THECUBAREVIEW 17 



will look back and wish that these natural resources were once more at their dis- 

 posal, as do at this daj- the planters of tobacco and cane in the western and west- 

 central Provinces. 



Scarcely less important than mahogany from the exporter's standpoint is the 

 Spanish cedar. This is a tree that is found in clumps in the forests of the Island, 

 at one time having been relatively abundant. Its tendency when grown in the forest 

 is to make a long, relatively straight, symmetrical shaft, with branching roots pro- 

 truding from the tree some three or four feet from the ground. Its growth, like 

 that of most soft wooded trees, is rapid, a period of not more than ten years being 

 required for it to reach merchantable size. The wood is soft, straight grained, and 

 very easily worked with all tools, both machine and hand, is of a light pinkish color 

 when green, drying to a light manila brown when seasoned, and is extremely liglit 

 and at the same time quite strong. It retains a distinct aroma for a long time after 

 being made up, and as this is objectionable to insects, this wood has become the almost 

 universal material from which cigar boxes are manufactured. Due to its lightness, 

 when rafts are made up along the streams of the Island, and where this method of 

 transportation is utilized to place timber alongside steamers in our ports, a cedar 

 log is placed beside one of mahogany, thus sustaining the latter : mahogany is heavier 

 than water, as are almost all the other hardwoods of the Island. 



Lignum vitae, locally called "guayacan," is a wood that has become very scarce 

 throughout the Island. It is a very dense, hard, crooked grained wood, almost im- 

 possible of being split, that lends itself admirably for the wooden wheels of blocks, 

 pulleys, etc., and for all uses where great resistance to wear and abrasion are re- 

 quired. The bearings through which the sliafts of a great many of our ocean liners 

 work are made of this wood. Mallets, hammers, and other tools requiring resistance: 

 to splitting are also fashioned out of tliis material. It has been cut in the Island 

 for many years, and at present is found in only the most out-of-the-way locations.. 

 The usual method of sale is at a given price per ton, thus differing from the custom, 

 vs^ith mahogany and cedar which are sold by the thousand feet, B. M. A wood very 

 similar to the lignum vitae, and that can be used as a substitute, is locally knowui 

 as "caguairan," and is found in considerable quantities in the forests of the north, 

 coast region of Camagiiey. Its color is a dark red, while that of the true lignum 

 vitae is yellow when first cut, but the interwoven grain, hardness of wood and general 

 resisting powers of the "caguairan" are almost duplicates of those qualities in ther 

 other tree. 



The lance wood tree, locally known as "yaya," is usually quite small, rarely being' 

 more than eight inches in diameter. It is straight, tall, and usually rather free 

 from lower branches. The bark is smooth and thin, a light greyish green in color, 

 and the tree has short, pointed leaves. The wood is a greyish white in color, dense 

 and fine grained and exceedingly tough and flexible. From these qualities comes 

 the demand for it, as it is used in the manufacture of articles such as fishing rods, 

 buggy and wagon shafts, where light weight combined with strength and elasticity 

 are required. Only limited quantities of this wood are exported, as it does not abound, 

 and is usually found in sizes too small to be marketable. In Cuba, the most extensive 

 use to which this wood is put is that of tobacco poles, on which to hang this product 

 to dry, and for slats on which to tie the palm leaves used in thatching the roofs of 

 the native houses in the rural districts. 



In thus considering the woods which have been exported from the Island, and 

 are reasonably well known beyond its borders, we have presumed that the old pre- 

 war conditions still exist. This is not the case. Since shipping began to be scarce 

 after the submarine campaign was undertaken by the Hun, and since the great de- 

 mand for all available vessels for other indispensable purposes, very little or- no 

 hardwood of any kind has been shipped from the Island. Today it may be said that 

 the industry is paralyzed as far as exportation is concerned. Inquiries are beginning 

 to come in from European countries, but these almost invariably ask for quotations 



