368 Gruenberg and Gies : Notes on " bastard " logwood 



seems to be perfectly dry, and even when the chips are soaked for 

 a long time in water, they give out no dye.* 



Various theories have been advanced to explain the apparent 

 increase in the "bastard" logwood in Jamaica. Professor F. S. 

 Earle, after a thorough study of the situation in Jamaica, came to 

 the following conclusions : f 



i. " Logwood is a variable plant showing marked differences 

 in form, color and texture of leaf; time of blooming; form and 

 extent of ribs on the trunk ; color of bark and especially in the 

 color and dye-producing quality of the heart-wood. Four well- 

 marked varieties are said to be recognized in Honduras and three 

 are usually recognized in Jamaica, but there are many other 

 intermediate forms." 



2. " Bastard " wood is not the result of disease or of any lack 

 of vigor. The trees producing it are perfectly healthy and normal. 



3. " It is not the result of soil or climatic conditions, since 

 ' bastard ' and normal trees are found growing side by side under 

 absolutely identical conditions." 



4. "It is not the result of immaturity. Aged trees may pro- 

 duce ' bastard ' wood, while in normal trees the heart- wood, as 

 soon as formed, contains a good percentage of hematoxylin. 

 These facts seem to point to heredity as the probable cause of the 

 trouble. That is, that certain trees produce only ' bastard ' wood 

 because they grow from the seed of a ' bastard ' tree ; or in other 

 words that ' bastard ' logwood represents a variety of Haematoxylon 

 campechianum that normally produces little or no hematoxylin, 

 just as one Honduras variety has smaller, shorter, thinner and 

 lighter colored leaves." 



Some time before Professor Earle made his investigations in 

 Jamaica we began, at Dr. MacDougal's suggestion, a comparative 

 study of logwoods from that island, in the hope of finding definite 

 chemical differences, other than purely tinctorial ones, between 

 "red logwood "and the " bastard " variety. Unfortunately our 

 work in collaboration was soon unavoidably interrupted. We 

 present here very briefly, however, such of our notes in this 

 connection as may be of general interest. 



* Cradwick : Report to the Chairman of the Experiment Station, Kingston, 

 Jamaica, 1902 (April 4). 



f Earle : Journal of the New York Botanical Garden, 4 : 3. 1903. 



