70 AMERICAN LUMBER IN FOREIGN MARKETS. 



CLIMATE. 



A description of the climate in this consular district would be value- 

 less in this connection, as the lumber section begins at Malleco, about 

 400 miles south, and extends to the Straits of Magellan. The average 

 rainfall there is 106 inches, and the climate cold and disagreeable eight 

 mouths in the year, while here the rainfall is only 16 inches and the 

 cliinai-e is mild, comparing favorably with that of Los Angeles, Cal. 



GENERAL BUILDING. 



Chilian cities Santiago, Valparaiso, and Concepcion are growing 

 rapidly, especially the two former, which are in this consular district. 

 The demand for lumber is brisk and daily increasing. There is no ship- 

 building in Chile, and at present railway construction is at a standstill. 



JAMES M. DOBBS, 



Consul. 

 VALPARAISO, May 1, 1894. 



COLOMBIA. 



BARRANQUILLA. 

 NATIVE WOODS. 



Colombia is a vast lumber producing country; in many portions of 

 the interior huge forests, many hundreds of miles square, cover its 

 face, representing woods of different values. 



To name all the woods of Colombia would be to make an extensive 

 catalogue. The principal, however, are cedar, guayacan, carreto, roble, 

 campano, mahogany, ceiba, and brazil. They may be classified as 

 follows: 



Cedar. This is the most common wood in use. It is easily worked, 

 and possesses a bitter quality, which is a preventive against an insect 

 called the comejen, a species of wood ant, very destructive to many 

 other kinds of wood. In house construction, excepting for flooring 

 beams, cedar is universally used. 



Guayacan. This is the lignum vitae, and is very hard. It is used 

 principally for railroad sleepers, and thousands are shipped to Cuba, to 

 the Isthmus of Panama, and Central America. This wood resists the 

 penetration of spikes, and holes have to be bored before they can be 

 driven. It is of dark color, with occasional light streaks running 

 through it. 



Carreto. This is a light-colored wood, also very hard, and is destruct- 

 ive to carpenters' tools. It is used in timbers for construction, the ends 

 which enter the walls being usually charred or dipped in coal tar, as a 



