The opening of Preface
While going round inspecting timber areas being worked by European firms in Nigeria, I have often been asked for a book with illustrations showing the different kinds of trees which might be felled, and also giving some account of the trees themselves, as well as the main work of the Forest Department. It is with the idea of trying to supply this want that I have mainly compiled this work, in the hope that, however imperfect it may be, the various timber getters and users in Nigeria may find it useful.
I have not attempted to give accurate descriptions of the trees, as this has already been done by Mr. Foster in his work Notes on Nigerian Trees and Plants, and I would refer readers to that volume, and to the botanical works, such as Useful Plants of Nigeria, issued under the authority of the Director of Kew Gardens, and the Flora of Tropical Africa, by Oliver; but only refer to some specific feature of the trees that are most common or useful, by which they can be recognized by an ordinary observer without botanical knowledge.