ARGENTINE AND PARAGUAY FORESTS 825 



The composition of the forests varies, both from south to north and 

 from east to west. In Santa Fe, the portion first exploited, Santa Fe 

 type red quebracho (Schinopsis lorentzii) prevails, with white que- 

 bracho (Aspidisperma quebracho bianco) second, and a scattering of 

 Chorisia insignis, called locally palo borracho or samuhr, algarroba 

 (prosopis of several species), jacaranda (Jacaranda chelonia), and a 

 few other trees, besides (in the swampiest sites) various palms, of 

 which the black palm (Trithrinax) is the most useful species. 



Further west the Santa Fe type quebracho is gradually replaced by 

 the Santiago type (Schinopsis balansae), white quebracho and jac- 

 aranda become relatively more abundant, and the palms disappear. 



Proceeding northward into Formosa, the palms become more abun- 

 dant, and other species appear, notably "palo santa" (Bulnesia Sar- 

 mienti), a tree with very aromatic dark brown wood, which sometimes 

 grows in pure stands. 



In the Paraguayan Chaco the forests are very mixed, quebracho no 

 longer predominating. There are vast "palmeras" — open plains dotted 

 with tall palms — and the trees in the forests become taller. There is 

 a great deal of lapacho (Tabebuia flavescens), whose bole resembles 

 a chestnut in shape and color of bark, and whose wood is hard, yellow- 

 ish brown, fairly clear grained, and fit for sawing for lumber. 



FOREST UTILIZATION 



While the forests have of course been exploited on a small scale for 

 centuries, it is only within the past two generations that any large 

 scale utilization has been attempted. This modern exploitation may 

 be divided into the following classes : rare cabinet woods for exporta- 

 tion, local construction including lumber, ties, telephone poles, paving 

 blocks, bridge timbers, etc., fuel and by-products including tannins, 

 dyes, paper pulp, etc. 



Of the cabinet woods, only cedro has been exported on any large 

 scale. One furniture factory in P.uenos Aires, run in connection with 

 a large department store, uses nearly twenty kinds of local woods, and 

 turns out a ])roduct that compares favorably with the best American 

 jjrfjiluct. So far as I know, no veneer mills are located in the country, 

 and there should be a lucrative field. Cedro is used in large quantities 

 for woodwork, doors, stairs, etc. 



Nearly every species is used in one way or another for local con- 

 struction. Probably more white quebracho is sawed into lumber than 



