EBONY (Lat. ebenura; but originally from the eastern name), a wood remarkable for its hardness, heaviness, and deep black color, is the heart-wood of different species of diospyros, of the natural order ebenacem, the same genus which produces the date plum (q.v.), kaki, and other fruits. The best E., excelling in uniformity and intensity of color, is the produce of D. ebenum, which grows in great abundance in some of the fiat parts of Ceylon, and is a tree of such magnitude, that logs of its heart-wood, 2 ft. in diameter, and varying from 10 to 15 ft. in length, are easily procured. D. melanoxylon, the E. tree of Coromandel, yields E. of good quality ; D. tomentosa, D. roylei, and other Indian species, also yield it. In Mauritius and Madagascar, E. of very good quality is produced by D. retieulata. Other species of diospyros are much valued for their beautiful timber, very different in color from E., as calamander wood (q.v.)and cadooberia (diospyros ebenaster). The last-named species is found in India and Ceylon. The prevailing black of the wood is beautifully striped with a rich yellowish-brown; but in density and durability it is far inferior to ebony.—E. is chiefly used by cabinet makers for veneering. The ancient Greeks and Romans were acquainted with it; and it is supposed that they obtained it either from India or Madagascar. They frequently inlaid it with ivory, for contrast of color. It is mentioned by Ezekiel (xxvii. 15) as an article of Tyrian commerce. It was at oue time used in medicine, as a laxative and sudorific; it has a somewhat pungent taste.—The name E. is sometimes given to the black wood of trees very different from those of the genus diospyros. An Abyssinian
tree called mozzungha (fornasinia), of the order leguminosce, produces a black heavy wood, much resembling ebony.—WEST INDIAN E. or AMERICAN E., is produced by brya ebenus, also of a natural order leguminosce, but the wood is of a greenish-brown rather than a black color. It receives a good polish, is very hard and durable, and much sought after by musical-instrument makers. It is one of the articles of export from the West Indies to Britain. But the tree is of small size, seldom more than 12 ft. high, and the trunk only a few inches in diameter.
E'BRO (Lat. Berms), an important river of Spain, rises in the province of Santander, at a point greatly elevated above the level of the sea, about 12 m. n.w. of Reynosa, flows s.e. for about 25 m.; then e, past Elias, after which it maintains a general s.e. course, passing Miranda, Marti, Logrofio, Tudela, and Zaragoza, when it turns n., passes Mequinenza, flows s.e. to Mora, s. to Tortosa, and finally e. to the Mediterranean, into which it falls after a course of about 540 miles. Its mouth is choked up with sand, and, to render it navigable, a canal called the San Carlos has been carried through the delta. Its principal affluents are the Najerilla, Jiloca, and Guadalope from the right, and the Aragon, Gallego, and Segre from the left. The course of the E. is chiefly through nar row, and sometimes rocky valleys; and its bed is characterized by many shoals and rapids which interrupt the navigation. This is partly remedied, however, by means of the Imperial canal, which extends from the vicinity of Tudela to a point 40 in. below Zaragoza.