From the Bulletin of the Torkey Botanical Cub, 31 : 367-377- July, 1904.) 



Chemical notes on "bastard" logwood* 



Benjamin C. Gruenberg and William J. Gies 



* 



During the past few years the growers of logwood in Jamaica 

 have been greatly disturbed by an apparent increase on their 

 properties of an unmerchantable variety of the plant known as 

 "bastard" logwood.f The exportation of this wood along with 

 real logwood has served to condemn all the logwood from the 

 districts which have shipped it. X 



" Bastard " logwood differs from the genuine varieties, from 

 the dyer's standpoint, in yielding little or no hematoxylin, but, 

 instead, a yellowish -green pigment which is of no value and which, 

 when admixed with the commercial extract, reduces the character- 

 istic tinctorial properties of the latter. Chips of the " bastard" 

 logwood present a yellow, pale pink, white or even chocolate- 

 colored surface instead of the dark red or deep purple, bronze- 

 tinted color of the best Jamaican or Mexican logwoods of 

 commerce. There appears to be considerable uncertainty, even 

 when the trees are cut down, as to whether a tree is really a 

 "mulatto" ("bastard") tree or not. What is known as a 

 " mulatto" tree is frequently dark enough when first cut to lead 

 one to believe that it is a good redwood tree, but instead of dark- 

 ening with age as all the good wood does, it remains the same 

 color or becomes lighter rather than darker. The " bastard " tree 



* From the New York Botanical Garden, New York. Some of the chemical work 

 was done in the laboratory of physiological chemistry of Columbia University. 



f Fawcett : Bulletin of the Botanical Department, Jamaica, 3 : 179. 1896. 



X Clipping from a Kingston, Jamaica, newspaper, sent to Dr. D. T. MacDougal 

 by Hon. William Fawcett (September, 1 901). 



367 



