164 TIMBER AND TIMBER TREES. [CHAP. 
wich, were found to have been cut from small trees, but 
so far as could be judged from their appearance, the 
timber was suitable for use in architecture, and would 
probably be useful in the domestic arts. _ 
The wood of the Juba tree is yellow in colour, hard, 
heavy, strong, close in the grain, and apparently would 
work up well. The specific gravity is about 1072. 
I have not been able to ascertain that it has ever 
been brought upon the London market, and think it 
likely its uses are chiefly confined to the island of Cuba. 
THE SABICU TREE (Acacia Formosa) 
is a native of the West Indies, and is plentiful in Cuba. 
Its growth is somewhat crooked and irregular, but it 
yields excellent timber of from 20 to 35 feet in length, 
and from 11 to 24 inches square. 
The wood is of a dark chestnut colour, hard, heavy, 
strong, close in the grain, and is often twisted or curled 
in the fibres, which gives it a wavy, or, as it is technically 
termed, a figured appearance, imparting to it a rich dark 
colour, which resembles and is sometimes mistaken for 
Rosewood. It is often on this account of considerable 
value, and being capable of taking a high polish, is much 
prized by cabinet-makers and others, who employ it for 
furniture, &c. 
The Sabicu has very little sap, and is a remark- 
ably solid wood. It is characteristic of it that there 
is an almost complete absence of the heart, star, and 
cup-shakes. It seasons slowly, shrinks but little, and 
does not split, as do most other woods, while under- 
going that process. It also bears exposure to the 
weather without being in any but the slightest degree 
a ffected, even if left without either paint or varnish to 
