THECUBAREVIEW 17 



esteemed. On account of its hardness, sabicu was selected for the stau-s of the building for 

 the first Great Exhibition in 1851, and, notwithstanding the immense number of people who 

 passed up and down the stairs, at the close of the exhibition it was found to show scarcely 

 any signs of wear and tear. The same stairs were in use in the Crystal Palace at Sydenham, 

 nine years later. The logs are so heavy that they will sink in water; the weight of fair-seasoned 

 material varies from 59 to 65 pounds per cubic foot. It is very strong, though brittle, rather 

 coarse-grained and frequently beautifully figured, resembling true mahogany, for which it 

 is sometimes substituted. The highly figured logs command a high price on the London 

 and Liverpool markets. 



The wood, which is susceptible of a high polish, is generaUj- used for making furnitm-e, 

 for which it is employed extensively in Cuba, and to a lesser extent in England, France and 

 Germany. While sabicu has been in use in this country for many j^ears, there has been no 

 regular or steadily increasing demand for it, partly because of the large supply of good native 

 woods which are used to good advantage. The largest single shipment of this wood into 

 the United States was in 1904, when the Pennsylvania Railroad negotiated with a Cuban firm 

 for 25 carloads of sabicu for special uses in their shops. On account of its durability when 

 exposed to an alternation of air and water, it is used also for building purposes, in boat and 

 house building, general carpentrj' and for more .special uses, such as engine-ljearers, beams, 

 keelsons, stern posts, pillars, cleats, fenders and miter posts. In the foreign markets, it is 

 considered primarily as a fancj^ wood of the first-class, and has served in a number of instances 

 as a substitute for rosewood and palisander. Sabicu is classed with karri, jarrah, blue gum 

 and other timbers in Lloyd's list. It has been shown according to Baterden, that the wood 

 is not suitable for vehicular traffic. Some sabicu planks were laid on the roadway of St. 

 George's landing stage at laverpool and they had to be taken up after six months. 



The Bahama sabicu also possesses considerable merit, especially in England, where it 

 appears to have first been sold in 1878, when 167 tons were shipped to the Livei-pool markets 

 largeh' to be used in the manufacture of shuttles and bobbins for cotton mills. A year later 

 101 tons were used in England for the same purpose. Since that time a demand for it has 

 arisen which can be regularly supplied from Cuba. The tree has a considerably wider range 

 of distribution than theLysiloma sabicu. Although it grows on all islands of the West Indies, 

 it is most abundant in Cuba, where it is confined chiefly to the valleys, canyons and moister 

 slopes. It occurs also in Trinidad and along the east coast of Central America and southern 

 Mexico. There seem to be no records showing that the tree has been exjjloited except in 

 Cuba and the Bahamas; in Porto Rico and Jamaica, it has been cut for local use only. It 

 is said to be abundant in the interior of Haiti and Santo Domingo, where it is almost as common 

 as the Spanish cedar. Some of the finest figured material was originalh' obtained in the 

 Bahamas, which accounts for its trade name, Bahama sabicu. 



In its manner of growth the Bahama sabicu compares favorabh' with that of Cuba. It 

 seldom attains a height of 60 or 70 ft., and more than 5 or 6 ft. in circumference. Like a 

 number of its close allies, it is a wide-spreading tree, with an open crown and a comparatively 

 .short bole so that even the largest trees rarelj- yield more than two or three thousand feet 

 of lumber. The wood closely resembles that of Cuban sabicu in its general characteristics, 

 only it is perhaps slightly more coarse in grain and textiu'e and has more clearly defined annual 

 rings of growth. It is often very beautifully figiu-ed and in this condition is sometimes pre- 

 ferred to mahoganj^ for special purposes. 



The uses of Bahama sabicu are practically the same as those of the Cuban sabicu. In 

 the West Indies it is used extensively for boat and house construction and its great strength 

 renders it a good wood for use by the wheelwrights, especially for the hubs of wheels. Hub 

 billets 10 to 18 inches in diameter and 3 feet long sell for from $.3 to $4 a piece. The wood 

 is used both locally and abroad for making some of the finest grades of furniture. It can be 

 bought on the Havana markets at prices ranging from $50 to .S200 per thousand feet. 



C. H. PEARSON 



September 1, 1915. 



