156 TIMBER AND TIMBER TREES. [cHar. 
TABLE LXXVI. 
Vertical Experiments.—Four pieces, Nos. 26, 27, 28, and 29, each 2 x 2 
inches, and respectively 
I 2 3 4 Inches in length. 
Crushed with 27°25 | 27°2875| 25°875 | 25.862 Tons. 
E = 436880, S = 3498. 
THE MORA TREE (Mora excelsa), 
the produce of Demerara and the island of Trinidad, is 
a tree of straight growth, yielding timber in the log of 
18 to 35 feet in length, and 12 to 20 inches square. 
The wood is of a chestnut-brown colour, hard, heavy, 
tough, strong, and generally straight in the grain, but 
has occasionally a twist or waviness in the fibre, which 
imparts to the logs possessing it a beautifully figured 
appearance, giving to them much additional value. As 
it takes a good polish,\it would be useful as a substitute 
for Rosewood, or dark Spanish Mahogany in cabinet 
making, and might be employed for many purposes in 
the domestic arts. 
The economical uses of the Mora are somewhat 
restricted by the frequency of star-shake in the logs, and 
only the best trees can be advantageously converted 
into plank and board; it may, however, be used with 
greater profit for beams, keelsons, engine-bearers, &c., in 
ship-building, and in a general way in large scantlings for 
either civil or naval architecture. 
The Mora possesses great strength, and contains an 
oily or glutinous substance in its pores, which is probably 
conducive to its durability. 
