18 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



February 



1921 



Lignam-Vitae Imports Increase 



By Samuel J. Record 



The value of the lignum-vitae imports into the United States for 

 the past twenty years is $2,640,669. During the fiscal year ending 

 June 30, 1919, the imports of this wood amounted to 3,270 M feet 

 valued at $308,512. This represented an increase of $136,668 over 

 the imports of the previous year and $85,781 over that of the fiscal 

 year ending June 30, 1917. 



Lignum-vitae finds its largest demand in the shipbuilding indus 

 try where it is used for lining stern tubes. The propeller shaft of 

 every steamship revolves in bearings made of this wood. For this 

 purpose no satisfactory substitute has ever been found. This ac- 

 counts for the rise in imports during the war and the decided 

 reduction following the signing of the Armistice. During the last 

 quarter of 1918, about $108,000 worth of the wood came in. In the 

 first three quarters of 1919 the values were $86,500, $36,000 and 

 $36,250, respectively. 



The true lignum-vitae (Guaiacum spp.) is native only to the 

 Western Tropics. The best grade of wood comes from the West 

 Indies, but there are also large supplies in Central America and 

 Mexico, and some along the northern coast of Colombia and 

 Venezuela. The supply seems adequate to meet the needs of the 

 trade for an indefinite period. The easily accessible timber is gone 

 but there is plenty in the interior if the dealers are willing to pay 

 the increased cost of getting it out. 



The ua'me lignum-vitae means "wood of life," a title bestowed 

 upon it because of its alleged curative powers. One may today find 

 some of the resin on apothecaries' shelves waiting to fill an oc- 

 casional prescription for gout or rheumatism but gone is its glory 

 of earlier days, three or four centuries ago, when it was hailed as 

 a panacea of all man's ills and commanded as much as seven goM 

 crowns a pound. 



The early Spanish explorers were looking for miraculous thiugs. 

 When Gonsalvo Ferrand returned to Spain after a visit to the West 

 Indies some 400 years ago he carried back a few short logs of a 

 squatty thick-boled tree the natives called "guayacan" and to 

 which they ascribed great medicinal value. The medical fraternity 

 hailed it as a boon to mankind and cures were soon reported for 

 such serious diseases as lues venerea, leprosy, scrofula, palsy, epi- 

 lepsy, gout, chronic rheumatism and everything else that had 

 baffled the doctor's skill. It maintained its reputation somehow 

 for upward of 200 years, one of the most notable instances of faith- 

 healing on record. Certain proprietary medicines use it as in- 

 gredient today, but otherwise it is medicinally obsolete. 



Lignum-vitae is a pecular wood and possesses few of the proper- 

 ties which make ordinary woods serviceable. In the first place the 

 tree is short and squatty, often with a trunk only a few feet long. 

 Many of the logs are cut from the thick, heavy limbs. The wood 

 is extremely dense and even when dry is upward pf a third heavier 

 than water. The fibers weave back and forth in a way to produce 

 a veritable woven wood of extreme toughiiess. The heart-wood is 

 completely infiltrated with a resinous material rather pleasantly 

 scented that gives a waxy feel to the wood. 



It is to this resin content that the wood holds its high rank in 

 the timber markets of the world. Herein lies the secret of its suc- 

 cess as propeller shaft bearings under water, for this resin serves 

 to protect the wood from the softening effect of the water and 

 acts as a natural lubricant to the revolving shaft. Its density 

 enables it to withstand enormous loads; the interwoven fiber keeps 

 it from splitting and brooming under impact; the infiltrated lubri- 

 cant prevents friction and eliminates the danger of an overheated 

 bearing in a position where other lubricants cannot be applied. 

 The normal life of such a bearing is said to be about 10 years. 



The manufacture of stern bearings calls for the highest quality 

 of logs and these have been commanding a price of from 12 to 18 



rents, mostly 14 to 16 cents, a pound. At 1-^ cents a pound a cubic 

 foot of lignum-vitae is worth about $12. In some instances it has 

 been sold for as much as 25 cents a pound or about $20 per cubic 

 foot. 



Stern bearings provide the most important use for lignum-vitae 

 but is by no means the only one. Formerly it was in great demand 

 for bowling balls but now only about one ball in ten is made of 

 wood. The value of the lignum-vitae block from which a "regula- 

 tion" ball is cut is about $2.50 and the manufacture requires much 

 skill and painstaking effort. 



A large quantity of low grade logs, known as ' ' cutting up ' ' wood, 

 are consumed in the manufacture of rollers for furniture casters. 

 Small round sticks make excellent mallets and fill a large demand, 

 especially in England. Another imi)ortant use is for sheaves of 

 pulleys, and they have been known to last in constant use for 70 

 years. Wooden sheaves are never used with steel cable or wire 

 rope. Another nautical application is for "Dead-eyes," a small 

 flattish block with a grooved rim to fit in the bight of a rope or 

 encircled by an iron band, pierced with three holes to receive a 

 lan-ard, and used to extend the shrouds and stays. 



Among the miscellaneous uses may be mentioned stencil and 

 chisel blocks, watch-maker's blocks, mortars and pestles, dowels, 

 golf-club heads, wooden cogs, water wheels, and block guides for 

 band saws. In building the Panama Canal, the true lignum-vitae 

 made the most serviceable railroad cross-tic that could be ob- 

 tained. If not spiked to death, such a tie will last 30 years under 

 the most trying conditions. 



Weighing Lignum-vitae Logs in the West Indies for Shipment to the ^ 



United States J 



