

QUEBRACHO WOOD AND ITS SUBSTITUTES. 9 



tree's range, which justifies the extensive use for tan extract of a wood 

 so valuable for other purposes. The bark and sapwood are seldom 

 utilized, a fact which seems to indicate unnecessary wastefulness, since 

 the tannin content of the former is equal to that of the lower grades 

 of our native tanbarks; while the content of the latter is but slightly 

 below that of our native chestnut wood. 



Besides tannin, quebracho wood contains considerable, though rela- 

 tively small quantities of red, gambier-like coloring matter used as a 

 filler. Quebracho extract does not contain enough of the nontannin 

 materials to produce by itself well-nourished leathers, and is therefore 

 mixed in the proportion of 1 to 4, by weight, with other tannin ma- 

 terial, such as the extracts of -mangrove and chestnut, which are 

 stronger in nontannin substances. 



When cut for tan extract the trees are cleaned of their bark, sap- 

 wood, and branches, and then brought to the factory, where they are 

 reduced to shavings or small chips. These are boiled or steamed to 

 release the tannin, and the resulting fluid extract is evaporated to a 

 thick paste, which, when dry, goes to the market in sacks or barrels. 

 The cost of cutting quebracho logs and bringing them to the factory 

 is much greater than that of manufacturing the extract itself. At 

 present logs are hauled chiefly by ox teams to the nearest railroad or 

 boat landing, and from there shipped to the reducing mill. It is in 

 Paraguay, where quebracho trees are very scattered, that the trans- 

 portation of logs is most difficult and expensive. Little or no market 

 exists for quebracho timber or extract there, and practically ah 1 of 

 the wood is shipped to Buenos Aires, where it is either consumed for 

 extract or exported. 



Quebracho obtained from the Provinces of Santiago del Estero and 

 Santa Fe, Argentina, is particularly rich in tannin, and there also the 

 trees reach their largest size. It is chiefly in these Provinces that 

 quebracho is being extensively lumbered, the output steadily increas- 

 ing from year to year. In the Provinces of Salta and Jujuy, where 

 quebracho is rare, the inhabitants prefer for tannin the bark of two 

 trees, Acacia cebil Griseb. and Piptadenia cebil Griseb., locally known 

 as cebil. These barks are exceedingly rich in tannin material, in the 

 case of the latter, at least, containing from 19 to 25 per cent. 



IMPORTATION OF QUEBRACHO INTO THE UNITED STATES. 



Quebracho wood and extract are now the leading exports of Argen- 

 tina and Paraguay. Since their introduction in 1888, imports of 

 these into the United States have increased steadily. In 1910, 38 

 per cent of all the tannin material used in the United States was 

 quebracho. Nearly all of this came from Argentina. Table 1 shows 

 the quantity and value of material imported during the fiscal years 

 1907 to 1910, inclusive. 1 



1 Compiled from Bureau of Statistics Bulletins 70 and 90, Imports of Farm and Forest Products. 



