158 Bnhr El GJmml.

Highland fbraBta.

Principal timber trees.

Fibres.

Edible fruits.

Iron smeltingi On the higher ground the chief ones are tamarind and gughan, with sidr bushes, talh (acacia), and talhbeida forests, um shutur, zeitun (edible fruit), abu khamera and heglig, and occasionally habil.

The above trees are also found on the higher land, but generally near water or in clay soil and in smaller quantities. The highland forests, however, differ largely from those on the lower lands, there being little acacia or thorny growth.

Among the largest trees are the nwana (tanning bark " mudus ") and abu surug (tanning bark), kuru, riang or bei, shanda and koba (in best parts of forest), digdig (sweet yellow flowers), homra (large tree, allied to mahogany, also called homraya or raurraya), and lulu (blackish scaly bark and tufted leaves, gutta-percha tree, above described).

The quality of the forests is at present not high. The best forests are those found in the broad, uninhabited stretch between Deim Zubeir and the Bongo, but even here the frequency of fires has prevented the stock from being at all uniform. In other places, where fires are still more frequent, and where there are traces of former cultivation, the stock is of a much more patchy character, and degenerates into curtains of forest surrounding blanks, or into mere scrub composed of contorted shoots of habil, dorut, kalto, akan, grewia, etc. It is, however, satisfactory to note that, even in such fireworn areas, there are still to be seen scattered here and there enormous trees such as shande, homra, bei, nwana, etc. But at the same time it is also a fact that, except in the case of koba, which reproduces itself fairly freely, the other large trees are not at all largely represented among those of younger generations, notwithstanding the fact that most of them seed abundantly. The most that can be said of these forests is that the larger trees are very fairly represented and that with proper treatment and protection some magmiicent reserves could be evolved.

Homra : enormous size, would make a fine cabinet wood. Pinkish inside, but soon turns mahogany brown ; found on ironstone.

Heglig : not very tall, but 6 to 8 feet in girth. Timber durable and not liable to attack by white ants ; lowlands, clayey soil.

Koba : graceful, rounded crown, flat pods, abundant, good brown building timber, much used by Jurs ; highland. Digdig : large tree, straight bole, sweet yellow flowers, leafless during the cold season, strong yellowish timber ; highland.

Ardeib : grows large, timber of very old trees is beautiful, mottled black and white, much valued in cabinet trade and also for its fruit ; clayey soil.

Abu surug : large, fine dark red wood, capable of good polish, used chiefly by iron smelters for charcoal, bark rich in tannin ; common in highlands.

Nwana : very large and abundant, white timber, not strong, but useful for planking, seed pulp sweet and edible, bark (" mudus ") good for tanning ; ironstone.

Silag : common, tall, graceful, birchlike, white timber fairly durable, much used for building, leaves probably rich in tannin ; highland tree.

Gughan : ebony family, sometimes very large, fine dark brown timber which turns black on exposure, much used for gun stocks ; clay soil.

Abnus : Sudan ebony (not true ebony), crooked and thinnish ; scattered on rocky soil in highlands. Zeitun : teak family, large size, white wood, not strong ; lowlands or clayey soil in highlands. Bamboo : apparently strong and good, used for rafts and roofing ; line banks of khors in highlands. The mottled-leaved Sanseveira guineensis is found all over the portion of the province visited. It yields a strong and durable fibre. Strong jungle ropes for building are made with a species of vitis growing in the highland forests, while grewias and sterculias yield strong best fibre. In the Nyam Nyam country the bark of a fig is used as cloth.

Many trees in these forests yield edible fruits, but most of them are poor and insipid, with the exception of lulu, which has a fruit, the pulp of which is not only eaten, but the kernel yields an edible oil which is said to be a good substitute for " ghee." Klato has a not unpleasant acidulated fruit, and the fruits of both apwama and odilo are also eaten. The pods of the nwana contain a sweet farinaceous pulp ; and a gardenia has a large ovoid fruit, which is not unlike a very inferior apple. The fruit of zeitun is also eaten, and when roasted and ground it makes an excellent substitute for tea.

It id impossible to omit mention of a very important industry which is connected with, but would be impossible in this province without an adequate supply of fuel. Iron smelting is carried on with a certain activity by Jurs and Bongos. The ironstone and laterite, which form the upper layer of rocks over a great portion of the province, are very rich in iron* ; and, with proper working, all the needs of the Sudan, and possibly also of Upper Egypt, could be supplied from this province. For this, however, it will be necessary to work the forest in a systematic manner in order to make sure of a continuous supply.

* Analysis of ore — 47 per cent, of pure iron.