513 JOURNAL OF FORESTRY 



in the larger markets of South America, and especially in southern 

 Brazil and Argentina. Here, in spite of the fact that it is a higher- 

 priced timber, it is employed for many of the same classes of construc- 

 tion work that the imported conifers are. Cedro cannot be considered 

 a common tree in the forest, although, comparatively speaking, it is 

 very common in the markets. In the so-called teak forests that I saw 

 in Burma there was less than one mature teak tree to the acre. The 

 volume of the dipterocarp woods in this forest constituted more than 

 one-half of its total volume. Yet the forest was managed principally 

 for teak, and with one exception, pyingado (Xylia dolahriformis), the 

 other woods were seldom utilized. When I first went to the Philippines 

 one seldom heard of the dipterocarp timbers, although they were on 

 the market. The hue and cry of the lumberman was for the concessions 

 containing hard, durable timbers, especially those with beauty in color 

 and grain, yet when I visited the forests I was surprised to find that 

 these timbers were as scarce as gold nuggets in a mining region with 

 large quantities of low-grade ore deposits. 



What is the meaning of this search for gold-nugget woods in a forest 

 that is rich in great quantities of ore-deposit timbers of a low grade? 

 There are several conditions that have to be taken into consideration. 

 In the first place, the wood-destroying forces in the tropics are much 

 greater than in temperate regions. The continual heat and moisture 

 favor the rapid development of fungi, and with the presence of wood- 

 destroying white ants (termites) tend to shorten the life of non-du- 

 rable timbers ; consequently hard, durable timbers are sought for per- 

 manent structure, or else materials like rock, brick, and cement are used. 



In tropical countries that are little developed commercially the cost 

 of extracting such timbers by crude methods (animal and manual 

 labor) is great, but the ruling prices justify the expense. The cost of 

 extracting the non-durable timbers by the same methods is as great, or, 

 in the case of the lighter woods, nearly as great. The price paid for 

 such timbers is comparatively low, so that the profits, if any, are much 

 lower. Again, the demand for cheap construction timbers is supplied 

 by bamboo stems or palms and small or young poles, or, in the case of 

 the scarcity of bamboo, adobe is used extensively as a cheap building 

 material. 



In consequence of all this very little lumber is used for general con- 

 struction purposes. In the Philippines, where lumber is used for con- 

 struction of houses more than in any other tropical country that has 

 come to my notice, only the well-to-do people can afiford to build their 

 homes of lumber, the poor living in bamboo huts. In most South 



