XXV.] SANTA MARIA. x8i 
fore be considered a very fair substitute for the plainest 
Honduras or Mexican Mahogany. Some few years 
since several cargoes of Santa Maria timber were brought 
to the royal dockyards, and employed there for beams, 
planking, &c., in ships; and although it would seem never 
to have been much in favour as a building wood, there 
is good reason to think that in the absence of Mahogany 
it might very well be used for cabin fitments, for furni¬ 
ture, and many other purposes. 
This wood stands exposure to the weather remarkably 
well, and is, I think, durable, since a parcel of about 150 
loads which I inspected after it had been left in the open 
in a moist country for about ten years, showed scarcely 
any signs of deterioration either at the centre or at 
any other part, and had but few shakes on the external 
surfaces. 
The specific gravity is about the same as Honduras 
or Mexican Mahogany. 
Southwards from Central America there are to be 
found in the forests of the Brazilian Empire great varieties 
of timber trees, many of which are no doubt of good 
quality and fit for architectural purposes, but little or 
nothing is known of them in this country. I therefore 
take the present opportunity to place before the reader 
a brief description of some twenty-four of them, with 
their uses ; observing that specimens of these woods, 
3 " X 3" X 1 " were sent to the Admiralty in 1858, by 
H.B.M/s Consul at Rio de Janeiro, with the view to the 
introduction of some of them for employment in ship¬ 
building. 
THE ANGELIM-VERMETHO TREE. 
The wood is reddish-brown in colour, and moderately 
heavy. It is probably of crooked growth, as it is used for 
