Vol. VI II. No. 93. 
IMPERIAL INSTITUTE JOURNAL. 
[September, 1902.] 241 
furniture, but can only be procured in lengths up to 20 feet. Weight, 60 lb. per foot cube. 
Crushing strength, 4^31 tons per square inch. It is worth £ 6 to £y a ton, in squared logs, in 
the London market. Satinwood is reported to be plentiful in British Honduras, but is 
getting scarce in St. Lucia. 
81. Seaside Grape f Caccoloba uvifera). Found in Jamaica, Trinidad, St. Lucia, etc. 
A crooked tree about 2 feet diameter, the timber of which is chiefly used for boat-building, 
as in the ribs of canoes. In Honduras it grows into a large tree. The leaves are very large 
and interspersed with red veins. The wood is bard, takes a fine polish, and may be 
employed for fancy work. It yields an astringent extract, and the fruit grows in clusters 
like small grapes. Weight, 65 lb. per foot cube. Crushing strength, 2'5I tons per 
square inch. 
82. Seebadani, from the Moraballi creek, Essequebo river. This tree grows in clay 
and sandy soil, and has an average height of 90 feet. The wood is used for framing 
purposes, and can be had in large quantities ; it will square up to 20 inches, and has very 
little sap. 
83. Simaruba, Bitter Ash, or Quassia ( Quassia am ara). Found in Jamaica, Trinidad, 
St. Lucia, etc. Called Maruba in Grenada. A lofty tree up to 60 feet and 3 to 4 feet diameter, 
found in the deep forest. The wood is bitter, and will not be touched by white ants or other 
destructive insects ; hence it is liked for inside work, boards, etc. The tree likewise furnishes 
the quassia or bitter wood of the chemists, from which cups are made for holding water to 
produce a tonic draught. The bark is known as the drug quassia, containing quassine, 
which is sometimes employed as a substitute for quinine. This hark was a famous Carib 
remedy for dysentery. 
84. Simarupa ( Simaruba officinalis), from the Itoori-bisci creek, Essequebo river. It 
is plentiful throughout the colony, and grows to a large size on sandy soil and on islands in 
the river. The average height of the tree is 90 feet, and it will square 24 inches. The wood 
is of a light colour, light and close-grained, and is one of the most useful for partition boards 
and other inside house work. Wood-ants will not eat or injure it. The bark of the root is 
used medicinally in cases of diarrhoea. Simarupa appears to be another variety of Simaruba. 
• ^ 
85. Siris Tree, or Woman’s Tongue ( Albizzia Lebbek , Benth). Found chiefly in 
Jamaica, The wood seasons, works, and polishes well, and is fairly durable. It is used for 
furniture, boats, sugar-cane crushers, oil mills, picture frames, etc. Weighs 40 to 60 lb. per 
foot cube, The leaves are said to be useful in ophthalmia, while the seeds are astringent and 
the oil extracted from them is useful in leprosy. The bark is applied to injuries to the eye, 
and is employed in tanning. The gum is used to adulterate gum arabic in calico printing, 
and in the preparation of gold and silver leaf cloths. 
86. Soap Berry, or Savonnette ( Pithecolobium micradenium ). Found in most islands. 
There are two kinds — the Yellow Savonnette (or little leaf), and the Gray Savonnette (or large 
leaf). The berries and leaves, on account of their peculiar saponaceous matter, are used in 
washing, by pounding and rubbing on clothes, the word savonnette indicating a “ wash- 
ball.” The seeds also possess medicinal properties. 
The yellow savonnette is a big tree, seldom found in the interior. The wood is of a 
light brownish colour, employed for furniture, yokes, naves, felloes and boards. Weight 60 
lb. per foot cube. 
The gray savonnette is twice the size of the former, and rarely found near the sea. It 
is used for naves and felloes of wheels. Weight, 54 lb. per foot cube. 
87. Tamarind ( Tamar indus Indica). Grows almost everywhere in the tropics, includ- 
ing the West Indies. It is a large tree, common on open plains. The wood is heavy, 
tough, and elastic, of a yellowish-white colour, with irregular blotches of purplish-brown 
heartwood. It is very hard and difficult to work, and is applicable for turnery, handles of 
axes, hoes, and other tools. Transverse breaking strain — 6*68 cwt., of apiece 1 inch square 
and 12 inches bearing. The fruits have an acrid taste, and are made into a preserve. 
88. T.AWARONERO, or Bastard Bullet tree ( Humirium Jloribundam ). This tree is 
plentiful in British Guiana, and grows on sandy soil and near swamps, but not in them. 
The average height is 90 feet, and it can be had to square 20 inches free of sap. The timber 
is useful for framing houses, wheel-spokes, and many other purposes, and where small-sized 
timber is required it is superior to greenheart. The tree produces an edible fruit about the 
size of a grape. At the expiration of a week or ten days after cutting away the bark from the 
stem of these trees, a minute fungus, emitting an agreeable perfume, grows upon them. This 
is scraped off and used by the Indians for scenting their hair-oil. Tawaronero produces a gum 
similar to bullet tree, but in much smaller quantity. 
89. WADADURI, or Monkey pot, ( Lecythis grandiflora ), from the Moraballi creek, 
Essequebo river. There are two varieties of this tree, plentiful throughout British Guiana, 
distinguished by the size of their leaves and the places where they grow. The small-leaved 
kind grows to a large size on sand and clayey soil, and attains to an average height of 100 feet. 
It can be had to square 28 inches free of sap. The broad-leaved sort grows in swampy places, 
and is a much smaller tree ; its wood is not so durable as the small-leaved variety. It is used 
for furniture, house-building, etc., and formerly for hogshead staves. The tree bears a nut 
which is sometimes eaten, and a fine oil can be extracted from the kernels. 
90. WajbaimA, from the Moraballi creek, Essequebo. This tree is a species of 
Cirouaballi or Siruaballi ( Neciandra, or Oreodaphne). It is numerous about the Essequebo 
and Demerara rivers. The average height is 90 feet, and as there is little or no sap, the timber 
can be had to square 20 to 28 inches. The wood has a strong aromatic scent and bitter taste, 
and is about the best wood in the colony for planking vessels. For planking and all other 
purposes of shipbuilding for which greenheart is used, this wood is superior, and deserves to be 
classed among the first-class woods at Lloyd’s. 
91. Wall ABA (Eperua falcata), from the Moraballi creek, Essequebo river. The tree 
grows in loose, sandy soil, over extensive tracts of country, and is well-known to every one 
in British Guiana. There are four varieties, two of which are never used. From the others 
frames for houses are made, vat staves, paling staves, and especially shingles, both for 
colonial use and for export to the neighbouring colonies. Wallaba wood is of a deep red 
colour, hard and heavy, and, being impregnated with a resinous oil, it is very durable in wet 
situations ; hence its value for shingles. These trees are all plentiful, and have an average 
height of 80 feet, and can be had to square 20 inches free of sap. The scraped root of the 
Itoori wallaba is used by the Indians as a cure for toothache. 
92. Wamara, from the same locality, but is more plentiful above the rapids of the 
Essequebo river than below. It grows on sandy soil, and averages 60 feet in height, and 
squares 12 inches free of sap. The heart is exceedingly hard, heavy, and very close-grained, 
resembling ebony. The sap wood, of which there is very little, is of a yellowish-white 
colour ; on exposure to the weather it rots away from the heart rapidly. The Indians make 
their dubs from this wood. It is little used in the colony owing to its extreme hardness, but 
it is a fine wood for inlaying and other cabinet work. 
93. West Indian Cedar (Cedrela odorata). This tree is a native chiefly of Honduras, 
Cuba, and Jamaica, having a stem about 80 feet high and 4 feet diameter, or even 6 feet in 
the open. It is quick-growing, with vertical branches, the wood being dark red or brown, 
fissile, opened-grained, but soft and porous. It is slightly absorbent of water, and has a 
/ i ~X& 
sweet, peculiar smell. Used for joinery, furniture, planks, and shingles. This cedar is most 
suited for wardrobes, as its odour repels moths and other insects ; also considered the best 
wood for manufacturing cigar boxes. Weight, 36 lb. per foot cube. Crushing strength, 
2 '94 tons. Cedrela wood-oil is obtained from this tree, and the bark yields a gum 
resembling gum arabic, got by making incisions. It must not be confounded with the true 
cedars, which are cone-bearing trees inhabiting temperate regions. About 150,000 feet are 
annually exported from British Honduras, and the logs are 3 to 4 feet square. 
94. Whistling Pine ( Casuarina equiseti folia, ) Found in Jamaica, Trinidad, St. 
Lucia, etc. Also called Horsetail tree, from its likeness to a gigantic horsetail, and is a 
naturalised beefwood tree from Australia. In St. Lucia it is termed Filaro, which is probably 
the patois corruption for the French Jilardeau , a sapling — a reference that may be justified 
by the light appearance of the tree. The whistling pine is tall, straight, and slender, with 
a diameter of 12 to 18 inches, and growing to 60 or 80 feet high. It has the appearance of a 
fir, with small feathery branches, and from its sombre look it is sometimes planted in 
cemeteries. The wood is red colour, resembling beef, and is extremely hard, tough, durable, 
and adapted for scaffold posts and masts ; being heavy it is valued for steam-engines, etc. 
Seems to coppice well, and is an important tree for fuel. The bark is astringent, and is 
useful in diarrhoea and dysentery. 
95. White Cedar (Myristica sp) y from the Itooribisci creek, Essequebo river, and 
also from Trinidad, St. Lucia, etc. ; is called Warikuri in British Guiana, and Poirier in St. 
Lucia. It grows plentifully in wet places, especially in the swamps up the Lamaha canal, 
leading into Georgetown, Demerara. The height is about 60 feet, with buttressed base, the 
diameter being 6 feet in the forest, but the ordinary section is 12 to 18 inches. The wood is 
white, has a pleasant smell, and is of pretty texture. It is hard, heavy, and close-grained, 
very durable under ground, but splits on exposure to the sun. It is well suited for piles, 
foundations, posts, jetties, and for any water work ; and makes good yokes, boards, and 
shingles, and has proved to be especially suited for piles, as, if the portion between high 
and low water be protected, the wood will last in sea-water a long time ; in this respect it is 
more durable than greenheart. The logs, however, are difficult to get quite straight. Piles 
can be had up to 40 feet long, and 10 inches diameter. Though white cedar lasts well in 
outside work or when wholly immersed in water, it will not withstand moist places, such as 
at the junction of the ground and air or between wind and water. Weight, 50 lb. per foot 
cube. The ashes of the bark are employed by the Caribs as a cure for dropsy. 
96. Wild Guava, from the upper Essequebo river. The tree grows best in rocky soil, 
and there are four varieties. The wood is little known, but where a light, tough, and close- 
grained timber is desirable, wild guava should answer admirably. Its average height is 60 
feet, and it will square 10 inches. The bark is a powerful astringent. 
97. Yacca (Podocarpus Coriaceus). Found in Jamaica, on the Blue Mountains. The 
tree is about 50 feet high and 18 inches diameter, the wood being highly prized and ornamental, 
and much used in furniture and cabinet work. The planks are beautifully marked, and axe 
employed in the interior finishings of dwelling-houses. Weight, 47 lb. per foot cube. 
Crushing strength, 2*55 tons per square inch. 
98. Yellow Cirouaballi, or Sirua-balli, from the Arouapia-kooroo creek, Pomeroon 
river, British Guiana. The tree grows to a large size in loose sandy soil, but it is difficult to 
procure over 12 inches square free of sap ; the average height is 60 feet. The wood is light, of a 
bright yellow colour, and strong aromatic scent, and is used principally for planking boats ; 
when free of sap it is most durable. The bark is useful for tanning. 
99. Yellow Sanders, or Yellow Wood (Xanthoxylum clava Herculis), is found in 
most of the islands. It is called Prickly Yellow in Jamaica, and Yellow Hercules in Grenada. 
There are two kinds, known by the colour of the bark — the black and the brown (this latter 
is sometimes mistakenly called white). The black lias short prickles and thick dark leaves, 
while the brown has very pointed prickles and light green and yellow leaves. It might 
therefore be termed Prickly tree, the French appellation ofL’Epineux, by which it is known 
in St. Lucia, signifying “thorny.” The tree is about 50 feet high, and logs can be had a foot 
square. The wood is of a light yellow colour, of fine and even grain, and is employed for 
furniture, house work, fence posts, and almost every purpose. It is not considered durable 
for outside work. The wood with the black bark is superior. Weight, 52 lb. per foot cube. 
Crushing strength, 177 tons per square inch. The bark is considered a powerful stimulant and 
febrifuge ; it is likewise used as a cure for rheumatism. 
There is also another Yellow Sanders (Bucida Capitata), alternatively named Wild Olive, 
or Negresse. This tree is 30 to 60 feet high and up to 4 feet diameter, with roundish leaves. 
The wood is of a light yellow colour with satin graining, and is much prized in cabinet work, 
where it sets off dark woods. It saws freely, makes a beautiful board, and takes a high 
polish. 
100. Yoke Wood, Mast Wood, or French Oak (Catalpa Longissima ), a native of 
Hayti, Jamaica, Trinidad, St. Thomas, etc. It is a tall, handsome tree, about 80 feet high, 
and 3 feet diameter, and is rarely found above an elevation of a thousand feet. The wood is 
light brownish -grey, with cross stripes of a darker colour, and somewhat resembles walnut. 
It is one of the most useful and best of timbers for boards and scantlings, very durable, and 
not too hard for general purposes. Weight, 70 lb. per foot cube. Crushing strength, £'09 
tons per square inch. 
References. — Specimens of West Indian woods were sent to the Colonial and Indian 
Exhibition of 1886, and were then permanently housed in the Imperial Institute, where they 
may now be seen. Lists of many Colonial woods appeared in the handbook of that 
Exhibition. A large catalogue with the names of 169 trees of Dominica, w r as compiled by 
the late Dr. John Imray of that Island, and appeared in the Technologist of June, 1862 ; 
the samples which accompanied it are now in the Kew Museum. This collection was sent to 
the great Exhibition of 1862, and obtained the award of a bronze medal. A good catalogue 
of 63 woods of British Guiana was likewise prepared by Mr. Michael McTurk for the Local 
and Paris International Exhibitions of 1S7S. A list of 75 trees of St. Lucia, with full 
descriptions and uses, was compiled by the present author as a portion of his book on 
“Building in St. Lucia,” published in 1S98. 
The following references may be useful to those who would like additional information : — 
foumal of the Institute of famaica for July, 1S96. Price is. The London agents are 
H. Sotheran and Co., 140 Strand, W.C. This issue of the foregoing journal gives a 
summary of tests of 22 specimens of Jamaican timbers sent to the Imperial Institute, with 
some useful remarks. 
Economic Plants , being an Index to the Economic Products of the vegetable kingdom 
in Jamaica. By Wm. Fawcett, b.sc., F.L.s., Director of Public Gardens, Jamaica. 
Published in 1S91, from the Government Printing Establishment, 79 Duke-Street, Kingston, 
Jamaica. This pamphlet gives good and full descriptions of many Jamaican trees. 
The Timbers of famaica, by Hon. W. B. Espeut. A paper published by the Institute 
of Jamaica, in 1SS1, Price, 6d. London agents, H. Sotheran and Co., 140, Strand. 
Jamaica at the Royal Jubilee Exhibition, Liverpool, 1887. By C. Washington Eves. 
Spottiswoode and Co., London. A b«ok with 91 pages. 
