THE TIMBERS OF COMMERCE 



defined from the reddish-white sap-wood which is about i inch 

 wide. 



Anatomical Characters. Transverse section : — 



Pores. Conspicuous on account of their colour and size, 

 Grade i, coarse, little variation : evenly distributed : some 

 single, mostly subdivided in compact groups of 2-4 : few 1-5 

 per sq. mm. : a tendency to loose, straggling lines. The contents 

 swell up on exposure and feel like a fine rasp. 



Rays. Readily visible, size 4, medium, uniform : equidistant 

 slightly less than the width of the largest pores apart which 

 they avoid but are otherwise nearly straight : long : less dense 

 than the ground-tissue, quite spongy : many, 6-8 per mm. 



Rings. Doubtful : vague bands of varying colour without 

 corresponding difference in the structure. 



Soft-tissue. Very narrowly encircling the pores : very obscure. 



Pith ? 



Radial Section. Colour, light yellowish-green, with a brown 

 or golden shade here and there. Pores not prominent, being 

 colourless but at the same time coarse. Rays, small, incon- 

 spicuous, whitish flakes : dull against the bright ground. Rings, 

 vague bands of different shade here and there. 



Tangential Section. As the radial, but the pores appear as 

 whitish streaks. Rays, need lens and are then difficult to make 

 out : minute, whitish lines about 0*5 mm. high. 



Type specimen authenticated by the Forest Officer to the 

 Government of British Guiana : from a log sent to the Colonial 

 and Indian Exhibition. 



No. 160. TAWA. Beilschmiedia Tawa. Bth. and 



Hook. 



Plate XVIII. Fig. 154 



Natural Order. Laurineae. 



Synonyms. Lauras Tawa, A. Cunn. L. Tama. Meissn. Neso- 

 daphne Tawa. Hook. 



Alternative Name. Taua. 



Physical Characters, etc. Recorded dry-weight, 43£ lbs. per cu. 

 ft. Hardness Grade 7, compare English Birch. Smell little if any. 

 Taste none. Burns well : embers glow in still air. Solution 

 colourless : a dirty white ppt. upon the addition of potash. 



Grain. Rather fine, open and straight. Surface dull. 



Bark. -^-\ inch thick, one layer, brown, brittle, separating 

 easily from the wood : filled with very small, hard, round, white 

 bodies. 



Uses, etc " Not used in carpentry " (24). " Used at present 



182 



