February 26. 1921 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



19 



Loading Lignum-vitae Logs on Cai for Running to Pier for Shipment to 

 the United States from Haiti 



Between 150 and 200 tons of genuine lignum-vitae are used every 

 year in New York for fuel in grate fires. The very dense nature 

 of the wood together with the heavy resin content produces a fuel 

 with intense glowing heat and of good lasting qualities. This pro- 

 vides one outlet for the defective and crooked logs which are to 

 be found in every shipment. The selling price per ton, delivered 

 to residences, is about $25 a ton. 



Substitutes tor Lignum-vitae 

 No acceptable substitute has ever been found for lignum-vitae 

 for stern bearings and certain other exacting uses. The 'mancano' 

 of the Philippines was urged for this purpose but did not find 

 favor. The 'varnish-tree' of India has been suggested by various 

 writers but is apparently unsuited. A New York dealer informs 

 the writer that he has been offered 100 tons of 'African lignum- 

 vitae,' but the nature of this wood and the species of tree produc- 

 ing it are unknown. 



During the war when the demands of the ship-building industry 

 were especially heavy and genuine lignum-vitae stocks were short 

 on account of limited shipping facilities, an inferior substitute, 

 known as 'Panama lignum-vitae' or 'yellow guayacan' was used 

 by the Emergency Fleet Corporation. This came about largely 

 through confusion of names. The Panama wood in question is 

 locally known as 'guayacan,' a name also applied to the genuine 

 wood, although the two are of entirely different families of trees 

 and are wholly unlike in structure and properties. Yellow guayacan 

 (Tabobuia sp.) seems to be lacking in the essential properties of 

 genuine lignum-vitae and is probably no better suited for stern 

 bearings than our native beech which was formerly used in a small 

 way. 



Regarding the use of yellow guayacan, the Bureau of Construc- 

 tion and Eepair of the U. S. Navy Department advises the writer 

 in a letter dated March 29, 1919, that it "made one purchase of 

 Tabebuia with the expectation that this material would be suitable 

 for the same uses for which the genuine lignum-vitae is required. 

 Tests have proven that this material has sufficient strength and 

 hardness but is lacking in oil content which prohibits its use for 

 stern tube bearings which require wood of self-lubricating prop- 

 erties." 



The viriter was recently informed by a person familiar with the 

 timbers of Central America that at least 40 different kinds of woods 

 are locally called 'guayacan.' The experience with the Panama 

 wood shows the danger lurking in that name and emphasizes the 

 need for discrimination on the part of users and buyers of lignum- 

 vitae if they would avoid being imposed on, whether intentionally 

 or otherwise. 



An Unusually Tall and ^tr.iit^i't ^^pecimen of Haitian Lignum-vitae, a Species 

 Less Prized Than the Cuban 



Investigating Borneo Woods 



A big conipauy of Loudon capitalists has begun the exploitation 

 of the forests of British North Borneo, and it is quite likely that 

 efforts will be made to market some of the lumber in this country, 

 though the principal market, of course, is in the Far East. There 

 are a great many species in the forest, but not more than ten kinds 

 of lumber will be offered. Seven of these ten are of the dipterocarp 

 family, from which the Philippine lauans and tanguile, the so-called 

 Philippine mahoganies, are derived. The Borneo name of red lauan 

 is seriah, of tanguile is oba sulu, and of apitong is kruin. Another 

 wood found in quantity is the billian or Borneo ironwood, a mate- 

 rial akiu to the greenheart and used for the same purposes. 



Pile of Lignum-vitae in Haiti, Originally Intended for German Navy, but 

 Later Confiscated and Sold by Haitian Government 



