﻿392 
  JOURNAL 
  O'P 
  THE 
  WASHINGTON 
  ACADEMY 
  OF 
  SCIENCES 
  VOL. 
  12, 
  NO. 
  17 
  

  

  off 
  the 
  sapwood 
  in 
  the 
  forest, 
  sending 
  to 
  market 
  the 
  heart 
  portions 
  

   which 
  are 
  3 
  to 
  8 
  inches 
  in 
  diameter 
  and 
  7 
  or 
  8 
  feet 
  long. 
  Its 
  principal 
  

   use 
  in 
  this 
  country 
  is 
  for 
  the 
  manufacture 
  of 
  walking 
  sticks 
  and 
  um- 
  

   brella 
  handles. 
  Minor 
  uses 
  include 
  drum 
  sticks, 
  butts 
  of 
  fishing 
  

   rods, 
  violin 
  and 
  archery 
  bows, 
  and 
  miscellaneous 
  fancy 
  articles. 
  

   It 
  is 
  also 
  employed 
  to 
  a 
  limited 
  extent 
  in 
  cabinet 
  work, 
  but 
  only 
  in 
  

   the 
  form 
  of 
  sawn 
  veneers. 
  The 
  native 
  Indians 
  have 
  long 
  used 
  it 
  

   for 
  making 
  their 
  bows 
  and 
  various 
  other 
  articles 
  requiring 
  great 
  

   strength 
  and 
  elasticity."* 
  

  

  The 
  letterwood 
  trees 
  inhabit 
  the 
  lowlands 
  and 
  not 
  infrequently 
  

   attain 
  a 
  diameter 
  of 
  two 
  and 
  rarely 
  of 
  three 
  feet. 
  The 
  trunks 
  are 
  

   long 
  and 
  slender, 
  covered 
  with 
  a 
  smooth 
  bark 
  rich 
  in 
  milky 
  latex, 
  

   and 
  have 
  a 
  very 
  thick 
  layer 
  of 
  light-colored 
  sapwood 
  surrounding 
  

   a 
  small, 
  often 
  irregular 
  core 
  of 
  red 
  or 
  reddish-brown 
  heartwood 
  that 
  

   is 
  as 
  heavy 
  as 
  lignum-vitae. 
  Commercial 
  wood 
  is 
  spotted 
  all 
  over 
  

   with 
  peculiar 
  black 
  markings 
  which 
  bear 
  some 
  semblance 
  to 
  hiero- 
  

   glyphics 
  and 
  often 
  give 
  to 
  the 
  surface 
  the 
  appearance 
  of 
  snake 
  skin. 
  

   Not 
  all 
  of 
  the 
  heartwood 
  is 
  figured 
  in 
  this 
  way, 
  and 
  the 
  native 
  cutters 
  

   cannot 
  tell 
  until 
  they 
  have 
  cut 
  through 
  the 
  sapwood 
  whether 
  the 
  

   heart 
  will 
  be 
  speckled 
  or 
  only 
  striped 
  with 
  black. 
  It 
  has 
  been 
  sup- 
  

   posed 
  that 
  the 
  speckled 
  wood 
  was 
  indicative 
  of 
  a 
  certain 
  species, 
  

   but 
  studies 
  of 
  sections 
  of 
  tree 
  trunks 
  which 
  accompanied 
  the 
  herbarium 
  

   material 
  described 
  in 
  this 
  paper 
  prove 
  that 
  this 
  feature 
  is 
  not 
  a 
  spe- 
  

   cific 
  character. 
  

  

  Prof. 
  Samuel 
  J. 
  Record, 
  of 
  the 
  School 
  of 
  Forestry 
  of 
  Yale 
  Uni- 
  

   versity, 
  who 
  is 
  making 
  a 
  thorough 
  investigation 
  of 
  many 
  tropical 
  

   American 
  woods, 
  has 
  recently 
  sent 
  me 
  for 
  study 
  a 
  considerable 
  num- 
  

   ber 
  of 
  specimens 
  of 
  Moraceae 
  which 
  he 
  secured 
  from 
  British 
  and 
  Dutch 
  

   Guiana, 
  including 
  no 
  less 
  than 
  12 
  sheets 
  of 
  Piratinera, 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  some 
  

   detached 
  leaves 
  representing 
  other 
  collections. 
  Full 
  credit 
  for 
  the 
  

   collection 
  of 
  these 
  important 
  specimens 
  should 
  be 
  given 
  to 
  Mr. 
  J. 
  

   W. 
  Gonggrijp, 
  Conservator 
  of 
  Forests 
  of 
  Surinam, 
  Mr. 
  L. 
  S. 
  Hohen- 
  

   kerk. 
  Forest 
  Officer 
  of 
  British 
  Guiana, 
  and 
  Mr. 
  C. 
  W. 
  Anderson, 
  

   formerly 
  Forest 
  Officer, 
  whose 
  efforts 
  have 
  provided 
  material 
  for 
  the 
  

   settlement 
  of 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  many 
  problems 
  connected 
  with 
  the 
  identi- 
  

   fication 
  of 
  tropical 
  American 
  trees 
  of 
  commercial 
  importance. 
  As 
  

   preliminary 
  examination 
  of 
  this 
  material 
  showed 
  that 
  it 
  represented 
  

   three 
  species 
  with 
  distinctive 
  foliar 
  characters, 
  leaves 
  of 
  all 
  three 
  

  

  ^ 
  This 
  paragraph 
  and 
  the 
  following 
  one 
  have 
  been 
  contributed 
  by 
  Professor 
  S. 
  J. 
  Record. 
  

  

  