6 QUEBRACHO WOOD AND ITS SUBSTITUTES. 



and the Chaco, and to the Chaco of Paraguay. It is comparatively 

 rare in Bolivia and Uruguay, and in the Provinces of Salta and Jujuy, 

 Argentina. 



At the present rate of consumption, the supply of quebracho appears 

 to be practically inexhaustible. Owners of quebracho timber claim 

 that an average acre yields approximately 2 tons of the wood. A 

 very conservative estimate of the total possible yield from the areas 

 where quebracho occurs in commercial quantity places it at 168,000,- 

 000 tons, while the present yearly consumption of the wood for all 

 purposes is a little less than 1,000,000 tons. The consumption, how- 

 ever, because of the scattering way in which quebracho grows, entails 

 the cutting over each year of about 500,000 acres. 



The price of quebracho lands varies greatly. In Paraguay they 

 bring, as a rule, from $6,000 to $7,000 per square league, 1 (approxi- 

 mately 4,633 acres), or about $1.50 per acre, though some areas can 

 be purchased for as little as from 15 to 25 cents per acre. In the 

 Argentine Chaco, on the other hand, certain tracts near railroads or 

 waterways sell for $2 per acre or more. 



THE QUEER ACHO TREE. 



Quebracho never grows in pure stands, but is scattered through open 

 forests composed of many species. Seldom, in fact, are more than four 

 or five quebracho trees found on an acre. It usually attains a height 

 of from 50 to 70 feet, and a diameter of from 2 to 4 feet. It is neither 

 a mountain nor a river-bottom tree, but grows best in the somewhat 

 elevated stretches between the water courses, or in other situations 

 with sandy soil and moderate atmospheric and abundant soil moisture. 

 Its growth during early life is very rapid, fence posts being obtained 

 in 10 years, but in later life is very slow. Little is known, however, 

 concerning its average rate of growth to maturity. So far it has been 

 free from attack by insects. 



QUEBRACHO WOOD. 



The heartwood of quebracho is one of the hardest, heaviest, and, 

 in. the region of its occurrence, most durable woods known. Highly 

 tempered tools are required to work even the young green wood, and 

 old wood is almost as hard as metal. It weighs about 78 pounds per 

 cubic foot, and has a specific gravity of from 1.2 to 1.4, sinking, of 

 course, in water. Nine quebracho ties of the size used in Argentina 

 weigh a ton. Its lasting qualities are such that, in Argentina, ties 

 of the wood appear to remain indefinitely in a perfect state of preser- 

 vation. Logs left in the woods have been found absolutely sound after 

 25 years. The wood contains a very large amount of tannin, which 



i Daily Consular Report, January 11, 1911. 



