HARDWOOD RECORD 



31 



South are inquiring as to suitable locations in tropical America 

 in which to operate. 



The best grades of our eonimercial timbers from all sources do 

 not meet the present demands of manufacture, and manj- of the 

 most important articles of common use are steadily advancing in 

 price, due to increasing scarcity of some kinds of timber in this 

 •country. "Where is this deficiency to be supplied is a question 

 ■which is soon to be answered. Experts usually point to tropical 

 America where the lumberman can find a long list of good woods, 

 •capable of supplying all deficiencies for many years to come. The 

 importation of lumber from these forests has not been in a ratio 

 equal to the demand. This is due lagrely to the broken character 

 ■of the soil and the lack of up-to-date methods of lumbering. The 

 methods used by a good many small concerns are crude in the 

 •extreme. Gravity slides, oxen, and gangs of men are used in 

 getting the logs to the shipping points. Such methods are crude 

 slow, and expensive. 



Practically all the really };ood woods in tropical America have 

 been tested in the 

 American markets, 

 •and many ox them 

 are known to large 

 timber merchants 

 •and to wood users in 

 this country. A list 

 ■of the principal 

 kinds that are likely 

 to become more im- 

 portant in the Amer- 

 ican markets in the 

 future are as fol- 

 lows : 



ilahogany, caoba, 

 (Swietenia mahag- 

 oni) enjoys, the 

 greatest popularity 

 of all tropical Amer- 

 ican woods, and will 

 continue to be the 

 principal timber for 

 export. The bulk of 

 the mahogany that is 

 left is found in 

 southern il e x i c o, 

 where in the uplands 

 it is dispersed 

 throughout the gen- 

 <?ral forest in the 

 proportion of about 1 to 500 other trees, while on the lowlands it is 

 found in the proportion of about 1 to 300. Mahogany is not plenti- 

 ful in Central America and it is also very rare in Cuba. There are 

 •still a good many trees in the mountains of Cuba, but they are 

 almost inaccessible with present means of transportation. 



ilahogany has been heavily worked along the navigable streams 

 and is now found only in the forests where its removal is becoming 

 more difiicult every year. This observation applies to all the regions 

 where mahogany grows. Still the numerous streams and rivers 

 ■which rise in southern Mexico afford splendid facOities for floating 

 the logs, even from their extreme sources, in the rainy seasons. 



-Mahogany is of a light brown color tinged with light red when 

 fresh sawed, but soon turns darker if exposed to light and air. 

 It may be said to be hard, though there are grades of it in 

 the Mexican lowlands that are distinctly soft and light, both in 

 weight and color. Mahogany answering to this description is usually 

 graded separately and called "baywood. " 



The qualities and uses of all grades of true mahogany are well 

 known and it is useless to enumerate them here. 



Spanish cedar, cedro Colorado, cedrel, or cedren (Cedrela odorata) 

 belongs to the same family (Meliacew) as the true mahogany. 

 .There are now more than sixteen species of this genus described 



A MUSEUM COLLECTION OF MEXICAN WOODS IX THE COMMERCIAL MUSEUM, 



DELPHIA. PA. 



from tropical America, and all of them attain commercial size 

 and importance. The Spanish cedar is the only one that haa a 

 pronounced aromatic odor and can be readily distinguished by this 

 character from the otiier cedar woods. It is found chiefly along the 

 rivers and attains a height of from sixty to ninety feet and a 

 diameter of from two to four or more feet. This species is fairly 

 abundant in the virgin forests, though at present almost inaccessible 

 in a good niany locations. The wood is moderately soft, light, and 

 floats in water when it is thoroughly seasoned. It is very durable 

 in contact with the soil and water, and is much used for boards and 

 locally for canoe-making. Spanish cedar wood is in great demand 

 in the United States for making cigar boxes and often sells for a 

 iiigher price than true mahogany. 



Bullet-wood, balata, bully, or hoisefiesh {Mimusops globoso) is a 

 fairly abundant tree in Central America and is from eighty to 

 one hundred feet in height and from five to seven feet in diameter. 

 There are four varieties of the wood, known in the trade as the 

 red, black, white, and yellow bullet-wood. It grows principally on 



low hiUs and along 

 the streams and riv- 

 ers. The wood is 

 very hard, heavy, 

 strong, tough, fine 

 and straight-grained, 

 and is easily worked. 

 It is very durable 

 and lasts indefinitely 

 in water and is used 

 for bridge and house 

 building. It is as 

 valuable as mahog- 

 any or oak for most 

 purposes, but it is 

 stronger and more 

 durable. 



Blackwood, ma- 

 dera negro, or madre 

 de cacao (Gliricidia 

 maculata) is a tree 

 from forty to sixty 

 feet in height and 

 from o n e t o three 

 in diameter. It is 

 very abundant o n 

 the west side of the 

 watershed and is 

 rarely found on the 

 east. The wood is 

 very hard, heavy, and very fine-grained, and is used for house 

 framing and cabinet work, for railroad ties, posts, and 

 wherever great strength and durability are required. It is also used 

 occasionally for bridge building, but the majority of the logs are so 

 crooked that they are not fitted for this purpose. It is said that 

 blaekwood is known to last in the ground for one hundred years, and 

 is often used in place of the true lignum-vitK. 



Sapodillo, naceberry, sapotillo, espanel, sapote, or limonero rojo 

 {Achras sapota) is a fairly abundant tree and varies from fifty to 

 one hundred feet in height and often from four to five feet in 

 diameter. It grows on the low hills on the Atlantic side and 

 is cultivated on the west side. The wood is very hard, heavy, strong, 

 tough, and splits with difficulty. It is proof against the teredo 

 and has been found in the ruins of Palenque, where it must have 

 been placed long before the Spanish conquest. While it is difiicult 

 to work, it makes handsome furniture, and is much used for house 

 framing. The tree yields a well-known fruit. 



Fustic, Cuba wood, yellow-wood, mora, mora de cortez (Chloro- 

 phora tinctoria) attains a height of from twenty-five to fifty feet 

 and a diameter of two feet or more. It yields the valuable yellow, 

 brown, and green dyestuflfs. The nearly white sapwood is very 

 thin, and the greater portion of the tree therefore is heartwood. 



PHILA- 



