10 THE TIMBERS OF THE WORLD 



"Annual rings not distinct. Pores small and moderate-sized, uniformly 

 distributed, often subdivided or in short radial lines. Medullary rays 

 moderately broad, the distance between two rays generally greater than 

 the transverse diameter of the pores ; silver-grain prominent." 



Angelim-rosa. Peraltea erythrinaefolia, Mart. Brazil. 



This is a brown-coloured, porous wood, strong and moderately heavy. 

 It is used for beams in shipbuilding, in carpentry, and in the domestic 

 arts. Brazilian Woods speaks of it as being an excellent wood for 

 building and submerged works owing to its durabihty. 



Angelique. Dicorynia paraensis, Benth. Weight, 53 lbs. French 

 Guiana. 



This tree is of a straight growth and yields timber 12 to 22 inches 

 square by 20 to 54 feet in length, clear of branches. The wood is of a 

 reddish-brown colour, clean and even in the grain, moderately hard, 

 tough, strong, elastic, and not difficult to work, although it does not 

 cleave readily. Occasionally a few logs are found with a waviness or 

 figure in the grain, which would make them valuable to the cabinet-maker. 

 There is little sap-wood. The timber is very sound and free from knots, 

 and except that a small percentage of the logs have a slight heart-shake, 

 or perhaps star-shake, at the pith or centre, there are no defects affecting 

 the conversion of it into planks and so forth. It has been said that it 

 does not rot in water, that it is proof against attacks from many insects 

 to which other timber is liable, and that it is durable. Occasionally it is 

 found that in working some of the logs emit an unpleasant odour. 



For some reason the import of this timber has now entirely ceased, 

 and supplies have not been seen in England for some years. Beauverie 

 states that the wood finds little use in France because it is supposed to 

 cause nails to rust. 



Three varieties of angelique, black, red, and white, are distinguishable, 

 but the description here given concerns the brownish-red kind. 



The wood shows no distinct annual rings. Its pores are large, 

 scattered, and not numerous ; they contain a white or reddish, opaque 

 glistening substance. The medullary rays are very fine and are invisible ; 

 they are joined at right angles (in cross-section) by many shorter or longer 

 light, wavy, concentric lines which are just visible to the naked eye, and 

 show independently of the pores, though here and there linking with these. 

 The tangential view reveals, even to the naked eye, beautiful tiered 

 structure or ripple marks, which are especially distinct on the lighter 

 coloured wood, and resemble in miniature the ripple marks on a sandy 

 shore or the patterns in finger-prints. 



