THE TIMBERS OF COMMERCE 



Bark. "Grey or greyish-brown, | to f in. thick, with irregular, 

 short cracks, exfoliating in thin, fibrous, longitudinal flakes " (37). 



Uses, etc. Furniture of the best class, especially the cases of 

 pianos : turnery, carving, marquetry, etc., in Europe. " Gun- 

 carriages, felloes, naves for wheels, carving, etc., in India . . . very 

 durable and strong and of great beauty " (37). 



Often confused with Brazil Rosewood and also many other 

 kinds of Dalbergia. 



Authorities. Gamble (37), p. 127. Nordlinger (86), vol. vii. 

 p. 14. Laslett (60), p. 208. Holtzapffel (48). Kew Guide (57). 



Colour. Reddish or purplish-brown stieaked with black. 

 Sap-wood "yellow, small " (32). 



Anatomical Characters. Transverse section : — 



Pores. Inconspicuous though clear, no contrast, size 2, little 

 variation : evenly distributed : rare, 0-6 per mm. : occasionally 

 grouped or subdivided, mostly pairs : usually with amber 

 contents which reflect the light in solid section. 



Rays. Very obscure, discernible with difficulty even in thin 

 section, size 5, fine : equidistant, less than a pore- width apart : 

 gently undulating, not avoiding but rather interrupted by the 

 pores : numerous, 6-8 per mm. : denser and darker than the 

 ground-tissue in thin section but lighter in the solid wood. 



Rings. Obscure yet well-defined : the bands of colour and 

 narrow black pigment zones not necessarily indicating the 

 annual growth. The soft-tissue may form the boundary, as 

 there is a tendency for the pores to form a loose pore-line and to 

 occur in greater numbers near these lines. 



Soft-tissue. Abundant in fine concentric lines, rather lighter 

 in colour and larger than the rays : size 4-6 (ray scale) : also in 

 narrow borders encircling the pores, often connecting them. 



Pith. ? 



Radial Section. Pores readily visible, black lines, containing 

 black drops : rays visible in certain lights, very small, incon- 

 spicuous, shining, narrow flakes. 



Tangential Section. As the Radial, but the rays are minute, 

 reddish-brown lines about 0*2 high (need micro.). 



Type specimen from commercial sources. Not authenticated 

 but checked by the specimens in the Museum, No. 1, Kew. 



No. 55. ROSEWOOD. Dalbergia sp. 



Plate V. Fig. 37. 

 Alternative Names. Honduras Rosewood. 

 Physical Characters, etc. Recorded dry-weight 68 to 77J lbs. 

 per cu. ft. Hardness Grade 1, compare Ebony. Smell and 

 •taste faint if any. Burns well with a lively flame and the typical 

 Dalbergia smell. Heat expels a fluid. 



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