HOW CIGAR-BOX WOOD IS SECURED 



1099 



A CEDAR NEWLY CUT AND SQUARE TRIMMED FOR MARKET 



The cigarbox tree is generally from eighty to one hundred feet high when cut and of from four to five feet in diameter above the root swelling. 

 The trunk supports a massive crown which spreads gracefully over an immense area. It is usually broad and fiat topped especially in the open. 



the desired fragrance. The oil is exported to China, 

 where it is known as ch'unshu or hiang ch'un. 



Cigar-box grows in the warmest parts of America and 

 is found in abundance in Cuba, Jamaica, St. Domingo 

 and other West Indian Islands ; it has never been re- 

 ported from southern Florida, where its close ally, the 

 mahogany, thrives on some of the keys and parts of the 

 mainland. The bulk of cigar-box wood at present comes 

 from Mexico, Central America and South America, 

 where it is said to enjoy a wider geographical range 

 than any other tree species. It is well known that this 

 wood is exported from Colombia, Venezuela, Trinidad, 

 and the Guianas, but it has not yet been satisfactorily 

 determined whether the so-called cedar from the Ama- 

 zon River valley and that which has been shipped from 

 points along the Parana River in Argentina is the true 

 cigar-box wood of commerce. It is probable, however, 

 that the wood obtained in Brazil and in the country 

 farther south is from several entirely different species, 

 as the structure of the wood and the almost entire lack of 

 odor indicate. 



In its native state the tree grows in those regions where 

 vegetation is abundant and the climate is warm all the 

 year round. The soil and climate of tropical America 

 are naturally adapted to the production of this important 

 timber tree and there is no reason why the territory lying 

 within its natural range of growth should not produce 

 a large surplus of this wood which, next to mahogany, is 



by far the most important kind that is now being shipped 

 from tropical America to this or any other country. In 

 nature the trees are seldom found in large clusters or 

 groups, but singly and often much scattered. This does 

 not argue that the tree would not grow well close together 

 or in what the forester calls a pure stand. In fact, there 

 are already a number of plantations which have proved 

 successful and they are generally regarded as a source of 

 considerable wealth. Many individual trees show a re- 

 markable growth for their age. Trees only IG years old 

 have attained a height of 50 to 60 feet and a diameter of 

 1 to 3 feet. The rapid growth of cigar-box wood makes 

 it suitable for reforesting the denuded areas in tropical 

 America. 



Mr. H. H. Markley in the May (1915) issue of La 

 Hacienda, describes a plantation of 300 trees, 37 years 

 old, which at the prevailing price of this wood is worth 

 $10,000. These trees were planted from nursery stock 

 about 13 or 14 inches high in five rows at a distance of 

 18 feet apart each way. They received no care except 

 that which resulted from cultivating the cocoa trees 

 among which the young trees were planted for shade. 

 There are a number of larger plantations in existence. 

 One of these plantations in Mexico has about 80,000 

 trees, which at the present price of the wood will be 

 worth one-half million dollars after the trees have at- 

 tained merchantable dimensions. There is every reason 

 to believe that the propagation of this tree under or- 



