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Three Unusual 



Trees 





HAMMATTI 



The hammatti tree is indigenous to the Pacific slope of the 

 southern part of Central America, where it forms the most con- 

 spicuous forest tree. It is botanically called Cavanillesia platani- 

 folia, and is one of the most majestic trees known. It has an 

 exceedingly limited distribution as compared with a good many of 

 its closely allied species. The ceiba (Eriodeiidron anfractuosum), 

 for instance, which closely resembles the hammatti, is well known, 

 being a native of all tropical countries, and is frequently planted 

 for shade and ornament. The hammatti, on the contrary, is a little 

 known tree outside of its immediate region of distribution, and is 

 not regarded as a desirable tree for planting for shade. This is 

 due to the fact that the trunk is usually without branches for 

 more than half the total height of the tree and does not cast a 

 dense shade around its base. It grows from sixty to eighty feet in 

 height and has a trunk often six feet in diameter four feet from 

 the ground. Like some of its near relatives, the trunk of the 

 hammatti tree frequently bulges out immediately above the ground, 

 which renders it a very conspicuous object. Above this great 

 bulge the trunk tapers very little until it reaches the first branches. 

 The wood is white, coarse-grained, very soft, weak, and exceedingly 

 light in weight. It is so light that one man can easily carry on his 

 back a log eight feet long and three feet in diameter. This huge 

 tree possesses no value as timber, because it decays in a short time 

 after it is cut. The wood is also of very little importance as fuel. 



BRAZII.-NUT TREE 



Brazil-nut tree, or Bertholletia excclia, is one of the most widely 

 distributed trees in Brazil, Guianas and Venezuela, and furnishes 

 the well-known Brazil nuts or cream nuts of commerce. The tree 

 attains a height' of from one hundred to one hundred and fifty feet 

 and a diameter of from three to five feet. It is one of the most 

 gigantic trees in the South American forests and forms im- 

 mense stretches of forests along the banks of the Amazon and 

 Eio Negro, and likewise about Esmeraldas on the Orinoco, where 

 the natives call it "juvia." The Portuguese name in Brazil is 

 castanheiro or castanheiro do Para, and is so called because the 

 Castanheiro Indians usually gather the nuts and bring them to the 

 market in Para, where they form a considerable article of export. 



In 1910 nearly 500,000 bushels of these nuts, valued at $1,250,000, 

 were imported into the United States. 



The fruit of this tree is nearly round and contains from eighteen 

 to twenty-four seeds, which are so beautifully packed in the shell 

 that when once removed it is impossible to replace them. When 

 the fruits are ripe they fall to the ground and the Indians, who 

 gather them, split them open with an ax and gather the seed for 

 shipment. These seeds are much used in commerce. The oil 

 expressed from the nuts forms a substitute for olive oil, and is 

 employed by watchmakers and artists. 



The Brazil-nut tree is closely related to the Colombian ma- 

 hogany (Cariniana pyriformis) and the woods resemble each other 

 in general appearance. The wood of this tree is coarser, however, 

 and is not likely to be substituted for either the true or Colombian 

 mahogany. It is highly esteemed in Brazil for building and naval 

 construction and for works exposed to the soil and air. ' It is 

 hard, heavy, strong and tough, and splits with a straight, clean 

 fracture, though not so easily as our hard maple. The wood is 

 light brown, but turns slightly darker with age, and takes a very 

 fair polish, which it retains. It is found in such great abundance 

 and possesses so many of the qualities necessary to make posts, 

 poles, piles and exposed timbers of all kinds that it may be expected 

 to be found in the American markets in the near future. Its dura- 

 bility combined with cheapness recommends it as a substitute for 

 our flooring woods, and it will make an absolutely clean floor that 

 will last. Our beech, birch and maple make fine floors, but the 

 cost is generally so high that these seem prohibitive except in high- 

 class work. There is an almost inexhaustible supply of this wood 

 and the large forests have scarcely been touched with the ax. 



Every part of the tree is useful. The bark is employed for 

 making oakum, which is used extensively in Brazil for calking 

 vessels. 



AKAUCAMAN PINE 



The araucarian or Chilian pine (Araucaria imhricata) is a mag- 

 nificent evergreen tree of the cone-bearing family of plants, and 

 is reputed to be hardy in this country as far north as the latitude 

 of New York. It will stand the climate without any difliculty 

 anywhere south of the Mason and Dixon line, where it will thrive 



HAMMATTI, THE MOST REMARKABLE TREE 

 IN PANAMA. 



—26— 



BRAZIL-NDT TREES SHOWING THEIR LONG 

 CLEAR TRUNKS. 



AN ARAUCARIAN I'INE PLANTED FOR 

 ORNAMENT. 



