AMERICAN LUMBER IN FOREIGN MARKETS. 249 



work, and general railway cons traction ; the lighter woods, with the 

 exception of cedar and petereby-negro, are sawn up into planks, chiefly 

 in Asuncion, and in South America, to a great extent, take the place 

 of pine, which wood, being imported from Europe and North America, 

 is expensive. 



The hard woods of this country will compare favorably with any 

 wood in the world in durability and strength. It is well known that 

 some of them, after being under ground or in water from fifty to seventy 

 years, or even longer, are found to be perfectly sound, with only a slight 

 superficial corrosion, and for this reason there are now large orders 

 from Buenos Ayres and Montevideo for wood of this class for piles, 

 which can be supplied at a less cost than pitch or creosoted pine. 

 There are other hard woods, close grained and yet elastic, which com- 

 pare favorably with the English oak and the American hickory, and 

 others, again, which resist the wood borers and are uninflammable. 



As regards the soft woods, the chief export is cedar (cedro). Para- 

 guayan cedar is far superior and commands a higher price than the 

 cedar found in the northern parts of the Argentine Eepublic. It is 

 richer in color and more durable than its bigger-growing brothers to be 

 found in Tucuman and in the Argentine and Brazilian Misiones. The 

 best cedar hitherto exported to Europe has come from Cuba, but the 

 supply from there is now practically exhausted, and the revolution has 

 put an entire stop to its exportation for the present. 



Petereby-negro is a wood whose value it is difficult to overestimate. 

 It takes a fine polish, is handsome for furniture, and is of great dura- 

 bility. It is highly scented and extremely light. Some of the most 

 beautiful pieces of furniture I have seen have been made of this wood. 

 In appearance it is not unlike American walnut, and it is also to be had 

 with a wavy grain (crespo). 



Among'the various palms which are to be found in great quantities 

 in the Paraguayan Chaco, I must not forget to mention the red and 

 black palms. They are extremely hard and will often turn the edge of 

 the best-tempered ax. The black palm makes a magnificent veneer, 

 taking a beautiful polish, and when in water or under ground it is 

 practically everlasting. 



Large quantities of a small brush-like tree called espanillo, and 

 another called algaroba (the latter scarce), are cut up into posts and 

 sent to Buenos Ayres for fencing ; and although sometimes they are not 

 more than 2 or 3 inches in diameter, they will last under ground forty 

 or fifty years. 



I give a list of the principal woods and some of their various uses: 



Curupay. A hard, red, heavy wood of great strength, lasting for 

 many years underground or in water. It is chiefly of this wood that 

 piles for docks and bridges are made, and a large demand exists for it 

 for sleepers. The bark is used for tanning. Its price, put in Asuncion, 

 is 45 cents (gold), 34 inches (Spanish yard) by 10 by 10. 



