mu ) I found a short account of the 
Tie-li-mu, taken from the Nan-yiie-pi-ki, a descrip- 
tion of the modern Kuang-tung province. There it 
is said: 
In Kuang-tung there are three kinds of wood used in 
carpentry, the 
M A 
An author of the 4th century says, that the 
)j(|3 Tsu-tan comes from Fu-nan (in India beyond the 
Ganges v. s.) The name Tsu-tan (red tan) is explained 
by the brown red colour of the wood and the resem- 
blance of the tree to the Tan tree. The character Tan 
refers according to Hoffmann and Shultes (1. c.) to a 
Caesalpinia. The drawing of the Tan in the Ch. W. 
Tan- 
Tsu-tan, Hua-li 
and 
Tie-li-mu. 
XXXV agrees quite well with this. I dgi 
siang is the Chinese name for Sandalwood. The 
Tsu-tan used at Peking is of a dark brown colour and 
very heavy. 
m * Eua-li-mu (the meaning of the 
characters is wood veined like pear- wood) is a common 
A 
/bfts 
S /K 
name. The book name of this tree is 
Lii-mu. The wood is a little fragrant, of a brown red 
colour curiously veined. If the’ tree is old, the lines 
are more curved, on young trees they are straight. 
Delineations can often be found like coins. The tree 
grows in Annam and also in Hainan, namely in Yai- 
chou (Southern coast) Ch‘ang-hua (North-western 
coast), Ling-shui (South-eastern coast.) I have al- 
ready stated above, that the growth of Hua-li-mu in 
Hainan is confirmed by European writers. The Hua- 
li-mu, which is sold at Peking, is a very beautifully 
veined wood of a brown colour. Cf. also Grosier (1. c. 
p. 288). 
As regards the H bj'C Tie-li-mu (wood of 
the strength of iron) only a few words are dedicated 
to its description in the Chinese work. There it is 
aid, that it is very durable and hard. The colour of 
s he wood is at first yellow, but becomes after use, 
black. In the Uj Li-shan hills the people use j 
it for the fuel. But when it arrives at the Northern 1 
provinces it becomes very dear. Li-shan here refers 
Catechu,) the Ye-tsu (Cocoa-nut,) the Po- 
ssu-ts‘ao (Date-palm.) The wood is hard 
like Bamboo wood, of a dark brown colour, 
very durable. It is veined like the- Hua-li- 
mu (see the foot note.) The centre of the 
trunk is humid and rots quickly. The join- 
ers cut it into little pieces and make chess- 
boards from it. It is adapted also for shovels 
and spades. In some places the mariners 
use spears of Kuang-lang wood. On the 
summit of the tree, large leaf like branches 
and luxuriant racemes of greenish flowers 
proceed. The fruits can be gathered through- 
out the whole year. They resemble black- 
ish pearls and are produced abundantly. One 
branch contains not less than 100 fruits 
and each tree has 100 of such branches, which 
hang down gracefully. The whole resembles 
an umbrella. Below the insertion of the 
leaves, there is a net-work of entangled 
horse hair-like fibres, resembling the fibres 
of the Tsung-lii (Chamaerops.) The Kuang- 
tung people collect and use them for manu- 
facturing tissues. But they must be at 
first soaked for some time in saltwater in 
order to become fine. These fibres are also 
used for ship building. The author adds 
% )1! £r B “they use neither nails 
nor threads.” Mr. Sampson explains this 
passage by a quotation from Yule’s Cathay : 
“ Menentillus, a Dominican Friar, writing 
from Southern India in A. D. 1292, says: 
their ships in these parts are mighty frail 
and uncouth, with no iron in them, and no 
caulking.” The bark of the Kuang-lang 
tree is very tenacious and flexible. It serves 
to make ropes. The Chinese authors, who 
describe the Kuang-lang, agree in stating, 
that within the bark of the tree a white 
flower (according to some authors of a yel- 
lowish red colour,) is found, resembling 
pounded rice. It is said to be very nutri- 
tious. The Chinese say, those, who eat the 
Kuang-lang flour, will not suffer from hun- 
ger. In the provinces, where the Kuang-lang 
grows, corn is there not abundant and there- 
fore people eat the Kuang-lang flour with 
cow’s milk or bake it into cakes. The flour 
is found several inches beneath the bark. A 
large tree yields 100 Chinese pounds of it. 
Ancient and modern writers agree, that 
the Kuang-lang grows in the Southern prov- 
inces of China. According to the History 
of the Post-Han (25-221 A. D. ) the Kuang- 
lang tree is found in ^ >31 Ijp^ Ku-ting- 
sien (now-a-days Lin an-fu province of Yun- 
nan,) and flour is obtained from its trunk. 
probably to Hainan, for the aborigines of tbe island qq^ jq an -fang- ts ‘ao &C., (4th century) states 
are called Li. But Li-shan is also a hill in , . . „ . . “ r 
Hi nan j Kiao-chi (Cochin China, v. s.) and JlL 
7n7 
