Buhr El Ghaxal. 155 situations, such as the edges of the ironstone plateau. In such places, although by no means rare, it is by no means so well represented as its cousin the " Apwama " (or " Bi "), from which it can be recognised by its young and slightly hairy shoots, and by its fruit, which is smaller and with a sweet pulp, while that of the " Apwama " is acidulated. It is also a smaller climber than the latter. There is, apparently, no " Odilo " on the route from Wau to Deim Zubeir via Chak Chak, nor between the Bongo and the Chel near Deim Zubeir, but in the old days it used to be obtained in abundance from places far or near, and was purchased by Government. It is, in fact, fairly well distributed all over the Province.

The usual native method of collecting is as follows : — A tangential slice is taken out of the bark, no special care being taken not to reach the wood, and, as the milk oozes out of the various milk vessels which have been cut through, it is taken up by the finger and spread out on the collector's bare skin, either on the arm or over the stomach. It dries very quickly and is collected into a ball by being rolled with the hand, or into a spindle-shaped mass round a piece of twig. The rapidity with which the milk coagulates is very striking, for, five minutes after the cut is made, all that has been collected is made up into a ball and is ready for the market. This peculiarity, although in many ways it shows the excellence of the rubber, renders the clean collection a matter of great difficulty, for the wounds get covered by a film very quickly, and collection in vessels seems to be almost impossible. During the rainy season the outflow of milk is more copious.

The other landolphia (florida), " Apwama " or " Bi," grows under similar conditions as " Odilo." It is however, "Apwama ' more abundant, and grows to a larger size. It is a gigantic climber which reaches the crowns of the tallest trees. Its or " Bi." milky juice is much more copious than that of its cousin, but, on the other hand, it coagulates with much more difficulty.

The difficulty with the collection of this latex is to obtain it pure. The bark of the creeper is coarse, and as the stems are not upright but bent in all directions, it is difficult to hang collecting bottles in such a way as to make a clean collection. The indiarubber obtained from the " Apwama " is far inferior to that which the " Odilo " produces, and has but little elasticity.

The " Kwel " (Ficus platyphylla) is a large fig-tree which is found all over the province, but is most abundant " Kwel." in the lowlands, especially between Wau and Meshra El Rek. In appearance it is a good deal like the " Banyan " (Ficus bengalensis). Like the " Banyan," it usually germinates on another tree, generally in a place where moisture is retained for some time, such as the fork of the stem, the axil of a palm leaf, etc. After some time it begins sending down roots, which, following the stem, utlimately reach the ground. Once this is eflfected the young tree grows apace, sends down fresh roots, which ultimately surround the stem of the host and finally kill it. Many such figs germinate in the axils of dead leaves on the " Deleib " which they finally fold in their embrace. The palms, being endogenous, are hard to kill, hence the not uncommon spectacle of a " Deleib " growing out of a tree. Many " Kwel " trees in the Dinka districts have become mutilated by badly done tapping. This latex, when dry, forms a resinous brittle gum, apparently of little value, as it is used by the natives to clean brass ornaments. When the tree is tapped the latex flows in abundance, pulsating somewhat like blood from a cut artery.

The " Lulu " (Butyrospermum Parkii) belongs to the family of Sapotacew. It is common all over the ironstone "Lulu." country, and grows abundantly on the borders of the alluvial flats and the plateaux, especially between the Tonj and Naam rivers. The fruit of the " Lulu," called the " Sudan date," forms a staple food. Edible oil, greatly used in cooking, is extracted from the kernel, which resembles the horse chestnut.

The forests of the Bahr El Ghazal will probably some day be of great value on account of the number of trees Tanning which yield tannin. The two great families from which tannin is obtained, viz., CombretacecB and Mimosce, are abun- product.s.

dantly represented, and some trees have already a reputation for their richness in tannin, viz., " Abu Surug " [Prosopis oUonga) and " Mudus " (Parkia filicoidea), the bark of which fetches a good price at Omdurman.

With some notable exceptions, the forests have suffered from fire ; the trees are stunted, crooked, hollow, or generally Timber, misshapen, and fire-protection will be required to obtain better grown timber. There are, however, a few gigantic trees which have risen above the fires and would yield timber of large dimensions. The most common is perhaps Khaya Senegalensis (" Homra " Arabic name), a tree of the family of the Meliacew, to which mahogany and satin wood belong, and which generally gives handsome or useful timber. The bark is, not unlikely, a febrifuge, and the seed yields an oil which keeps away flies, etc., from wounds ; it is used against the " serut " flies. There are also two enormous trees of the family of the Lecjuminosw, viz., the "Mudus" (mentioned above), which is found abundantly near Tonj and sporadically to Wau, and the " Shande " (Jur name) (Daniellia Thurifera) which grows on the banks of the Wau River, not far from old Wau. There are several others of varying dimensions and also Bamboos, but these are not in sufficient quantities to be considered as an article of export. " Rattan " is also found near Tembura.

For further timber, etc., resources, see under Forestry, p. 157. Bees are abundant in the Bahr El Ghazal, and large quantities of honey are collected every year. Wax and honey.

Salt is found only in the west, in the Faroge district, but is in demand everywhere. Salt.