XXIV.] LIGNUM VIT^. • 283 



LIGNUM VITJE (Guaiacum officinale), 



one of the ZygophylkcB* is found on several of the West 

 India Islands, and in many other places, but the chief 

 supplies come from St. Domingo and Bahama. It 

 attains, in the former, the diameter of 22 inches, and 

 some 30 to 40 feet in length ; but the Bahama is 

 generally very small. 



The wood is dark brown, or rather greenish black, 

 in colour, very hard, heavy, strong, and close and wiry 

 in the grain ; it is difficult to work in any fashion, but 

 there is nothing equal to it for the making of sheaves for 

 blocks, and when employed in this way it wears well, 

 and seems almost imperishable. I have examined some 

 sheaves after they have been in use for 50 to 70 years, 

 and found them perfectly good, and fit for further service. 



The sap-wood is yellow in colour, ^ to i inch in 

 thickness, and, like the sap of English Elm, is of such 

 exceptionable character, that it is equally as good and 

 durable as the heart-wood. In sheave making, a belt of 

 this sap-wood is, if possible, left on to preserve the rest 

 of it from splitting. The chief defect in Lignum Vitas 

 is the cup-shake, and this occurs rather frequently in the 

 wood of 10 inches and upwards in diameter ; it is, there- 

 fore, often difficult to obtain a sufficient supply of the 

 larger sizes suitable for the block-maker, who must have 

 not only the roundest, but also the most solid, wood for 

 his purpose. There are many demands, however, for 

 this wood for less important services, and all that comes 

 finds a ready sale. 



Lignum Vitae is imported in the round state, and in 

 very short lengths ; pieces under 10 inches diameter are 

 usually in lengths of 6 to 12 feet, and the larger wood in 



* A totally different wood, yielded by a species of Ixora, goes by this name 

 in British Guiana. 



