i3° 
TIMBER AND TIMBER TREES. [chap. 
not extensively known then, it was a favourite wood in 
the East for works requiring strength and durability, 
and without doubt the samples I met with all looked 
remarkably well, and seemed fit to be employed in 
any work of construction where great strength is 
required. 
It is interesting to note that, subsequent to this, 
Lieut.-Col. H. W. Blake, the Commissioner at Moulmein, 
brought this wood to the notice of the Home Govern¬ 
ment. He says ; “It is one of the largest trees in Bur- 
mah, and is called Ingazylocarva , a species of Acacia, 
which combines in itself the properties of wood and iron, 
and is therefore very appropriately called Iron-v/ood by 
us and Pyengadu by the Burmans. It is heavier than 
water and more indestructible than iron. There is a 
piece of this wood which supported a Teak figure of 
‘ Godama ’ taken from Rangoon in 1826, standing in a 
lake near. The Teak figure has long since mouldered 
away into dust, but at the pillar I fired a rifle shot, at 
20 yards’ distance ; the ball was thrown back, making no 
penetration whatever. The wood seems hardened by 
time and exposure, and it is also a fact that the teredo 
will not touch it. The Burmans do not girdle and kill 
this tree as they do the Teak, but fell and saw it up at 
once, and refuse to work it in a dry state.” 
Dr. Hooker says: “It is found, not universally in India, 
but in widely distant parts. Throughout Tenasserim 
and the Malay peninsula it is called ‘ Peengado.’ It is 
abundant in the Bombay Presidency, where it is called 
‘ Jambea ; and ‘ Yeroolin the Godavery forests it bears 
the name of ‘ Boja ; ’ it is common at Singapore, and I 
have ascertained that it is plentiful in the Philippine 
Islands. Everywhere the wood bears a high character 
