LOGWOOD. 
177 
" It sinks/' said one of the boys. 
4. ''And what does that prove to you?" asked 
his teacher. 
" That the wood is heavy/' replied the boy. 
5. " Yes, it is a very heavy wood. Now look 
at this piece which has been polished. How 
pretty it is ! Because of its rich colour and the 
good polish it takes, logwood is sometimes used 
in making pretty furniture." 
6. After the children had looked well at the 
wood, the teacher went on to say: 
" I was once at Black River, in the parish of 
St. Elizabeth, and there I saw great piles of log- 
wood, ready to be shipped off to England. The 
tree trunks had been cut into short pieces about 
five feet long, and all the bark and sap-wood had 
been chipped off. 
7. " At the dye-works in England the logs are 
cut up into very small pieces, so that the dye 
may be easily drawn out. 
" In some parts of Jamaica, where the logwood 
trees have been cut down, men dig up the old 
woody roots, for even these will give the dye. 
8. ''It is nearly two hundred years since the 
logwood tree was brought to the West Indies 
from Honduras, where it grows in plenty. Now, 
chiefly from the seeds scattered by the wind, there 
are many logwood trees in Jamaica. They grow 
Cm 357) M 
