THE FOREST PRODUCTS OF COSTA RICA 



BY C. D. MELL 



COSTA RICA has long been noted for its cedar, 

 mahogany, cocobolo and other precious woods. 

 This is true especially of the Pacific coast side of 

 the Republic. The forests on the Atlantic side have 

 -upplied very little timber suitable for export, except 

 small quantities of so-called bastard cedar and mahogany 

 brought down the tributaries of the San Juan River. 

 Moreover, some balsa logs (Ochroma lagofus) are now 

 being exported from Pt. Limon, but no other woods of 

 commercial value are now being exploited east of the 

 Continental Divide. Puntarenas, the only Pacific Coast 

 port in Costa Rica, has considerable commercial im- 

 portance and is the chief timber market. It owes its 



penses and difficulties in getting out the wood have 

 greatly increased. Trees of merchantable dimensions are 

 too far back from the banks of rivers draining into the 

 Gulf of Nicoya to which all logs must be brought. More- 

 over, the streams are small and of insufficient depth to 

 float the logs at all seasons of the year. There are still 

 vast stretches of forests with cedar and mahogany in 

 which foreign industry and capital might be safely and 

 profitably invested, if there were better means of trans- 

 porting the logs to port of shipment. 



The operations in the forests are conducted almost 

 entirely by men living on the concessions; having satis- 

 fied themselves as to the number of merchantable trees 



The cocobolo of the West Coast, a rosewood 

 and closely related to the true rosewood. 



COSTA RICAN FOREST TYPES 



A clump of native cedar. The quality and 

 beauty of this wood is widely known. 



The Costa Rican fustic, with high commercial 

 value and now well known in American markets. 



origin and prosperity largely to the coffee growers in 

 the interior and is a town of over 3,000 inhabitants. 



Nearly half a century ago comfortable fortunes were 

 made in the timber business on the West Coast. It is 

 said that two large schooners were loaded every month 

 in Puntarenas with cedar and mahogany logs. Practical- 

 ly all of these logs were cut along the small streams and 

 rivers flowing into the Gulf of Nicoya at the mouth of 

 which Puntarenas is located. The easily accessible trees 

 have been cut and the available supply has now decreased 

 to a notable extent. Although the business is still large 

 and profitable, the operators require at present more 

 capital than formerly to carry on the business. The ex- 



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on the tract, they apply to the exporting houses in 

 Puntarenas to advance them provisions and money to 

 carry on the work under contract to deliver a specified 

 number of logs on the river bank where they ure 

 checked and measured up. At the present time practi- 

 cally all exporting houses in Puntarenas have arrange- 

 ments with New York dealers in these woods to make 

 drafts on them for the amounts advanced to contractors. 

 Such contracts are usually made in September and Oc- 

 tober and as soon as the rainy season is over, which is 

 about the first of December, the contractors hire gangs 

 of men for the season. The men are hired either by the 

 day or by the task. The wages paid range from one to 



