368 GRUENBERG AND GiES: NoTEs ON “ BASTARD” LOGWOOD 
seems to be perfectly dry, and even when the chips are soaked for 
a long time in water, they give out no dye.* 
Various theories have been advanced to explain the apparent 
increase in the “bastard” logwood in Jamaica. Professor F. S. 
Earle, after a thorough study of the situation in Jamaica, came to 
the following conclusions : + 
1. “ Logwood is a variable plant showing marked differences 
in form, color and texture of leaf; time of blooming; form and 
extent of ribs on the trunk; color of bark and especially in the 
color and dye-producing quality of the heart-wood. Four well- 
marked varieties are said to be recognized in Honduras and three 
are usually recognized in Jamaica, but there are many other 
intermediate forms.” 
2. “ Bastard’? wood is not the result of disease or of any lack 
of vigor. The trees producing it are perfectly healthy and normal. 
3. “It is not the result of soil or climatic conditions, since 
‘bastard’ and normal trees are found growing side by side under 
absolutely identical conditions.” 
4. “It is not the result of immaturity. Aged trees may pro- 
duce ‘ bastard’ wood, while in normal trees the heart-wood, as 
soon as formed, contains a good percentage of hematoxylin. 
These facts seem to point to heredity as the probable cause of the 
trouble. That is, that certain trees produce only ‘bastard’ wood 
because they grow from the seed of a ‘ bastard’ tree; or in other 
words that ‘ bastard’ logwood represents a variety of Haematoxylon 
campechianum that normally produces little or no hematoxylin, 
just as one Honduras variety has smaller, shorter, thinner and 
lighter colored leaves.” 
Some time before Professor Earle made his investigations in 
Jamaica we began, at Dr. MacDougal’s suggestion, a comparative 
study of logwoods from that island, in the hope of finding definite 
chemical differences, other than purely tinctorial ones, between 
“red logwood” and the “bastard” variety. Unfortunately out 
work in collaboration was soon unavoidably interrupted. ¢ 
present here very briefly, however, such of our notes in this 
connection as may be of general interest. 
, 5 
* Cradwick : er to the Chairman of the Experiment Station, Kingstom 
Jamaica, 1902 ( April 
t Earle: Journal of the New York Botanical Garden, 4: 3. 1903- 
