How Cigar-box Wood Is Secured 



BV C. H. J'EARSON 



TIIEKK is perhaps no tropical \voo:i bs'tter known 

 than the so-called Spanish cedar cif the West 

 Indies and the Spanish Main. It is often re- 

 ferred to as cigar-box cedar, because the bulk of this 

 woi.id is used for making cigar boxes. In the European 

 trade it is known as cigar or sugar-box wo:id, since the 

 term cedar as used in the American trade has at present 

 no botanical significance and is, therefore, too confusing 

 to be applied ti> a wood that belongs to the mahogany 

 family ijf plants. The name cedar was originally given 

 to this tree because of its resemblance in fragrance to 

 the Kuropean cedar or sabine which is a cone-bearing 

 tree known in Spanish as cedro. 



Botanically speaking the term cedar should be ap- 

 plied only to certain species of the large group of cone- 

 bearing trees, luit it has long since been used as a gen- 

 eric (ir comjjrehensive trade name f(ir the woods of a good 

 many distinct kinds of forest trees, vSome of these 

 grow in America, some in F.urope and others in Asia 

 and Africa. The cedar of Lebanon, used so extensively 

 in ancient times in the construction nf temples and other 

 large edifices, is famous in Scripture. The tall deodar 

 of northern India jiroduces the fragrant and most durable 

 \v(jod known in the trade as Indian cedar. The -Atlas 



cedar of northern Africa is another important wood to 

 which the name cedar may be correctly applied. There 

 are at least twelve distinct species of conifer(3us trees in 

 the United States and equally as many in other parts of 

 the world that are called cedar. In addition to these 

 there are about thirty species of broad-leaved trees the 

 woods of which are designated either locally or in the 

 large markets as cedar or cedro. Chief among these are 

 ten or more species of Cedrcla to which the cigar-box 

 wood belongs. These species are confined largely tn the 

 tropical parts of America and the most important one of 

 them is the cigar-box wood, Ccdrela odorata. 



The generic term Ccdrela was the original coiumon 

 name of the closely allied mahogany tree which grows 

 in the same region as the cigar-bo.x wood. The specific 

 name odorata was given to this species because of the 

 aromatic odor wdiich can be easily detected in all parts 

 of the tree. The leaves and small twigs contain numer- 

 ous minute i.iil glands which, when crushed. gi\e oft a fra- 

 grance that can be detected for a considerable distance. 

 The leaves and twigs are collected in parts of Cuba, 

 Costa Rica and Nicaragua and used for (iistilling the 

 commercial cedrelawood oil, which is sometimes used to 

 give cigar boxes made from spurious cigar-box wood 



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O.N 'rilK WHARF A'f I'ORT Ol- SI'.M.N, IKIMOAO, KI.Ain IdK SHII'MKNT 



Pratlically all rif the cedar sliipiinl I'i'.in this port goes to ITamljurg vvli ere it brings from forty to sixty-five cents a cubic foot and has been sold 

 for as liiRJi a^ i i^-hty cents. Witli the steadily decreasing supply it is certain that the price will advance. 



1098 



