﻿OCT. 
  19, 
  1922 
  BLAKE: 
  NEW 
  SPECIES 
  OF 
  LETTERWOOD 
  391 
  

  

  exactly 
  reversed. 
  It 
  may 
  be 
  said 
  here, 
  anticipating 
  another 
  pub- 
  

   lication, 
  that 
  the 
  pyroxene 
  in 
  the 
  great 
  majority 
  of 
  Mexican 
  and 
  Cen- 
  

   tral 
  American 
  jades 
  shows 
  a 
  great 
  preponderance 
  of 
  jadeite 
  over 
  di- 
  

   opside. 
  The 
  pyroxene 
  always 
  contains 
  considerable 
  diopside, 
  but 
  

   only 
  two 
  cases 
  are 
  known 
  in 
  which 
  the 
  diopside 
  and 
  jadeite 
  are 
  present 
  

   in 
  about 
  equal 
  amount 
  (one 
  being 
  the 
  Tuxtla 
  statuette), 
  while 
  the 
  

   pyroxene 
  in 
  the 
  Copan 
  pebble 
  is 
  the 
  only 
  one 
  known 
  so 
  far 
  in 
  which 
  

   diopside 
  dominates 
  greatly 
  over 
  jadeite. 
  This 
  difference 
  is 
  so 
  marked 
  

   that 
  it 
  gives 
  rise 
  to 
  the 
  thought 
  that, 
  possibly, 
  the 
  Copan 
  jade 
  belongs 
  

   to 
  a 
  petrographical 
  series 
  of 
  jades 
  which 
  is 
  distinct 
  from 
  the 
  others, 
  

   and 
  thus 
  possibly 
  comes 
  from 
  a 
  different 
  locality. 
  

  

  BOTANY. 
  — 
  Two 
  new 
  species 
  of 
  letterwood 
  (Piratinera) 
  . 
  S. 
  F. 
  Blake, 
  

   Bureau 
  of 
  Plant 
  Industry. 
  ^ 
  

  

  The 
  letterwood, 
  snakewood, 
  bois 
  des 
  lettres, 
  or 
  letterhout^ 
  of 
  com- 
  

   merce 
  is 
  the 
  heartwood 
  of 
  the 
  species 
  of 
  the 
  Moraceous 
  genus 
  Pira- 
  

   tinera 
  Aubl., 
  all 
  of 
  which 
  are 
  native 
  in 
  the 
  Guianas, 
  the 
  Amazon 
  

   region 
  of 
  Brazil, 
  and 
  Panama. 
  Aublet, 
  describing 
  the 
  original 
  species, 
  

   Piratinera 
  guianensis, 
  says^ 
  that 
  it 
  is 
  called 
  "bois 
  des 
  lettres" 
  by 
  the 
  

   Creoles 
  of 
  French 
  Guiana, 
  and 
  "boutous" 
  by 
  the 
  Galibis, 
  who 
  used 
  

   the 
  inner 
  wood 
  in 
  making 
  bows 
  and 
  clubs. 
  Canes 
  and 
  pestles 
  were 
  

   also 
  made 
  from 
  it. 
  A 
  variety 
  with 
  white 
  heartwood, 
  called 
  "bois 
  

   des 
  lettres 
  blanc," 
  and 
  supposed 
  by 
  Aublet 
  to 
  be 
  only 
  a 
  young 
  state 
  

   of 
  the 
  same 
  species, 
  was 
  used 
  by 
  the 
  negroes 
  in 
  the 
  manufacture 
  of 
  

   walking 
  sticks. 
  For 
  this 
  purpose 
  the 
  straightest 
  branches 
  were 
  selected 
  

   and 
  the 
  bark 
  removed. 
  They 
  were 
  then 
  stained 
  a 
  permanent 
  black 
  

   with 
  a 
  dye 
  made 
  by 
  mixing 
  soot 
  with 
  the 
  sap 
  of 
  a 
  species 
  of 
  Inga 
  

   known 
  as 
  "bourgoni" 
  {Mimosa 
  bourgoni 
  Aubl., 
  now 
  known 
  as 
  Inga 
  

   bourgoni 
  (Aubl.) 
  DC), 
  and 
  when 
  polished 
  had 
  the 
  appearance 
  of 
  ebony. 
  

  

  Letterwood 
  has 
  been 
  an 
  article 
  of 
  commerce 
  from 
  the 
  earliest 
  

   settlement 
  of 
  British 
  Guiana. 
  The 
  timber 
  was 
  originally 
  procured 
  

   from 
  fallen 
  trunks 
  from 
  which 
  the 
  sapwood 
  had 
  long 
  since 
  rotted 
  away. 
  

   Although 
  such 
  material 
  is 
  still 
  occasionally 
  dug 
  up 
  from 
  the 
  forest 
  

   floor, 
  the 
  prevailing 
  practice 
  is 
  to 
  fell 
  the 
  timber 
  and 
  split 
  and 
  hew 
  

  

  1 
  Received 
  September 
  26, 
  1922. 
  

  

  - 
  It 
  should 
  be 
  noted 
  that 
  the 
  name 
  "letterhout" 
  is 
  not 
  restricted 
  to 
  species 
  of 
  Piratinera, 
  

   but 
  is 
  used 
  also, 
  as 
  proved 
  by 
  other 
  material 
  received 
  from 
  Professor 
  Record, 
  for 
  Heli- 
  

   costylis 
  tomentosa 
  (Poepp. 
  & 
  Endl.) 
  Rusby 
  and 
  a 
  species 
  of 
  Sahagimia 
  (?), 
  and 
  the 
  same 
  is 
  

   true 
  of 
  many 
  others 
  of 
  the 
  vernacular 
  names 
  recorded 
  in 
  this 
  paper. 
  

  

  3 
  PI. 
  Guian. 
  2: 
  890. 
  1775. 
  

  

  