1 64 TIMBER AND TIMBER TREES. [CHAP. 



wich, were found to have been cut from small trees, but 

 so far as could be judged from their appearance, the 

 timber was suitable for use in architecture, and would 

 probably be useful in the domestic arts. 



The wood of the Juba tree is yellow in colour, hard, 

 heavy, strong, close in the grain, and apparently would 

 work up well. The specific gravity is about 1072. 



I have not been able to ascertain that it has ever 

 been brought upon the London market, and think it 

 likely its uses are chiefly confined to the island of Cuba. 



THE SABICU TREE (Acacia Formosa} 



is a native of the West Indies, and is plentiful in Cuba. 

 Its growth is somewhat crooked and irregular, but it 

 yields excellent timber of from 20 to 35 feet in length, 

 and from 1 1 to 24 inches square. 



The wood is of a dark chestnut colour, hard, heavy, 

 strong, close in the grain, and is often twisted or curled 

 in the fibres, which gives it a wavy, or, as it is technically 

 termed, a figured appearance, imparting to it a rich dark 

 colour, which resembles and is sometimes mistaken for 

 Rosewood. It is often on this account of considerable 

 value, and being capable of taking a high polish, is much 

 prized by cabinet-makers and others, who employ it for 

 furniture, &c. 



The Sabicu has very little sap, and is a remark- 

 ably solid wood. It is characteristic of it that there 

 is an almost complete absence of the heart, star, and 

 cup -shakes. It seasons slowly, shrinks but little, and 

 does not split, as do most other woods, while under- 

 going that process. It also bears exposure to the 

 weather without being in any but the slightest degree 

 a fleeted, even if left without either paint or varnish to 



