112 JOURNAL OF FORESTRY 



that the author, who has the title of wood expert in the Bureau of For- 

 estry, has knowledge gained from experience by having worked with 

 the woods himself. He is acquainted with them as a man who uses 

 them is and is in a position to speak whereof he knows. In his treat- 

 ment, under the heading of "Working and finishing," he makes the 

 following statements as regards the "hard tropical" woods : 



1. The softer commercial woods of the Philippines are much easier 

 to work than the oaks or hickories. 



2. They are more abundant, not in the number of species, but in total 

 bulk, than the hard and heavy woods. 



3. They are being exported in greater quantities than the very hard 

 woods. 



4. The heavier woods are, as a rule, difficult to work only on account 

 of their hardness and not especially on account of other qualities, such 

 as toughness or crossed or curly grain. 



The bulletin is divided into five parts. In Part I the forests, the 

 timber supply, and the markets are discussed. Part II treats of the 

 properties of the woods, the methods of conversion, working and finish- 

 ing, and the preservation treatment. Part III is a comprehensive treat- 

 ment of the uses of the woods. This differs from the usual treatment 

 of the subject in that the author does not confine himself to a mere list 

 of the woods that are used for certain purposes, but discusses in some 

 detail the choice that is open to the user, taking into consideration the 

 abundance and the cost of the wood itself. Part IV is a discussion of 

 the methods of identification that is practical to any one who knows 

 how to use a jackknife, a fine white stone, and a lens magnifying four 

 or five diameters. In Part V, the species descriptions, there is a very 

 comprehensive treatment of some 468 woods, arranged according to 

 families, genera, and species. These descriptions include a general 

 consideration of the family and something of its commercial impor- 

 tance. Then follows a description of each wood, under the following 

 headings: Local names, gross structure (including workability and 

 durability), uses, supply, and prices. Species that are important are 

 given more space than those that are not so. 



Appendices II to IV treat of the economical properties of thirty-four 

 Philippine woods, the shipping weights, grading rules, and durability 

 of sapwood. There is also a general index, an index of the common 

 names, and one of the scientific names. 



H. N. W. 



