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Available Foreign Hardwoods 



FIFTH ARTICLE 

 HARDWOODS OF HAWAII 



Editor's Note 



Following is tlie sixth of a series of articles on foreign liardwoods available for use in this country. The first 

 coveretl hardwoods available in the Central American countries : the second covered hardwoods available in South 

 American countries : the third covered hardwoods of Africa : the fourth covered hardwoods of Ceylon ; the fifth cov- 

 ered hardwoods of IJurma and India, and the seventh will cover hardwoods of Australia. 



Tlie HKwaiiau group consists of eight islands, which lie about 2,000 

 niiks southwest of San Francisco. The combined area of the group 

 is nearly that of New Jersey, or about 7,500 square miles. These 

 islands present great varieties of soil and climatic conditions. They 

 are of volcanic origin and very mountainous, their greatest elevation 

 ranging from 4,000 feet on Oahu to 13,760 feet on Hawaii. Most 

 of the rainfall of the islands is confined to the northeast and easv 



A LARGE ALGOROBA TREE. 



mountain slopes, where it is very heavy, amounting often to more than 

 200 inches annually. On the leeward side of these mountains and on 

 the plains Ijeyond, the rainfall is often insufficient to grow a crop 

 of any kind without irrigation. The forests are largely confined to 

 the rainy side of the mountains and are necessary as a protective 

 cover to keep the ground from washing from the slopes and the rain 

 from rushing back too rapidly into the sea. 



About twenty ]ier cent of the islands is at present covered with 

 forests. The value of these forests consists not so much in the trees 

 contained as in the undergrowth beneath them, which holds the water 

 like a sponge. The conservation of the water for purposes of irriga- 

 tion is an important factor in the islands and a forest cover is impera- 

 tive. While the forests occupy large areas of land, the valuable woods 

 worth exporting are very few. They furnish a great variety of woods, 

 many of which have considerable value locally for special purposes, 

 but there are only two woods which can be regarded as having a 

 commercial value. These are the koa (Acacia Voa) and ohia-lehua 

 (Mcirosidcros polymorpha) . 



Koa, which is now shipped into this country under the name of 

 Hawaiian mahogany, was the ancient royal and sacred wood of the 

 islands. The chiefs v.ere buried in coflins made of the wood of this 

 tree. Forest Service Bidletin 48 states that "Koa is the only fairly 

 abundant tree of the Hawaiian forests which is valuable because of 

 its timber. It is a highly-prized cabinet wood, which has been largely 

 used on the islands and has also been exported in limited quantities. 

 Its color varies through many rich shades of red and brown; its grain 

 is fine and indistinct. Curly koa is especially prized, but is very rare. 

 Most of the koa on JTaui has been cut, but an extensive mature 

 forest exists in Ililo and Puna at elevations of from 4,000 to 6,000 

 feet. This forest is but little known, but seems to contain some 

 magnificent timber and to be in a good state of reproduction. Prac- 



—20— 



tically all of the forest is upon accessible government land, and could 

 be utilized to great advantage should the government build a road 

 to it and establish a sawmill for working up the mature trees." 



Ohia-lehua is a tree which grows to a maximum diameter of thirty 

 inches and to a height of from forty to sixty feet. Its trunk is 

 straight and clear of branches to near the top. The wood itself is 

 of an olive color, approaching a reddish color near the center of the 

 log. Some of the grades obtained from the old and large logs have 

 the appearance of true mahogany. The wood is considerably harder, 

 heavier, and much finer-grained than that of mahogany. It takes 

 a beautiful polish with a silky luster. In the islands it is often used 

 for interior finish, but as a rule, is employed for rougher purposes, 

 such as packing boxes and dock planks. Ohia has the general appear- 

 ance of a wood that might be useful for certain grades of furniture, 

 but unless carefully handled it is apt to check in drying and often 

 warps badly, and at one time was considered to be of little commer- 

 cial use, except for fuel. Formerly the natives of the islands used 

 this wood in the Iniilding of their log hou.«es. and more recently it has 



A KOA TREE SHOWING THE BRANCHING CHARACTER. 



been employed on the island for railroad ties. The wood has also 

 been used for making crosstie plates and insulator pins, and it is 

 cjuile likely to come into more general use locally and in this country. 

 While there is a good deal of the native timber cut for local consump- 

 tion, the greater part of the lumber Hawaii uses comes from San 

 Francisco, and Paget Sound. Red fir is the principal timber used on 

 the island. Small quantities of redwood, yellow |iine, ami eejl* 



