THE TIMBERS OF COMMERCE 



accu in N. and Amazonas Prov. Brazil (76). Simiri and K'wan- 

 narri (representing two different qualities), in British Guiana (78) : 

 also Locust Gum (12). Pois confiture : Gomme animee : Jatoba 

 in Barbadoes, and Jatai in Brazil (105). Leathery-leaved Locust- 

 tree : West Indian Locust-tree in the West Indies. Quapinole 

 (131). Locustrier : Algarroba, in Rio de Janeiro (99). 



Sources of Supply. Tropical South America. 



Physical Characters, etc. Recorded dry-weight, 33^-57^ Ib. 

 per cu. ft. The lower figure is taken from a tainted or unsound 

 sample. McTurk calls the wood " hard " : my specimen is not 

 reliable. Smell none. Taste faintly astringent. Burns well : 

 embers glow in still air. Solution with water yellowish-brown. 



Grain . Rather coarse and open, but as there is a large pro- 

 portion of wood without pores the whole has a close-grained 

 appearance. Surface dull, the ground-tissue the brightest 

 portion. 



Bark. Dark brown with shallow fissures, as hard as the wood : 

 the rays continued into the bark, readily visible. It can be 

 detached from the log entire and is employed by the Indians 

 for making bark canoes. 



Authorities. Nordlinger (86), vol. v. p. 34. McTurk (78), 

 No. 37. Miers (76). Schomburgk (105). Kew Cat. (57), 37. 

 Laslett (60), p. 296. J. Smith, pp. (in), 131, 136. Wiesner 

 (131), Lief 6, p. 85. Saldanha da Gama (99). 



Colour. Heart-wood light brown streaked with darker brown, 

 fairly well defined from the yellow or dirty- white Sap-wood, 

 which is " about 4 inches wide " (78). 



Anatomical Characters. Transverse section : 



Pores. Readily visible, size 2, uniform in size within the 

 limits of each ring, but increasing from the pith outwards as the 

 tree ages : very evenly distributed : few, 5-13 per sq. mm. : 

 single or in sub-divided groups of 2-7 together, radial or nested : 

 sometimes filled with yellowish or ruby gum. 



Rays. Just visible, medium, size 4-5, uniform : equidistant : 

 undulating, scarcely avoiding the pores : very long, rarely 

 tapering outwardly and very gradually inwardly : slightly 

 denser than the ground-tissue : numerous, 4-6 per mm. : yellow- 

 ish : a pore-width or less apart. 



Soft-tissue. Abundant at times. In concentric lines or bands, 

 often forming complete circles, sometimes as narrow as the rays, 

 at others as broad as the pore-groups which are imbedded in 

 them. 



Pith. Small, about I mm. wide with four wings or lobes : 

 reddish or yellowish. 



Radial Section. Pores dark brown, rather coarse. Rays faint, 

 almost colourless flakes. Rings imperceptible. 



100 



