HARDWOOD RECORD 



21 



from eighty to one himdred feet high and from two to four feet 

 through. It produces wood that resembles the eonaoaste {Enterolo- 

 biuin cyclocarim7)i) of Central America and is used for the same pur- 

 poses. While it is rather coarse in grain, it is often used in place 

 of our diminishing supply of black walnut. The well-known timbouva 

 (Enierolobium limboura) is one of the most gigantic trees in Brazil, 

 often attaining one hundred and thirty feet in height and nearly ten 

 feet in diameter. The wood is light brown, rather soft and porous, 

 very durable, and remotely resembles true mahogany. It is used for 

 building, interior finish, furniture, and boat construction. 



Brazilwood or Brazilletto (Caesalpina hrasiliensis) is a tree of 

 average size. Its wood is light red, very hard, heavy, and close- 

 grained. It contains bright red coloring matter which is often ex- 

 tracted for commercial purposes. Its chief use is for violin bows 

 and for small articles of furniture, turnery, and parquetry. The 

 available supply of this wood is almost exhausted and consequently 

 is very high-priced. 



Brazil {Caesalpina echinala) 

 is a tree from forty to fifty feet 

 high and from one to two feet 

 in diameter. The wood is well 

 known for its use in making 

 dyes, and is also used for inlaid 

 work and for making small ar- 

 ticles of furniture. It is now 

 becoming very rare. Other dye 

 woods are being substituted and 

 the remaining trees are often 

 cut down for use as fence posts 

 and other purposes requiring 

 strength and durability. It is 

 also known as peachwood, Lima, 

 Xicaragua, and Pernambuco 

 wood. In French Guiana it is 

 called Brasil de St. Martha. 



Fustic {Chlorophora tincioria) 

 is another dye-producing species. 

 It attains a height of from 

 twenty-five to fifty feet and a 

 diameter of two feet or more. 

 Freshly-cut heartwood is light 

 yellow, but after exposure to air 

 and light becomes a yellow- 

 brown. A cubic foot of seasoned 

 wood weighs about fifty pounds. 

 A good part of this wood used 

 in the United States comes from 

 Venezuela and Colombia. 



Angelim, known also as cab- 

 bage tree (Andira inermis), 

 forms usually a dwarfed tree 

 from thirty to forty feet high, and sometimes six feet in diameter. 

 The wood is reddish-brown, hard, very durable, and takes a very 

 beautiful polish. It is found in the northern and central parts of 

 Brazil. Under the name angelina several other species are recognized 

 by reason of their firm and hard woods, and they are used for 

 building and for naval construction, as well as for furniture, par- 

 quetry, and turnery. 



Cedro (Cedrela fissilis) is a beautiful tree of remarkable size; 

 the trunk is sometimes ten feet or more in diameter. It is found in all 

 the provinces north of the Eio de Janeiro and especially in the valley 

 of the Amazon, where it attains its greatest dimensions. Large, fine 

 planks are obtained from it. The wood, which resembles Spanish 

 cedar, is used also for making cigar boxes, turned articles, images, 

 and furniture. It is becoming so limited that it is used only for 

 boxes for the very best cigars. 



Cumaru, known also as tongabean, gaiae, cumara, and tonquin 

 bean (Dipteryx odorata), is a tree from thirty to forty feet high 

 and about three feet in diameter. It produces dark brown wood, 

 which has a greenish-yellow coloring matter in the pores. It is very 



A CONIFEROL'S FOREST IN THE HIGHLANDS OF CHILI 



heavy, hard, rough, exceedingly cross-grained, very durable, and em- 

 ployed for purposes requiring strength and stiffness. It is now im- 

 ported and used for building purposes, fishing rods, and, in the 

 form of veneer, for cabinet work. 



Jacaranda prcto {Machaerium legale) is a tree from seventy to 

 eighty feet high and from two to three feet in diameter. The wood 

 is usually of a dark reddish color and is one of the most compact 

 and hardest woods known and is much in denmnd for building, 

 cabinet work, and turned articles. This name is applied also to 

 {Dalbergia nigra), a tree belonging to the same section of legumin- 

 ous plants. Jacaranda is a general term applied also to the follow- 

 ing species: (Machaermm firmiim), (M. legale), and (M. incorrupii- 

 blc), which ara all large trees. On account of this confusion of 

 names, the wood of these trees is often palmed off on the mai'ket 

 for the true rosewood of Central America. One other species of this 

 genus from British Guiana is M. sc]iornbrn<ilii, which produces the 



beautiful mottled wood called 

 locally itaka or tigerwood, used 

 so extensively for furniture. 

 Still another species (_M. brasi- 

 liense) is sometimes called rose- 

 wood. This wood is light red, 

 hard, heavy, and very fine and 

 even-grained, which renders it 

 verv desirable for ornamental 

 cabinet work, especially for 

 pianos, turnery, and inlaid work. 

 Pao d'arco, known also as 

 white cedar, cogwood, and roble 

 bianco (Tabebuia pentaphylla) 

 is a tree froni sixty to one hun- 

 dred feet high and from four 

 to six feet in diameter. The 

 wood is yellowish or sometimes 

 very light brown, hard, compact, 

 even-grained, and elastic. It is 

 used for building, naval construc- 

 tion, and cabinet work. 



Greenheart (Nectandra ro- 

 dice) is a very valuable timber 

 from British Guiana and is re- 

 markable for its lasting quali- 

 ties. The wood is produced by a 

 tree from sixty to one hundred 

 feet high from two to four feet 

 through. It is very hard, heavy, 

 tough, strong, elastic, and fine- 

 grained. Greenheart is said to 

 be the strongest timber in use 

 and is now being imported into 

 tliis country for special uses. It 

 ,is unsurpassed as a construction timber and finds its chief use for 

 marine works. Nansen's ship. The Farm, and tlie Antarctic ship. Dis- 

 covery, were built of greenheart, which is said to be jn-oof against 

 marine borers. 



Quebracho {Qiieirachia lorentzii) is one of the few woods that is 

 at present shipped from Argentina and Paraguay into this country. 

 About 80,000 tons of this wood are shipped into the United States 

 for use in extracting tannin. Quebracho is one of the hardest, 

 heaviest and most durable woods known. This wood will continue to 

 be shipped into this country as long as the supply will hold out. 



Colombian mahogany (Cariiiiana pyriforinis) comes chiefly from 

 Colombia and has been sold here as a mahogany substitute. The 

 wood is moderately hard, heavy (about forty-two pounds per cubic 

 foot), strong, and tough. In color it compares almost exactly Avith 

 genuine mahogany. 



True mahogany (Swietenia mahagoni) is found in northeastern 

 Colombia and together with cedar is exploited and shipped into the 

 United States. Mahogany is nearly exhausted. 



In addition to the above named woods nearly all of which have 



