852 



part used is the heart, which is dark brown and often streaked. Its 

 hardness and weight cause it to be preferred by the Indians for their 

 war-clubs ; it may be had from 6 to 12 inches square, and from 20 to 

 40 feet long. 



Cuppa, Ruye (Clusia sp. ?). A tree of large size, with a hard wood 

 used for inside work. 



Curahara or Kurara. Plentiful and of large size ; and its durabi- 

 lity, and not being liable to split, recommend it chiefly for timbers, 

 knees, &c. for schooners. It is also much in request for mill-rollers, 

 mill-timbers and planks of every description. 



Yarura, Porreka-ye, or Paddle-wood (Aspidosperma excelsura, 

 Benth.). The lower part of the trunk juts out in tabular projections, 

 forming cavities or compartments like the Mora, which serve the 

 Indians as ready-made planks, principally for the construction of 

 their paddles. The trunk itself has the appearance of being fluted, 

 or as if it consisted of numerous slender trees grown together along 

 their whole length. The author states that he knows only of one 

 other similar instance among the forest-trees of British Guiana ; in 

 this latter case the tree produces berries, while the fruit of the Yarura 

 is a follicle containing several suborbiculate winged seeds, attached 

 by a long funiculus. The wood of the Yarura is light, elastic, and 

 not apt to splinter ; it might prove useful for gun-carriages, bulwarks 

 of vessels of war, &c. ; and might also, on account of its lightness, be 

 employed in floats or paddle-wheels of steam-vessels. It is much in 

 request for rollers in the cotton-ginning machines, for which purpose 

 it is superior to any other wood in the colony. 



Purple-heart, or Mariwayana (Copaifera pubiflora, Benth., and 

 Cop. bracteata, Benth.). Rather scarce in the Coast Region, being 

 found in the mountainous tracts above the Cataracts. There are 

 several varieties or species, but all much alike, possessing great 

 strength and elasticity, and used for furniture, on account both of 

 their colour and durability. Used also for mortar-beds, being supe- 

 rior to any other wood in sustaining the shocks produced by the dis- 

 charge of artillery. The author was assured by Col. Moody, R.E., 

 that the Black Green-heart and the Purple-heart were the only woods 

 that stood the test as mortar-beds at the siege of Fort Bourbon, in 

 the Island of Martinique. One variety {Cop. bracteata) is very com- 

 mon in the Savannahs near the rivers Rupununi, Takutu, and Branco; 

 but this is of small size compared with the others. The natives use 

 the bark taken off" entire with the ends sewn together, and strength- 

 ened by a slight frame-work, for river canoes. 



