496 The Andes and the Amazons. 



the height of from sixty to one hundred feet, but the logs 

 as obtained by tlie natives are only about ten feet long and 

 one foot through. The wood is the central part, and is 

 close-grained, richly streaked with chocolate brown on a 

 yellow ground. The bark is a dirty yellow. It abounds 

 on the Tapajos, and very likely throughout the Brazilian 

 Amazons. I have not seen it above Fonte Boa. Query. 

 — Is the Coatiara related to the Itaka wood of Guiana ? 



MoiRA-pusHUKA. — I can say little of this wood, as I 

 only heard of it at Santarem, where it grows. It resem- 

 bles black walnut, and is made into furniture. The largest 

 trees are two feet through. 



MoiRA-piEANGA, or " Rcdwood." — This is the Ifimusojjs 

 halata (one of the Sa^otacece), and belongs, therefore, to 

 the same genus as the Bullet-tree of Guiana and the Ma- 

 9aranduba. The wood is of a rich cherry-red color, some- 

 times with a violet cast, solid, heavy, and takes a high 

 polish. It is used by the Indians for battle-axes, and, as it 

 is very durable, it promises to be well adapted for ship- 

 building. The trunk is sixty feet long and six feet in di- 

 ameter. It yields a milky juice very similar to gutta-per- 

 cha (which belongs to the same order), and may prove of 

 commercial value. A single tree, it is said, will give over 

 400 grams. It has a dark-gray bark with emetic proper- 

 ties, aromatic flowers, oily seeds, and alternate elliptical 

 leaves. It grows chiefly on the Rio Japnra, Rio Negro, 

 and Solimoens, but is found also in French Guiana and 

 Martinique. This wood held a prominent place in the 

 Paris Exposition. 



MoiKA-TiNGA, the " White or King Tree."— This is one 

 of the most conspicuous trees on the Amazons, rising from 

 90 to 120 feet, and of proportional diameter. The timber, 

 however, is not of first quality — neither compact nor en- 

 during. The milk which exudes is used for rheumatism. 



