68 SEA FISH OF TRINIDAD 
especially between wind and water, that is, at the immediate 
spot where the butt of the post rises from the ground. My 
experience has shown that the same rot will happen to any 
timber unless it has a casing of metal or concrete 12 in. to 
18 in. in length at the point of contact. Another cause that 
militates strongly against the success of the local woods, is 
the fact that owing to want of capital and the hand-to- 
mouth manner in which most of the lumbermen have to 
conduct their business, the timber is never given a chance of 
curing. It is cut down, squared, or sawn up, and applied to 
use perfectly green. All the experienced timber people of 
Europe and America know that wood after being squared or 
sawn, should be carefully stacked in a dry situation and 
thoroughly protected from the weather until it is quite 
cured, generally taking a couple of years for that process. 
The good people of Trinidad do not seem to realize this, if 
they did there would be less disappointment and outcry about 
warp, rot, and termites or white ants. I also expect if it 
were possible to start an export trade with the States or 
Europe in our hardwoods, the workmen there would raise 
an outcry about the toughness and peculiarities of the grain 
spoiling their tools, and would demand a prohibitive tariff 
of wages. 
After taking a bath in the Oropouche river, which is here 
a lovely crystal stream with vast clumps of bamboos over- 
hanging and forming magnificent natural arches (the huilia, 
anaconda, or water boa is sometimes seen and captured or 
shot near this river, more especially in the swampy grounds 
by the mouth) we got back to our saddles, and rode along 
the same highway to Melao, and over the molasses-coloured 
Melao river, still passing through Mora forest. It is the 
peculiar colour of the water of this river that has given the 
name to the district, melao in the Spanish language meaning 
molasses. About seven miles from the Sangre Grande ter- 
minus, we came to the junction with the Valencia road; 
slightly inclining to the right, straight ahead lay the new 
road to Grande Riviere on the North Coast of Toco about 20 
miles in length; it had been traced some time and was then 
undergoing the process of benching. We turned sharp round 
