xxv.] SANTA MARIA. 181 



fore be considered a very fair substitute for the plainest 

 Honduras or Mexican Mahogany. Some few years 

 since several cargoes of Santa Maria timber were brought 

 to the royal dockyards, and employed there for beams, 

 planking, &c., in ships ; and although it would seem never 

 to have been much in favour as a building wood, there 

 is good reason to think that in the absence of Mahogany 

 it might very well be used for cabin fitments, for furni- 

 ture, and many other purposes. 



This wood stands exposure to the weather remarkably 

 well, and is, I think, durable, since a parcel of about 1 50 

 loads which I inspected after it had been left in the open 

 in a moist country for about ten years, showed scarcely 

 any signs of deterioration either at the centre or at 

 any other part, and had but few shakes on the external 

 surfaces. 



. The specific gravity is about the same as Honduras 

 or Mexican Mahogany. 



Southwards from Central America there are to be 

 found in the forests of the Brazilian Empire great varieties 

 of timber trees, many of which are no doubt of good 

 quality and fit for architectural purposes, but little or 

 nothing is known of them in this country. I therefore 

 take the present opportunity to place before the reader 

 a brief description of some twenty-four of them, with 

 their uses ; observing that specimens of these woods, 

 3" X 3" X i" were sent to the Admiralty in 1858, by 

 H.B.M/s Consul at Rio de Janeiro, with the view to the 

 introduction of some of them for employment in ship- 

 building. 



THE ANGELIM-VERMETHO TREE. 



The wood is reddish-brown in colour, and moderately 

 heavy. It is probably of crooked growth, as it is used for 



