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The Pamphlet Collection of Sir Robert Stout: Volume 6

Woods and Timbers.—

Woods and Timbers.—

1.Eagle-wood.—

The gradual extermination of this tree (AquilariaAgallo-chum) in the islands in the Mergui Archipelago was pointed out in the Kew Report for 1878, p. 36. Major Seaton reports that 200 seedlings have been procured and planted out in South Tenasserim.

2. Lin-a-Loa.—

Our attention has been drawn to a scented wood used in San Francisco in the manufacture of furniture. By the kindness of Mr. W. L. Booker, H.M.'s Consul in that city, a specimen of the wood and a box lined with it have been obtained for the Kew Museum. Mr. Booker states:—"It comes in pieces about the size of a railroad sleeper from the highlands, of Mexico, but I have been unable to ascertain what it is botanically. The wood is only used for veneering or in the manufacture of small fancy articles."

We had no difficulty in identifying Mr. Booker's specimens with a wood which already existed in the Kew Museum, and which appears to be yielded by a species of Bursera. It has indeed been known in Mexico for the last half century, and was referred to by Guibourt under the name, of Bois de Citron du Mexique [see Journal of the Pharmaceutical Society, 2nd series, Vol. X., pp. 590-593]. Further material in the shape of dried specimens, with both fruit and flowers, is much to be desired for the purpose of ascertaining definitely the tree which produces it. The name Lin-a-Loa is clearly a corruption of Lign Aloës, which has been identified with Aquilaria Agal-locha, otherwise known as Eagle-wood [Kew Report, 1878, p. 36]. This is, however, a tree confined to the Old World, and the Mexican one has no connection with it. The wood of the latter is imported into this country for manufacture into perfumery, a fragrant oil known as otto of linaloe being distilled from it.

3. Nan-mu Tree.—

Reference has already been made, in the Kew Report for 1877, p. 33, 34, to this interesting Chinese timber-tree. Through the kind intervention of E. Bradford, Esq., F.L.S., Deputy Inspector-General of Hospitals, Mr. Arthur Davenport, H.B.M.'s Consul at Shanghai, made inquiries with a view to obtain better botanical data for its determination. He obtained the following informaton from Mr. Baber:—Two days journey southeast of Chungking, in Szechuen, I found several specinens of about a foot in diameter, one of them having a straight branchless trunk of 100 feet in height, with the branches and foliagerising 25 feet above that; anothernad 70 feet of bare straight stem, and 90 feet of total altitude. Although the trunks are branchles, yet in many cases they send out shoots resembling saplings, which rise parallel with the trunk. The wood is white and close graned, and I do not believe that the pillars at the Ming tombs near Peking are of this wood. They look more like true teak. I have seen some much larger trees than the above, some two feet and more in diameter, straight and of great altitude. They are used in Szechuen for bridge work. I alnost despair of procuring the flows, for people who have spent ther lives beneath the trees have never seen them in page 38 flower, and the young trees which the missionaries have planted in places do not flower, possibly on account of their youth. If the tree produces any noticeable flowers at all it must be on the summit, which is inaccessible."

Eventually, however, through the instrumentality of Père Vincot, who resides at Chungking, flowering specimens were transmitted to the Kew Herbarium. From these the accompanying figure has been pre-pared, and they entirely confirm the previous identification of the tree by Professor Oliver (from the leaves alone) as a near ally of Phæbe pallida (one of the Laurel family). The genus Phæbe is now merged in Persea, and Professor Oliver has described the Nan-mu under the name of Persea nan-mu, distinguishing it from Persea (Phæbe) pallida chiefly in stature, in the form of the acumen of the leaves, and the character of the indumentum."

4. Pai-cha wood.—

We are indebted to Mr. W. M. Cooper, H.B.M. Consul at Ningpo, for a block of this wood (see Kew Report, 1878, pp. 41 and 42), and a carving showing the extremely delicate work of which it admits. The wood was placed in the hands of Mr. R. J. Scott for report. He informs us:—"The most striking quality I have observed in this wood is its capacity for retaining water and the facility with which it surrenders it. This section, which represents onetenth of the original piece, weighed 3 lbs. 4½ ozs. At the end of 21 days it had lost 1 lb. 6¾ ozs. in an unheated chamber. At the end of another 14 days, in a much elevated temperature, it only lost ¼ oz. In its present state of reduced bulk, its weight is 1 lb. 10 ozs. It is not at all likely to supersede box; but it may be fit for coarser work than that for which box is necessary."

5. "Rhus Thunbergii."

We were indebted to Mr. II. Hutton, of Albany, S. Africa, for a quantity of seed of the plant sent and distributed under this name (Kew Report, 1877, p. 20). It is, however, no species of Rhus, nor is it allied to that genus, and was supposed to be Sideroxylon argenteum (of which R. Thunbergii is a known synonym). Having some doubt about the identification, he has sent us specimens, and it is clear that the seeds distributed do not belong to Sideroxylon argenteum (Rhus Thunbergii) but to Sideroxylon inerme. Mr. Hutton writes:—It is the white milkwood of the Cape, of which I have sent the seeds, our most durable hard wood, and we are fencing extensively with it for standard poles."

Mr. Duthie reports from Saharunpore:—Seeds received from Kew last year (1878) were sown in April, and took one month to germinate; the growth since has been slow, but the plants are perfectly healthy."