^:,^:>K^^:,^■>:<iiXx^/^y:^:>w^H^;ro.^.<V.■y.^!,:,!/..|/^^,^!B^a^^^ 



y.^■^ r .^;^^)^y■^ ; gr■s^^y^^g !gK^ggg5C Bg^aal!»iSil!)!< ! > ^^ 



The Timher of British Guiana 



KV T. BAItKLEY PKFtClV 



Tlic fiiri'sts ot" British Guiana, Snitli America, are estimated to cover 

 78,500 8(|uari' miles of country, or about six-sevenths of the whole 

 area of the colony. The forest may bo said to extend throughout the 

 whole colony, being broken at intervals by areas of savannah land, but 

 at present the workable area is confined to 11,000 square miles in the 

 more accessible parts extending from the sea coast to where tlie large 

 rivers arc interrupted by rapids and falls. Timber cannot be trans- 

 ported by water carriage over the rapids that interrupt thesi' rivers 

 beyond their tidal reaches. 



The trees comprising the forests 



of British Guiana are rarely of 

 social habit. A great many differ- 

 ent kinds of trees exist and there- 

 fore the forests are classed as 

 mi.xed. The forests vary in 

 height. In some parts, par- 

 ticularly on the low coast lands 

 and along the tidal reaches of the 

 rivers, the average height of the 

 trees would be about 60 to 70 feet, 

 but farther inland they are much 

 more lofty and are on the aver- 

 age about 100 feet in height. The 

 trees in this high forest generally 

 rise with straight, clear stems and 

 are of small girth. 



In the forests it is often com- 

 mon for different trees to pre- 

 dominate and to form more or 

 less broadly defined natural di- 

 visions of forest growth. These 

 are known locally by the name 

 of the prevailing kind — as the 

 greenheart, wallaba and crab- 

 wood forests. Frequently the 

 predominance of different kinds 

 of timber is confined to situations 

 that are defined by the nature 

 and condition of the soil, and 

 therefore these natural divisions 

 of forest growth are accentuated 

 by differing conditions of situa- 

 tion, soil, and other topographical 

 features. 



The following separate indus- 

 tries are carried on, at present, 

 in connection with the forests of 

 the colony: Wood-cutting for 

 (a) timber and lumber, (b) wal- 

 laba shingles, pailings, stavos and 

 posts, (c) charcoal, (d) fiul. 



L'nder existing conditions the workable area of the forest is limited 

 to the more accessible parts, where transport is comparatively easy. 

 All hauling is done by gangs of men, or by oxen, and the greater por- 

 tion of the timber is floated down the rivers to convenient points for 

 export. 



Laborers for transportation or general work are engaged under 

 contract for periods up to three months at a daily wage. For felling 

 trees and squaring logs trained wood-cutters are required and paid 

 at an agreed rate per cubic foot of the timber squared where felled. 



Along the margin of the sea and the river estuaries, belts of man- 

 grove {Khiiophora mangle) and courida (Avicennia) principally com- 

 pose the forest, the latter being mostly confined to the coasts. Higher 

 up the rivers, on the lands bordering their banks, there is an abundant 



M.\P OF I 



British Guiana. 



'T/foiKimt, a, fisjtu-, /O// 





growth of nior;i {Pimorphaiiiira mora). 



In the forests of the slightly elevated country are found most of the 

 timbers that are regularly exported. Various kinds of Kakaralli 

 (Lifiilliis spp.) are generally predominant, but it is in this section 

 of the forests that greenheart, wallaba and bullet tree are found. 



Of all the timbers of the colony, greenheart (Nectandra rodivei) is 

 cointnercially the best known. Large quantities have been regularly 

 exporte.l within the last eighty-six years. Rated as a first-class wood 

 at Lloyd 's it is chiefly used for 

 submerged works of all kinds, 

 such as wharves, piles, dock and 

 lock gates. 



The brown or yellow greenheart 

 is hard, heavy, tough, strong and 

 elastic, and is said to have the 

 property of resisting the teredo. 

 The black variety is much more 

 scarce and can be distinguished 

 from the brown by its color and 

 greater hardness. Logs of green- 

 heart can be obtained from ten 

 to twenty-five inches square, and 

 up to sixty-five feet in length; 

 and no tree which will square less 

 than ten inches is allowed to be 

 felled. 



In its habit the greenheart may 

 be considered to be partly gre- 

 garious. It favors hilly lands 

 with a sandy clay soil, and is 

 usually found most abundant on 

 the slopes of the hills. The 

 greenheart areas are estimated to 

 contain an average of thirty-two 

 greenheart trees to the acre, and 

 are almost entirely confined to 

 the central parts of the colony 

 which are traversed by the Esse- 

 quibo, Demerara and Berbico riv- 

 ers and their tributaries. They 

 disappear towards the eastern 

 borders, and in the northwestern 

 district only a few small areas 

 occur in the Baruma district, and 

 a .solitary one on the Aruba river. 

 In the interior regions there re- 

 mains a large quantity of this 

 wood waiting easier means of 

 transport for exploitation. 



There are two varieties of 

 crabwood (Carapa quyanensis), 

 the n .1 ami the white. Red crabwood is a red colored wood, with a 

 moderately coarse and open grain. It is largely used in the colony 

 for building purposes, and is the most popular furniture wood. It 

 reseml)les mahogany in appearance when polished, and has proved 

 itself to be a good substitute for that wood. White crabwood is simi- 

 lar to the red variety, but paler in color and of less specific gravity. 

 Logs of crabwood can be obtained from forty to sixty feet long, and 

 from eight to sixteen inches square. 



Craliwood is found growing scattered throughout the forests of all 

 the ri\er valleys of the colony, particularly on the low-lying flat lands 

 that arc subject to inundation either by high tides or heavy rains. It 

 also occurs in lesser quantities in more elevated and billy country. 

 In some parts, notably in the Corantyne district, it is partly gregarious 



—.32a— 



8»iT^^M CuiA^M. jfMCt 90,277 S^tf, r*. rrtUca /h^i^^jrrraH.COi-Of^r ^04.08S 



Crr.4T,,r_ Saooo tt-itimaiui/ /90S-a\ /^foan £ f,T6S,3Saio.r,Cii'otri9 

 J- I, 7il,s*3 7 o ycr'907-e), <icr.iJtf /stUsSu'i'" ^^S^'^ ii ims, -ft* 2,*73,as* 

 iuju^GaOnnSi fi,ot e.30et6T7 Ut . T^Mtr^ /9/.4CS aii/ett, Sfc^r^r 

 /bacffos li}.;a>Lo /J6J* 6oLS,a'-Mc*os JiSfz^Omya' ■i./S/'/tCajrx6e. 



.lviaZ,fr^UfJi, 



