Yale University School of Forestry

TROPICAL WOODS

TROPICAL SERIES, NO. 1 March, 1925

CONTENTS

Introductory Note 1

Distribution of the Species of Swietenia 2

Railway Crossties in Salvador 4

Cocobolo 6

Lapachol 7

Secretory Cells in Dicotyledonous Woods 9

Some Trade Names of Woods 12

Lecythidaceae 13

Escallonia 13 ' Preliminary Check List of British Honduras Woods 14 Yale University School of Forestry

TROPICAL WOODS

TROPICAL SERIES, No. 1 March, 1925

Publislud by tht Yale School of Fortslry, 205 Pro1pect Strut, NtW illlfJrn, Connecticut, rJ. S. 11. Unlts1 othtrwi1t indirattd, tlu a1'1hor of all articlu irt thiJ publication is SAMUEL J. RECORD, Profnsor of Forni Prodttcts in Yale University.

INTRODUCTORY NOTE In 1916 the activities of the Yale School of Forestry were extended to include Tropical Forestry. Particular attention has been given to investigations as to the identity, properties, and uses of tropical woods, with special emphasis on those of the Kew World. Field explorations have been made by mem­ bers of the School staff in the West Indies, Central America, Colombia, Venezuela, the Guianas, and Brazil, and the cooperation of various persons and agencies, both at home and abroad, has been enlisted in the collection of material and data of value to both science and industry. There are now in the Yale collections nearly 8,ooo cata­ logued wood samples, and new material is constantly being added. In a great many instances the collectors secure wood and herbarium specimens from the same trees, and the identi­ fication of this botanical material is made possible through the cooperation of eminent systematists in the Smithsonian Institution, the U. S. Department of Agriculture, the New York Botanical Garden, the Gray Herbarium, and the Field Museum of Natural History. Such authenticated specimens TROPICAL WOODS No. r No. r TROPICAL WOODS 3 serve as the basis for classifying the woods for scientific Blake (Revision of the trne mahoganies (Swietenia). purposes. and ~or i~entifying t~e timbers o~ comm.erc7. !he Jrl. Wash. Acad. Sci. 1o:ro:288, May 19, 19'20) summarizes information gamed ID this way 1s also essential to discnmma­ the distribution of these species as follows: "Swietenia Ma­ tory use and compilation of the literature. hagoni is the only species known from the West Indies, Ber­ There is also in the Yale School of Forestry the nucleus of a mnda, and the Bahamas, as well as the Keys of southern herbarium of important tropical trees; an excellent collection Florida. It has been introduced into Trinidad, Venezuela, and of books, pamphlets, and manuscript reports; also hund:eds the Hawaiian Islands, and is recorded by Casimir DeCandolle of microscopic slides of representative woods of the vanous from Peru, but the latter record is certainly very questionable. natural families. Swietenia Candollei is a native of Venezuela. Swietenia tntlC1'0- This material is being studied by, or under the direction of, pbylla is the mahogany of the eastern coast of Central Amer­ the Professor of Forest Products, and it is planned to enlarge ica, from Tabasco to Honduras, and is also cultivated in the scope of the work in the immediate future: Resul~ already botanic gardens at Trinidad, Buitenzorg, and Calcutta. published include a book of 6~o pages, entitled 'l'1mbers. of Swietenia cirrbata is known in the wild condition from Sinaloa Cocobolo; a mjmeographed bibliography of foreign run. Swictcnia humilis is known as a wild species from the woods, with supplement; also several contributions to various coast of Guarrero, Oaxaca, and northwestern Guatemala.... journals. Two contributions by advanced students have b_~en It remains to determine the identity of the mahoganies published abroad, one by Dr. F. B. H. Brown on Hawa11an growing between Honduras and Colombia, and also that of woods, the second by Professor George A. Garratt on New the mahogany recorded from Peru as S. Mabagoni when only Zealand woods. A study of the boxwoods of commerce, to be two species of the genus were known from America." issued as a bulletin in the School of Forestry series, is nearly Pittier (Bo/. Com. e Ind. 18:583, Sept. 1921) gives the complete and various other projects are under way. . range of. S. macrophylla as Yucatan, Honduras, Nicaragua, In the course of the investigations new facts come to light Costa Rica, Panama, and Colombia. Leaves and fruits col­ which it is felt, should be made promptly available to other lected in 1917 by Dr. H. N. Whitford on low hills in the valley investlgators; also many problems arise upon whi~h assista~ce of the Rio Negro, Boyaca, Colombia, were identified by Mac­ is needed in solution. It is for this reason that this new senes Bride (Conlr. Gray Herb. n. s. 56:54, Dec., 19c8) asS.macro­ of publications, 'J'ropical Woods, has been instituted. It is phy/la. Recent investigations of true mahogany in Panama planned to issue succeed~ng ~umbers. at such intervals as by Mr. C. D. Mell leave no doubt in his mind that this is the available funds and maten al will perm1 t. species of commercial importance there. I n a memorandum on the trees of Salvador, which Dr. Paul C. Standley furnished the writer, it is stated that both S. cirrbata Blake and S. bumilis Zucc. occur in some localities in DISTRIBUTION OF THE SPECIES OF SWIE'J'ENIA. ~alvador,. but he expresses a doubt as to these two being dis­ tmct species. True mahogany is the product of the genus Swietenia, of Dr. Herrera (Contribucion a la flora de/ Departmento de/ which five species have bee"n described, namely, S. Alfahagoni Cuzco, 1921, p. n 5) listed Swietenia Mahagoni among the (L.) Jacq. (1760), S. bumilis Zucc. (about 1836), S. macro­ trees indigenous to Peru. In a letter of June 30, 19'24 how­ phylla King (1886), S. Candol/ei Pittier (19'20), and S. cirrhata ever, he says that his authority for the occurrence of the spe­ Blake (19'20). cies in eastern portion of trhe Department of Cuzco was Pr0- No. l TROPICAL WOODS 4 TROPICAL WOODS No.1 5 fessor Raymondi (Botanica elemental, p. 259), but that he is The following botanical classification of the woods listed now convinced that this was an error. above is based for the most part upon a collection of Salvador The occurrence of a species of Swielenia in the Peruvian woods forwarded by Dr. Calder6n. Amazon seems to be fully established by recent shipments of Lccal Name Botanical Name Family logs from that region. The writer has examined various speci­ Bnlsamo Myroxylon 10/uifwum H. B. K. Leguminosae mens of the wood said to be of that origin and there is no t Caoba Su:itlmia bumilis Zucc. Mcliaceac doubt as to their being true mahogany. Through the courtesy Ccclro macho Cedrtlafissilis Vell. Meliaceae Cbnpulaltapa loncbocarpus rugosus Benth. Legumioosae of Mr. Harold S. Fuller, President of the Fuller-Thurber Chicipate Swttlia panammsis Benth. Leguminosae Company, mahogany importers of Boston, it is hoped that Cicahuite [.ysilcma auritum (Schlect) Benth. Leguminosae botanical specimens of this tree and information as to the dis­ Copinol llymenaea Courbaril L. Bignoniaceae tribution can be secured. The specimens of the wood examined Cortez prieto 'J'ecoma cbrysa111ba DC. Leguminosae by the writer appear very similar to authentic samples of the Funera Dnlhergia linrara Pjuier Legu.minosae Grnnadillo ? Leguminosae Venezuelan mahogany supplied by Mr. H. Pittier of the . Gaachipilln Dipby.ra ro6i11ioides Bcnth, Leguminosae Musco Comercial, Caracas. Guaje leuraeno btacbycarp11 Urb. Leguminosac Guayacnn lMyrospermum sp. Leguminosne l guano ? ? Laurel macho } Laurel prieto 1 Conlia sp. Borraginaceae RAILWAY CROSSTIES IN SAL VA DOR Mad recado Gliricidia upium (Jncq.) Steud. Leguminosae Memble Poeppigia proctra Presl. Leguminosae In reply to a request for information as to the woods used m Mczeal ? Leguminosae ? Salvador for railway crossties, Dr. S. Calder6n, of the Lahora­ Mora Cbloropbora tincloria (L.) Gaud. Moraceae torios de la Direccion General de Agricultura, submitted the Nacascolo Catsalpiniacoriaria Qacq,) Willd. Leguminosae following data as to the kinds of woods, their classification, Nispcro Acbras Zapola L. Sapotaceac 1924. Quebracho Lysiloma diDllricata (Jacq.) Steud. Leeuminosae and the prices prevailing during the latter part of The Roble fZuercus sp. Fagaceae information was secured from officials of the Salvador Tempisque Siderox)'Wll 'l'tmpisq11t Pittier Sapotaceae Railway, an English company. The Salvador Division of the Tepemiste Potppigia proctra Presl. Leguminosa.e International Railways of Central America, an American ?.ope Jcbibyomtlbia grandijolia company, uses the same woods. The classification for crossties (0. Smith) Blake Leguminosae is not to be taken as a criterion of the usefulness of the timbers Noles for other purposes. Potppigia proctro Pres!. has the following vernacular names in different C/assificalio11 Names of woods Price per lie parts of Salvador: "Tepem1ste" (lxtepeque), ''quebracho blanco" (La Balsamo f.z.50 Uni6n), "memble" (Cerro del Guaynbal), "frijolillo" Uocoro). (See Standley Extra fine and Calder6n's Flora de El Saloador, p. 1o6.) Superior Guachipillo, Nispero, Mora, Guajc, Cicahuite, Guayacan Jz .zs The name "chapuJaltnpa" is applied to at least three trees other than the one mentioned, namely Pilbtcolobium discolur Pittier, Sobizolobium excelsum Quality ta Quebracho, Madrccacao, Funera, GranadiJlo, Cortez prieto $z.oo :Vogel, and Macbaerium la1ijoli11m (Ben th.) Pittier. The specimen examined 1s Lo11chocarp1u. "Mczeal•• i! the usual vernacular name in Salvador for the Copinol, Tempisque, Laurel macho Quality 'la Mexican elm, Ulmus mexicana P lanch. (=Chaelopltfta mexicana Liebm.) or prieto $1.50 but the wood sample bearing this name is distinctly uot of the elm family' Quality 3a Caoba, Ccdromac:ho, Chapulnltapa, Chicipate, !guano, Memblc, Mez.. but see.ms to be one of the Leguminosne. ' cal, Nacascolo, Tepemiste, ?.ope, Th~ n1Ull~ "qucbracho" is applied to various ha.rd woods in tropical Amenca which are unrelated to the well-known tanwood (Scbinopsis) from Roble $1 .15 - 6 TROPICAL WOODS No. i No. I TROPICAL WOODS 7 southern South America. lo Salvador it refers to Loncboearpus J.1icbe/ianus Pittier and Pip1admia comtri&ta (M. & R.) Macbride, as well as to Lysiloma LAPACHOL Jiallnca/a (jac:q.) Steud. given above. The wood specimen available is of Lysiloma. Lapachol (C1,H1.0a) is a crystalline substance of a golden P/aJymiscium polyslacbium Benth. is known as "granadillo" in Salvador, yellow color and f?rming intensely colored salts. le is. foun.d but the wood sample studied is from some other leguminous tree. in an impure state m the vessels of the heartwood of dutcennra No specimens of "laurel macho" or "laurel prieto" W'C available for (Verbenaceae) and more especially in certain members of the study. In some portions of La tin America the name "laurel" is applied to woods of the Lauraceae. ' family Bignoniaceac. The compound is sometimes so abun­ dant as to give woods the appearance of having been dusted with sulphur. The application of 1 per cent solution of caustic soda gives a characteristic pink color reaction. Common woods of this group are che "Japacho" of Argentina, the "ipe t0- COCO BOLO baco" of Brazil, the "pui" of Trinidad, the "washiba" of British Guiana, the Surinam "groenhart" or "bethabara," In Record and Garratt's Cocobolo (Bull. No. 8, Yale School and the yellow "guayacan" of Central America, all of which of Forestry, New Haven, 1923) it is shown that this wood is are species of CJ'ecoma (or Cf'abebuia). the product of three known species of Dalbergia (dmerim11on), Not all the species of CJ'i:coma, however, have woods char­ section Nliscolobium, namely, D. retusa Hemsley, D. bypoleuca acterized by such deposits, a notable example being the com­ Pittier, and D. Grano.di/lo Pittier. There were no available mon "rohle," Cf'ecoma pcntaphylla J uss. ( = CJ'abebuia penta­ wood specimens of the two other species listed by Pittier in pbylla Hems!.). In the "ipe peroba," Tecoma Peroba Record, this section, namely D. calycina Benth. and D. lineata Pittier. of the coastal region of northeastern Brazil, lapachol occurs The latter species occurs in Salvador where it is known as only sparingly and sometimes is apparently absent. This is the "funera," and the writer recently received a specimen of the only light-colored wood in which lapachol has been reported. heartwood from Dr. S. Caltler6n, of San Salvador. Shortly One of the principal woods described by Matthes and afterward he obtained from the same source a portion of a Schreiber (Uber hautreizende hOlzer. Sonderabdruck, Be­ branch, without heartwood, of Amerimnon cuscatlanicum ricbte d. deutschen Phann. Gesell., Berlin, 1914) as produc­ Standley. This is a new species described by Dr. Paul C. ing de1matitis is called ''moahholz" or "edelteakholz." From Standley C'Jew species of plants from Salvador. II. 1rl. a consideration of these names, rather than from a study Wash. dcatf. Sci. 13 :20!442, Dec. 4, 1923), who states that of the wood structure, the authors provisionally identified the the tree, which is also known as "funera," is related to material in question as a species of lllipe (Bassia) of the family Da/bergia li11eata and D. retusa, but differs from both in its Sapotaceae. The fact that some of the vessels contain deposits perfectly glabrous leaflets, which are also more numerous of lapachol and lapachonon aroused the interest of Dr. and narrower. Standley has transferred the two species of Samuel C. Hooker, of Brooklyn, the noted authority on these Dalbergia to dmerimnon Jineatum (Pittier) Standley and substances, who procured a specimen of the wood from Dr. Amerimnon retusum (Hemsley) Standley, respective)}. Matthes and submitted it to the writer for identification. It Both of these Salvadorean species have the typical wood proved to be the "ipe peroba" of Brazil. structure of cocobolo. It is thus shown that five of the present A collection of 16 woods of the Bignoniaceae forwarded six described species of the section Miscolobium yield cocobolo. from Dehra Dun by Dr. H.P. Brown, temporarily of the In­ If, as seems likely, the same should prove to be true in the dian Service, was submitted to Dr. Hooker for study. The case of Dalbergia calycina, of Guatemala, there would appear species were: Oxoxylum indicum Benth., Tecoma stans J uss. to be good reason for raising the section to generic rank. (So. Am.), CJ'. undzllaJa G. Don, Spathodea campanulata Beauv. 8 TROPICAL WOODS No. 1 No. 1 TROPICAL WOODS (Afr.), Dolichandrone arcuata Clarke, D. c,.ispa Seem., D. rence of lapachol in this wood was discovered by Dr. Bournot falcaJa Seem., D. Rheedii DC., Stereospermum chelonoides and subsequently confirmed by Dr. Hooker on material sup­ DC., S. xylocarpum Wight, S. fimbriatum DC., S. suaruolens -plied by the writer. Kurz, Kigellia pinnata DC., Hetn·opbragma Ro.vburgbii DC., Panjanelia mu/Jijuga Karz, and Millingtonia bortensis L. Dr. Hooker reports:" I have examined them all very carefully and SECRETORY CELLS IN DICOTYLEDONOUS WOODS have been unable ~o detect lapachol. There is, however, a yel­ ' low deposit in Pa11janelia multijuga Kun which gives a char­ Large, tlun-waUed parenchyma cells with oily or resinous acteristic test with a I per cent solution of caustic soda. The contents have been observed in certain woods of five families, substance first dissolves to a yellow-brown which soon passes namely, Magnoliaceae, Anonaceae, CaneUaceae, Lauraceae, to a pure violet; then in a short time the violet fades and gives and Lythraceae. place to yellow-brown again. The quantity present is very Mag-noliaceae.-Solereder (Systematic Anatomy of tbe Dico­ smaJl and the test was made under the microscope with ma,. Jy/edons, II, p. 1096) mentions the occastonal occurrence of terial removed with the point of the needle." resin cells in the wood of this family. According to Moll and In the Album des bois de Madagascar prepared by M. Louvel, Janssonius (Mikrngrapbie des holzes der auj Jaua uor·kommen­ lnspecteur des Eaux et Forets, for the Premiere Foire Offi­ der baumarten1 T, 84, 97-106), large thin-walled cells, often cielle de Tananarive, i923, there are two wood specimens with with resinous contents of a pale yellow collor, were found in abundant deposits of lapachol. One is the "zahana," which, the rays of the four species of Michelia they examined. according to the booklet accompanying the album, is Phyl­ lartbron Bojerianum DC. It is w1doubtedJy one of the Big­ dnonacene.-Solereder (Inc. cit.) states that resin cells are noniaceae, though the wood described by Perrot (Les bois de occasionally found in the wood. Moll and Janssonius (loc. cit., Madagascar, II, No. 35) under these vernacular and scientific pp. 125-7) found them in both the wood parenchyma strands names is not the same, having much more abundant paren­ and the rays of Ca11angium odoratum Baill., and the variety chyma, considerably lower density, and lacking in vessel velutina K. & V. contents. In the wood of the type tree of Duguetia vallicola MacBride, The other Madagascar specimen bears only the vernacular the "sol era" of Colombia, the writer finds that the rays are name of "so6ntsoy," but it bdongs unquestionably to the homogeneous except for occasional very large thin-walled sac­ family Bignoniaceae. The structure and general appearance like oil or resin cells; such cells also occur in some of the paren­ of both these woods are much like the tropical American chyma strands. They were not found in Anona, Oxand1·a, Rol­ species of 'l'ecoma having abundant lapachol deposits, the linia, Unonopsis, and Xylopia. most noticeable difference being the absence of ripple marks Canellaceae.-Secreto1·y cells have been found in the paren­ (storied structure) in the Madagascar specimens. Since 'l'e­ chyma strands and in the rays of Cinnamosmafragrans Baill., coma and 'l'abebuia are not known to occur outside of tropical wood specimens of which were supplied by the Governor America it is obvious that the distribution of this interesting General of Madagascar and Dependencies, through the cour­ substance, Japachol, must be extended to at least one new tesy of American Consul J. G. Carter. The vernacular name genus of the Bignoniaceae. of this tree is given as "metrobeantina." The presence oflapachol in a wood of normal structure may This wood agrees in all important details with the "taggar be taken as fairly conclusive evidence that the material be­ wood" used by the Parsees of Bombay in their religious cere­ longs to the Bignoniaceae. The wood of Auicennia is of anom­ m~nies,judging from a specimen of this material supplied the alous structure and consequently very distinct. The occur- writer by Mr. Wilfred H. Schoff, secretary of the Commercial 10 TROPICAL WOODS No. 1 No. I TROPICAL WOODS JI Museum of Philadelphia. It also corresponds with the descrip­ able diagnostic value to them. They recognize, however, that tion and illustrations given in the report of the Museum of the absence of these cells, particularly in young stems, is not the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain for the years conclusive. 1895-1902 (London, 1903, pp. 42-45), from which the follow­ Gonggrijp (Rosenhout, bois de rose fernelle, uit Suriname.

ing is taken: De Indiscbe Mcrcuur, Apr. 23 1 30, t920, pp. 19"""22) describes "This dark brown wood is exported from the north of Mad­ the oil cells of the" bois de rose" and illustrates his paper with agascar (where the tree is known as • hazo-mainty,' i.e., photomicrographs showing the cells in both the rays and the black wood) to Zanzibar, whence it reaches Bomba}'. The parenchyma strands. He identifies the wood as Aniba panu- vessels are usually isolated, their joints perforated in a scalari­ 1wsis Mez ( = Aydendron panurensis Meissn.). The present fonn manner, their walls have relatively large pits, and they writer has examined specimens of this wood; the oil cells are are only sparingly surrounded with parenchyma fibers, which very large and thin-walled, and appear on cross section as in­ are either isolated or form short transverse series between the tercellular canals. fiber-tracheids, which are thick-walled and furnished with large pits. Large oil cells, with yellow contents, are also pres­ Lythraceae.-The only known reference to oil cells in any ent, and the medullary rays consist of one or two rows of cells. wood of this family is by the writer (Timbers ojCJ'ropical Amer­ ica, 1924 p. 456) in the case of Physocalymma scaberimmum The oil cells and scalariform vessels indicate that it is probably 1 derived from a Lauraceous tree." Pohl. "A highly characteristic feature is the presence of large oil or resin cells located at intervals along the margins of the The last statement fails to take into account the fact that rays and also in the wood parenchyma strands; they are very the wood fibers of the Lauraceae have simple pits, while those thin-walled, have yellowish contents, and are distinct on all of the Canellaceae are abundantly pitted with very distinctly three sections." The specimen described was collected in B0- bordered pits. No secretory cells were found by the writer livia by Mr. R. S. Williams and was taken, along with herba­ in the wood of Canella Winterrma Gaertn. rium material, from the stem of a tree 10 inches in diameter Laurauae.-According to Von HohneJ, Felix, and Knob­ and 35 feet high. (The sheet is l\o. 1474 in herbarium of the lauch ( see Solereder, loc. cit., pp. 703-4), secretory cells are New York BotanicaJ Garden.) The commonly accepted state­ present in the wood of Sassafras and various other members ment that this tree produces the wood known to the trade as of this family, and Felix also met with them in fossil woods. South American tulipwood JS erroneous. Knoblauch reports their occurrence in the rays and paren­ chyma strands in species of Cryptocarya, Beilscbmiedia (Hujel­ andia), .1ydendro11, Acrodiclidium, Litua, Umbellularia, and Comparalice anatomy of the woods Laurus. Magno/iaceae.-Vessels with scalarifonn (rarely simple) and Kanehira (.1b1atomical characters identification of For­ p~rforations and commonly with scalariform bordered pits. mosan woods, 1921 p. 171) states that secretory cells are always 1 Fiber pits bordered. Pits of the rays often covering two or present in Cinnamomum and of sporadic occurrence in more of vessel. Parenchyma usually terminal. Actinodapbne, Lindera, Tetradenia, Machi/us, Phoebe, Litsea, and Cryptocarya Konishii Hay. .dnonaccae.-Vessels with simple perforations and minute Krause! and Schonfeld (Fossile hOlzer aus der braunkohlt ~ordered pits. Fiber pits minute; indistinctly bordered. Pits van Sud-Limburg. Abh. d. Senckenberg. Natmjosch. Gesell. ID the rays usually rather large and covering two or more of 38 :3 :274-276, J924) descrjbe and figure secretory cells in ":essel. Parenchymn in fine, rather evenly spaced concentric Lauriuo.'l:y/on nectandrioid¢s Kr. & Sch., and attach consider- Imes. TROPICAL WOODS No r No. 1 TROPICAL WOODS IJ Canelloceae.-Vessels with scalariform perforations and with a tendency to scalarifonn bordered pits. Fiber pits large LECYTHIDACEAE and distinctly bordered. Vessel-ray pits half-bordered and usually elongated. One of the representatives of this family is known in eastern Brazil as" biriba" or" hiribi," names more commonly Lauraceae.-Vessels with either simple or scalariform per­ applied to some of the Anonaceae. The trees occupy a strip forations, or both; pits not scalariform. Fiber pits simple. five to ten miles wide along the coast and have straight Vessel-ray pits varying from bordered to large and elongated slender boles 50 feet or more in length and 18 to inches in simple and more or less scalarifonn. '2+ diameter. The timber is hard, heavy, strong, and durable, Lytbraceae.-Vessels with simple perforations and large and is much used in the Bahia region for poles and posts. bordered pits. Fiber pits simple. Vessel-ray pits much the Material collected by Mr. H. M. Curran in Ilheos has been same as in Lauraceae. identified by Dr. S. F. Blake, Washington, D. C., as Esch­ weilera Luschnathii (Berg) Miers. The Colombian" mahogany," Cariniana pyrijorm;s Miers, locally known as" albarco," entered the foreign market about SOME TRADE NAMES OF WOODS 45 years ago, the early shipments being principally to France. Amboyna =burl of some leguminous tree from the Moluccas. The wood has not met with favor in the United States as it is Bugac=Dipt"ocarpus grandiflorus Blanco (Phil. Is.). sajd to be difficult to work on account of grit i11 the cells. The Bob wood= balsa, Ocbroma sp. (Trop. Am.). known range of this species has recently been extended by the Boxwood, Brazilian =Eu.«ylopbora paraensis Huber (Am awn). explorations of Mr. H. Pittier, Caracas, Venezuela, who says Briar, Amcrican=burl of Ka/mia or Rhododendron (S. E. U.S.). Burlettn= burl of maple, .;Jc" sp. (U. S.). that it is one of the largest and most conspicuous trees in the Caya=in boxwood trade, Sidrroxylon sp. (Santo Domingo). flat country of the Rio Santa Ana, above the belt of perenni­ Comino wood=burl of .;/ni/!a sp. (Colombia), ally flooded forest on the western side of Lake Maracaibo. Coria= burl of redwood SeqUQia mnperoirens (Lamb.) EndJ. (Calif.). The vernacular name of the tree is "bacu." Harewood =gray-stained wood of maple, Acer sp. (Europe). Hazel pinc=in English market, sapwood of red gum, Liquidam/Jar (So. U.S.). Jennie wood=freijo, Cordi4 Goeldiann Huber (Braz. Amnum). Kyonix=red gum, liquidam/Jar (So. U.S.). Lily wood, Swedish= burl of birch, Bt1rtla sp. (Europe). Mexican cherry=same as corla. Mousewood = harewood. ESCAUONlfi Nagae

No. 1 TROPICAL WOODS TROPICAL WOODS No. 1 Common name Botanical name Family PRELIMINARY CHECK LIST OF BRITISH HONDURAS Guava blossom Loncbocarpus sp. Leguminosae WOODS Hog plum Spond;as Jutea L. Anacardiaceae Ironwood D;alium J;Parica1um Vahl Leguminosac Common namt Botanical name Family Jug Mourida sp. Melastomacene Axcmastcr ? ? Lime, wild ? Sapotaccru: Balsam Myroxykm loluiferum H. B. K. lcguminosae Logwood Haemaloxylon camptcbianum L. Leguminosac Banak Myri.slica aff. panamensis Hems!. Myristicaccae Madre cacao (Same as guava blossom) Ba.rbn jolotc Cassia aff. tmargina/a L. Lcguminosnc Mnhognny Sw;t1mia macropbyl/a King Meliaceae Barbed wood ? Anonacenc " , white (Same as cmcri) Bay cedar Guazuma 11/mifolia Lam. Tiliaceac Mangrove, black APicennia nitida Jacq. Verbenaceae " red R.bizopbora Mangle L. Rhizophoraceac Billbird ? ? 1 Billbird patter Ouralea pyramidalis Riley Ochnaceae " , white Lag1111c11/aria rt1cemosa Gaertn. Combretaceae Billy Webb Sweelia panamemis Benth. Lcguminosac Mapola Luebta sp. Tiliaceae Birch wood Bursera gummifera L. Burscrncene May Aower (Same as fiddle wood) Blue blossom ? ? Moho Belo1ia sp. Tiliaceac Bob wood (Same as barbed wood) Mountain cow {San1e as chcwstick) Boy Job ? My Indy ? Breabri Inga speclabi/is Willd. Leguminosae Nargusta 'f'crminalia obouala (R. & P.) Breadnut Brosimum alicastrum Swartz Moraceae Eich!. Combrctaceae Bull hoof ?Drypetes sp. Euphorbiacene? Negri to Simaru/Ja glauca DC. Simarubaceae 13ulleL tree 'Imninalia Buceras Wright Combretaceae Oak ff/)itl'CUJ sp. Faga;eae Buttonwood Conocarpus tree/a L. Combretnccae Old William //ism;aj(ITJ/g;nea H.B. K. Gutt1ferae Cabbage bark Andira inermis H. B. K. Leguminosne Pal malata Lacistema aggreg11t11111 (Berg) Rushy Lacistemaceae Cacho venado Mouriria paroijlora Ben th. Melnstomaceae Palm, cabbage Or11odox11 oleractn Morris Palmaceae Calabash Crtscenlia Cujete L. Bignoniaceae " cohune Allalra Cobune Mart. Palmaceae Capache ? Burseracenc " ; monkey tail Cbamacdorea sp. Palmace.ae Casada wood lltx sp. Aquifoliaccac Palomulatto A sfronium Con'Ullli; Blake Anacardiaceae Pjgeon plum Cedar Cedrtla mexicana Roem. Melinccae lican;a b)'po/eura Benth. Amygdalaceac Chews tick Sympbonia glolmliftra L. f. Guttiferae Pinc P;nus caribaea Mor. Pinaccae Chuckem Pitbecolobium allticanr Benth. lcguminosac " Waika Amyris sp. Rutacea~ Coapma wood Erytbrina sp. Lcguminosnc Poiso~ wood, black 1Mauria sp. Anacardiaceae Coco plum Cbrysobalanus lcaco L. Amygd:ilaceae Polack, bastard Belotia Campbdf;; Sprague Tilfaceae Polewood Cogotone 'IabernaemonJana citrifolia L. Apocynaceac Xylopiajrutesum AubL Anonaceae Cortez 'Iecoma sp. Bignoniacea.c Prickly yellow Zantboxylum sp. Rutaceae Provision Cottonwood Cei/Ja pmlandra Gaertn. Bombncaceae Pacbira oquatica Aubl. Bombacaceae Quamwood Craboo Byrsonima crassifolia (L.) DC. .Malpighinccae ScbiUJlobium Kellermani Pittier Leguminosae Cypress Podocarp11s coriace111 Rich. T:unccac Redwood Erytbroxy/011 affine A. Rich. Er)•thro~ylacesc Redwood, ridge Dogwood lcbtbyometbia piscipula Hitch. Leguminosae Afosr1u;1oxylu111 jamaicense K. & U. Anacac.diaceae Rosewood Erneri or emery l"ocbysia bondurensis Sprague Vochysiacene D11//;erg1a sp. Lcgununosae Rubber Fiddle wood 'l'tcoma penlapbylla Joss. Bignoniaceac CastU/a tlastica Cerv. Mornceac Santa maria ? Verbenaceae? Colopbyllum Calaba Jacq. Guttifc.rae Salm wood Fig, wild Ficus glabrata R. B. K. Mornceac Cordia G"asctmtbus Borrag1naceae Salom Glnssy wood ?Guellarda sp. Rubiaceae ?Lysiloma sp. Leguminosae Gombolimbo (Sarne as birch wood) SapodiUa Acbras Zapola L. SaJJLumber Company. (4) Leafy twigs and wood specimen of the Honduras rosewood, procured by Mr. W. N. Bourne, Punta Gorda. Yale University School of Forestry

TROPICAL WOODS

NUMBER 2 June, 1925

CONTENTS

Page Chemical Analysis of Balsa Bark 1

Schizolobium: A Promising Source of Pulpwood 2

Forest Conditions in Southeastern Bahia, Brazil 6

Flowers of the Brazilian Rosewood 9

Range of PhyJlostylon 9

Pits with Cribriform Membranes 10

Montanoa 13

Wooden Combs 13

Spiral Grain in Trees 14

"Melon" and "Ronron" of Salvador 16 Yale University School of Forestry

1 HUFJILLxAJL / W U'VJ'JJo

NUMBER 2 June, 1925

Published by the Yale School of Forestry, 20$ Prospect Street, New Haven, Connecticut, U. S. A. Unless otherwise indicated, the author of all articles in this publication is SAMUEL J. RECORD, Professor of Forest Products in Yale University.

CHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF BALSA BARK Logs of the balsa wood {Ochroma sp.) are shipped with the bark on, and as this bark is one-half inch or more in thickness it accumulates very rapidly at the mill. Being heavy with moisture and slow in drying it is poorly suited for fuel. In seeking for means to dispose of this by-product the J. H. Monteath Company, 202 Lewis Street, New York, had a chemical analysis made of the bark. The results, given below, show that the material is without value as a source of tannin.

ANALYSIS

jis received Dry basis Water 10.00 .... Insolubles 0.26 0.29 Non-tannins 3.35 3.72 Tannin i.io 1.22 Non-extractive 85.29 94-77

100.00 loo.oo Total extractive 4.71 5-23 Soluble extractive 4-45 4-94 2 TROPICAL WOODS No. 2 No. 2 TROPICAL WOODS 3

SCHIZOLOBIUM: A PROMISING SOURCE Two Central American species* have been described by OF PULPWOOD Pittier {Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 18:6: 231-2, 1917). Schizolo• bium Covilleanum Pittier is said to be a large deciduous tree, The various species of this genus of the Leguminosae are 25 to 30 meters high, the trunk over one meter in diameter tall soft-wooded trees having a combined range from south• and covered with a grayish and shaggy bark. The crown is eastern Brazil to southern Mexico. They have large doubly rounded-depressed; the larger limbers are horizontal. The pinnate leaves, with numerous small leaflets, and flowers author's statement that "the wood is yellow, fine-grained, that are in showy racemes. They are noted for their rapid and hard" is evidently in error. The type tree was collected growth and are worthy of consideration for planting and in the Province of Code, Panama, at about 40 meters above managing on short rotation to supply pulpwood. sea level. Schizolobium parahybum (Veil.) Blake {Cassia parahyba Schizolobium Kellermanii Pittier {loc. cit., p. 232) is de• Vellozo and Schizolobium excelsum Vogel) was collected in scribed by the author as a large tree collected near San flowOT and fruit by Mr. H. M. Curran in the Rio Grongogy Felipe, Pacific Coast of Guatemala. In 1919, Dr. H. N. Basin, Bahia, Brazil, in 1915, under the vernacular name of Whitford and Mr. L. R. Stadtmiller collected botanical and "pao de vintem." This tree was about 90 feet high and 18 wood specimens of this species near Izabal, on the Atlantic inches in diameter, and a sample of the wood of it is in the watershed of Guatemala. The vernacular names are "pluma- Yale collections (No. 1791). Respecting the new combination jillo" and "zorra." Blake {Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 24: 4: 98, in the name, Blake {Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 20: 7: 241, 1919) 1922) says it is "a tall, handsome tree, with slender white says "it may be observed that the figure of Vellozo is un• trunk and a feathery head of foliage." Whitford (MS. report), usually good for the work in which it appears, and thoroughly in describing the hardwood forests of the valley and slopes characteristic of the species. The specific name, obviously of the Motagua drainage basin, says that the higher bottom derived from the habitat of the species, 'ad ripas fluvii lands, which are rarely if ever flooded, support the climax Parahyba dicti,' is written by Vellozo with a lower-case initial forests of the region and that at least three-fifths of the stand and is consequently to be treated as an adjective requiring in this type is composed of five species, namely, (i) "tama- modification in termination under the new combination here rindo" {Dialium divaricatum Vahl), (2) "naranjo" {Ter- proposed." minalia sp.), (3) "masico" {Brosimum terrabanum Pittier), Correa {Flora do Brazil, Rio de Janeiro, 1909, p. 20) says (4) "plumajillo" {Schizolobium Kellermanii Pittier), and (5) that S. excelsum Vog., which has a range from Rio de Janeiro "ceiba" {Ceiba pentandra Gaertn.). to Sao Paulo and bears the vernacular name of "bacurubu," The following information regarding Schizolobium in British supplies timber for canoes, interior uses, sheathing boards, and paper pulp, while the bark is employed in tanning. The • After this was in type the writer received the following information from Dr. Paul specific gravity of the wood is given as 0.302. Lofgren {Manual C. Standley, of the Smithsonian Institution: "The common species, Schizolobium parahybum, occurs in Salvador, but I doubt that it is native. I have seen only a few das/amilias naturaes phanerogamas. Rio de J., 1917, p. 245) cultivated trees. The genus does occur in Atlantic Guatemala, near Quirigua, where it states that it is a magnificent tree for ornamental purposes. is very conspicuous, but when I was there neither flowers nor fruits were obtainable. Ducke {Archives Jardim Botanico do Rio de Janeiro 3: 117, So far as I can tell, only this one species occurs in Central America. The one named by Pittier from Pacific Guatemala, S. Kellermanii, was based upon extremely frag• 1922) states that the Amazon species, Schizolobium amazoni- mentary material, and does not seem distinct from S. parahybum (S. excelsum)." cum Ducke, occurs in the primary and secondary non-inun• Dr. Standley further states that Schizolobium Covilleanum Pittier is a synonym of dated forests of both the Lower and Upper Amazon region. Caesalpinia eriostachys! He says: "Pittier collected flowering specimens just outside the Canal Zone, and I have collected from the same tree, which is probably the only Its flowers and fruits are about half the size of those of the one in the region. It grows along a road outside Panama City, and was probably planted other Brazilian species and there are minor floral differences. there. In his description, Pittier used the flowering specimen of Caesalpinia and a detached fruit of Schizolobium, but makes the Caesalpinia the type specimen." 4 TROPICAL WOODS No. 2 No. 2 TROPICAL WOODS 5

Honduras is supplied by Mr. J. N. Oliphant, Conservator of DESCRIPTION OF THE WOOD Forests. He says that the timber known as "quamwood" Schizolobium Kellermanii Pittier Quamwood has been identified at Kew as "Schizolobium, apparently S. Kellermanii, a species recently described from Guatemala." Common names: Quamwood (B. G.); plumajillo, zorra, sora (Guat.). The particular specimen identified came from Hillbank, at OTHER SPECIES: Chapulaltapa (Salv.); bacurubu, pao de vintem (Braz.). General properties: Color nearly white, with streaks of reddish brown. the southern end of the New River Lagoon. This location is The sapwood is either very thick or there is no distinct heartwood. Luster believed to be near the northern limit of the tree's range, satiny. which includes all portions of the Colony to the southward. Odor and taste absent or not distinctive. The species occurs typically in the cohune palm association, Light and soft to moderately so. Softest specimens rather spongy, but and in favorable conditions grows to fair size, though never tough. Grain variable from straight to decidedly roey. Texture rather coarse, not harsh. Wood saws rather woolly; is rather difficult to finish smoothly; very large. It is generally associated with "moho" and nails without splitting; is perishable in contact with the ground. "polak" as regrowth on "huamil" land (abandoned shifting Growth rings: Terminated by a fine line of wood parenchyma. Sometimes cultivation), but is less abundant than thosetwo species. It is distinct, due to differences in density or color, or both combined. apparently intolerant of shade and is of only sporadic oc• Parenchyma: In irregular halos about the pores, sometimes in diamond- currence in the climax forest. shaped patches, which are occasionally more or less confluent; not very distinct. Also in fine, widely spaced concentric lines, usually not visible Doreys (dugouts) are sometimes made from the trunks without lens. of the larger trees and last for about two years. The wood is Pores: Resembling small pin holes fairly uniform in size; scattered; mostly soft, white, and not resistant to insects and decay, but single, but sometimes sub-divided two to several times; most distinct in the darker zones; open. finishes smoothly and might serve for interior work. Tests Vessel lines: Coarse; very distinct in darker zones; show as black lines in made by the Imperial Institute {Bulletin 24: 4: 401, 1924) on infected material. its value as timber were not very encouraging, but later tests Vessel contents: Some gum deposits in darker zones. for pulp indicate that it is well adapted to the soda process. Rays: Very fine; faintly visible without lens on cross and tangential The consumption of soda is moderate, and the pulp, although sections; distinct, but low and not conspicuous, on radial surface, where they appear somewhat lighter than background. rather short-fibered, is somewhat similar in character to Ripple marks: Absent. commercial poplar pulp and produces paper of fairly good Gum ducts: None observed. strength. It is only slightly inferior to that of the "moho," Minute anatomy: Vessels thin-walled; segments irregular in shape and a tree related to basswood. length; perforations simple, with prominent annular ridges; pits crowded, rather large, of screw-head type, distinctly cribriform. Rays one to six cells Mr. Oliphant hopes to develop a pulp industry in the wide and few to 25 cells high; homogeneous; pits into vessels closely resemble Colony, using "moho," "quamwood," arid possibly "polak." intervascular pits; small rhombohedral crystals common. Wood parenchyma All three species grow rapidly and could be managed on very thin-walled; cells adjacent to vessels very irregular; crystals common. Fibers short rotation, perhaps five years or less. There are fairly without definite radial arrangement; walls variable in thickness, many with large tracts of "huamil" land available, particularly the gelatinous layer; pits simple, slit-like or lenticular, inconspicuous. (Material, Yale No. 7397.) sites of banana plantations which have been abandoned on Remarks: The specimen from Guatemala is considerably denser than those account of the Panama disease. Those interested in a future from Brazil and British Honduras. supply of soda pulp might find the proposition well worth A specimen of this wood was collected in Southern Mexico by Mr. investigation. It would probably involve the location of a mill Thomas H. Gill and he states that the Indians call the tree "juan acosta." near the source of the pulpwood, owing to the difficulties of From his description of the tree, however, it would appear that there is confusion with Enterolobium cyclocarpum Gris. shipping the logs long distances. Material: Yale No. 7397 (Brit. Hond.); 3685 (Guatemala); 7726 (Tobasco, Mexico). 6 TROPICAL WOODS No. 2 No. 2 TROPICAL WOODS 7 cultivation. The people are mostly negroes or uneducated FOREST CONDITIONS IN SOUTHEASTERN whites who support themselves by raising vegetables, cacao, BAHIA, BRAZIL and livestock, as well as through hunting, fishing, and canoe- making. They are poor, but have plenty of food and are BY HUGH M. CURRAN independent; in their general character and habits of life In going from the coast to the interior of southeastern they resemble the mountaineers of Kentucky and Tennessee. Bahia, one meets with four more or less distinct types of Quarrels and feuds are common and the unfriendliness of the forest. The coastal zone, which is from 20 to 30 miles wide, is wandering bands of Indians is a constant source of anxiety. a sunburnt and windswept region with poor soil supporting a The typical dwelling for a family of five or more is a small growth of a few species of shrubs and small trees. Here and round mud-and-wattle house with tile or palm-thatched roof there, however, are protected areas with better developed and dirt floor. and more complex stands extending from the interior rain The heaviest rains occur between January and June. The forests beyond. cool months are from May to August and many of the forest The transitional zone, five to ten miles in width, is a foggy trees drop their leaves during this period. Many trees were and rainy belt with the slopes and valleys in second-growth found in September and October which were just coming into of medium to large size and occasional patches of apparently flower and new leaf. first-growth forest. There is a commingling of species from The tract may be divided into three site classes as follows: both the coastal and rain forests, but there is also a develop• (i) The dry exposed ridges, with shallow sandy soil overlying ment in quantity of species which form only a minor part of rock and supporting a poor and open stand of timber. Such the other forests. The trees are 50 to 100 feet in height, the areas comprise about 17 per cent of the total and the average stands are dense and the undergrowth is heavy. stand is about 6000 board feet per acre. (2) Upper slopes, Beginning with the first high ridges are the rain forests, with medium quality red clay soil and a fair amount of humus, occupying a zone 50 to 100 miles in width and extending to comprising about 42 per cent of the tract. The average stand the dry catingas beyond. The country is similar in topography is estimated at 10,000 board feet. (3) Lower slopes and to the western portions of Maryland and Carolina, and is the valleys with deep, moist, well-drained soil comprising 35 per home of such well known timbers as rosewood, cedar, and cent of the tract and having a stand of 13,000 board feet per brazilwood. acre. The writer has made a careful study of a tract of 75,000 The estimates are based upon measurements of typical acres in the Rio Grongogy basin. In general this area consists areas with volumes computed from sample trees. For defects of a rather narrow valley with southerly branches between not visible to the eye, an allowance of 10 per cent was made which are narrow rough flat-topped ridges 500 to 1000 feet for the ridge type and 20 per cent for the other, such allow• above the central valley. Outside of the river valley itself ances being based upon experience with similar tracts and there is a scarcity of water and the stream beds are practically checked by examination of the sample trees felled. About 6 dry for most of the year. Back in the higher ridges there are per cent of the total area is occupied by watercourses and some small streams, but for the most part they flow for only clearings. a mile or two and disappear. This scarcity of water has been There are on the tract more than 100 different kinds of trees the principal factor in restricting settlement and most of the ranging in diameter from 12 to 48 inches and in height from tract remains in its virgin condition. 75 to 125 feet. Clear lengths of 30 to 50 feet are common, The clearings are confined to the vicinity of the river and extending in exceptional cases to 60 or 75 feet. The timbers of consist of brush and pasture land and from five to ten acres in principal commercial importance are not over 20 in number. 8 TROPICAL WOODS No. a No. 2 TROPICAL WOODS 9 and fully 50 per cent of the total cut will be from 10 species, heavy woods, a typical acre was examined in detail, with the as follows: following results: Very hard woods, 28 per cent; medium, 30 per cent; soft, 42 per cent. The bulk of the timber of the Jequitib£ Cariniana legalis (Mart.) Kuntze. Amgi d'agua Termina/ia afF. januarensis DC. region exhibits much the same range in properties as one Pio d'alho GalUsia ScoTododendrum Casar. finds in the common American woods, such as oak, gum, Mucuri Lucuma procera Mart. yellow poplar, birch, basswood, and maple. Only a few are in Massaranduba Mimusops sp. the class of cabinet and fancy woods, the great majority Pimenteira Trichilia aba Blake. being plain woods of general utility. The best markets for Oleo Copaijera sp. Viroity ^uararibea sp. such lumber are in Brazil and Argentina. Mo^itahyba branca Unidentified P&o sangue Pterocarpus sp. FLOWERS OF THE BRAZILIAN ROSEWOOD All of the above timbers are practically unknown to commerce, but they will eventually prove very acceptable In the description of the "jacaranda" tree, Dalbergia nigra to the trade, once their properties are fully known. There are Fr. Allem., in Timbers of Tropical America, no mention is in addition the following kinds in commercial quantity, some made of the flowers. I saw the trees growing in Melbourne, of which are better known: Australia, and the blossoms are among the most exquisite of any tree I have ever seen. As I recall them, they are of a Jacarandl (rosewood) Daliergia nigra Fr. Allem. lovely light bluish violet color and in thick clusters, suggest• Cedro (Spanish cedar) Cedrela sp. Coracao de negro Cassia Apoucouita Aubl. ing the wistaria, though of finer texture. Combined with the Pao roxo (purpleheart) Peltogyne sp. lovely acacia-like compound feathery leaves, they are ex• Sapucaia (monkey-pot) Lecythis ollaria L. ceedingly ornamental.—From letter of Mr. H. D. Tiemann, Vinhatico castanho Plathymenia reticulata Benth. Madison, Wisconsin. Vinhatico de espinho Pithecolobium Vinhatico Record. Piquii Aspidosperma sp. Pao brazil (brazilwood) Caesalpinia ecbinata Lam. Peroba do Bahia Sweetia sp. RANGE OF PHYLLOSTYLON Came d'anta Maytenus obtusifolia Mart. Pao parahyba Simaruba versicolor St. Hil. The writer has received from Mr. C. D. Mell some photo• Caroba Jacaranda sp. graphs of a group of trees of Phyllostylon brasiliensis Capa- Oitijica Clarisia racemosa R. & P. nema which he found growing near the edge of Lake Mana• Estriveira Luehea divaricata Mart. Pao ferro Caesalpinia sp. gua, Nicaragua, a short distance from Buqueron Station on Pdo d'arco Tecoma sp. the railway between Granada and Corinto. He says that the Barriguda fCavaniltesia sp. trees were easily recognized at a distance and looked exactly Buranhem Pradosia latescens (Veil.) Radlk. like those of the same species in Mexico and Haiti. Leaf Bicuiba Virola Bicuhyba Warb. specimens were collected and deposited in the herbarium of Wood specimens and botanical material were obtained of the New York Botanical Garden. all of the foregoing and added to the Yale collections. Most of This species, the only one of the genus, produces one of the the woods have been described by Professor Record in minor boxwoods of commerce, known in New York as San Timbers of Tropical America. Domingan boxwood or "baitoa." Its present known range In consideration of the widely accepted belief that the included portions of Argentina, southern Brazil, Cuba, the tropical forest is composed almost exclusively of hard and Island of Haiti, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and southern Mexico. lO TROPICAL WOODS No. 2 No. 2 TROPICAL WOODS II Moll and Janssonius, in their splendid work entitled, PITS WITH CRIBRIFORM MEMBRANES " Mikrographie des bolzes der auj Jam vorkommenden baumar- There are a number of dicotyledonous woods in which the ten" (3 vols. Leiden, 1906-1918), mention the occurrence of intervascular and vascular-parenchymatous pits exhibit a cribriform pits in members of the Leguminosae, Hamamelida- dotted appearance suggesting sieve-plates of the phloem. ceae, Combretaceae, Myrtaceae, Melastomaceae, Lythraceae, These dots are minute perforations in the pit membrane and and Cornaceae. they vary in number and distinctness. Various investigators The present writer has found such pits in several of the have observed them in members of 20 families, though in all families already enumerated and has extended the list through but six or seven of these they are too sporadic or indistinct to the addition of the Polygonaceae. have much value for diagnostic purposes. They are likely to be obscured by deposits in heartwood. THE FAMIUES The first extended account of these structures was by Dr. Bengt Jonsson, of Lund, Sweden, in his paper entitled, Amygdalaceae.—Cribriform pits reported by Jonsson as distinct in Cerasus "Siebahnliche poren in den trachealen xylemelementen der serotinus hort., but indistinct and sporadic in Prunus brigantinea Vill. Araliaceae.—Reported by Jonsson as indistinct and sporadic in Hedera Phanerogamen, hauptsachlich der Leguminosen" {Ber. d. Helix L. Beutscben Bot. Gesellschaft 10: 494-513, 1892). In addition to Asclepiadaceae.—Reported by Jonsson as distinct in Asclepias verticillata L. the Leguminosae, where they were found in every species Combretaceae.—Reported by Heiden in species of Terminalia, Calycopteris, examined, the author reports them as occurring, with varying Conocarpus, Ramatuetla, Anogeissus, Guiera, Laguncularia, and Cacoucia; degrees of regularity and distinctness, in a few members of the by Moll and Janssonius in Terminalia and Lumnitzera. They have been observed by the present writer in Terminalia, Conocarpus, and Laguncularia. following families: Amygdalaceae, Araliaceae, Asclepiadaceae, Some of the woods of this family have a structure suggesting the Leguminosae. Compositae, Fagaceae, Hippocastanaceae, Myrtaceae, Olea- Compositae.—Reported by Jonsson as indistinct and sporadic in Helichry- ceae, Rhamnaceae, and Scrophulariaceae. sum moniliferum hort. Jonsson reviews the literature concerning the structure of Cornaceae.—Reported by Moll and Janssonius as of occasional occurrence in the vessel-ray pits of Mastixia tricbomata Blume. pits and the protoplasmic bridges between cells, but he found Fagaceae.—Reported by Jonsson as distinct in ^uercus Cerris L., but only one reference to the particular feature under con• sporadic and indistinct in ^. alba L., ^. obtusiloba Michx., and ^. peduneu- sideration. This was a paper by Dutailly entitled, "Sur lata L. I'existence de ponctuations criblees dans le bois de la racine Guttiferae.—Reported in Calophyllum Inophyllum L. by Ursprung {Anat. legumineuse" {Bui. de la Soc. Linn, de Paris, 1874 and 1877). u. jabresbild. trap, holzarten. Diss., Basel, 1900, pp. 8-10), and in C. Calaba Jacq. by the present writer {Timbers of Tropical America, p. 441). Moll and Therein the author described what he considered a unique Janssonius investigated five species of Calopbyllum (including C. Inophyllum) type of pit occurring in the radial walls of the wood paren• and six species of Garcinia, but do not mention cribriform pits. chyma and in the longitudinal walls of the vessels, the struc• Hamamelidaceae.—Reported by Moll and Janssonius as rather indistinct ture corresponding very closely with that of the sieve-plates and sporadic in Altingia excelsa Nor. of the ploem. Hippocastanaceae.—Reported by Jonsson as distinct in Aesculus rubicunda hort., but sporadic and indistinct in A. Hippocastanum L. The year following Jonsson's paper. Dr. Heinrich Heiden Leguminosae.—Reported by Jonsson in 33 genera and 16 species; by published a paper entitled, "Anatomische charakteristik der Solereder (according to Heiden) in 15 genera and 16 species; by Moll and Combretaceen" {Botanisches Centralblatt 55: 353 et seq; 56: Janssonius in 26 genera and 52 species and varieties; a total of 53 different I et seq; 1893) in which he states that Solereder had, prior to genera. The present writer has examined the woods of over 50 genera and found cribriform pits in all of them. No exceptions have been noted by any 1892, observed cribriform pits in various members of the investigator. Leguminosae, Combretaceae, Melastomaceae, Vochysiaceae, For illustrations of the pits, see plate accompanying Jonsson's article; and Onagrariaceae, but had not published his findings. Miller's "The wood of Machaerium Whitjordii" {Bui. Torrey Bot. Club 47: 12 TROPICAL WOODS No. 2 No. 2 TROPICAL WOODS 13 78, March, 1920); Record and Garratt's "Cocoboto" (Bui. No. 8, Yale minosae, Lythraceae, Melastomaceae, Polygonaceae, Vochy• School of Forestry, 1923, p. 9). Lythraceae.—Reported by Moll and Janssonius as distinct, or almost siaceae, and, in a more limited sense, the Myrtaceae. When always so, in all of the material examined of four genera, namely, Crypteronia, the perforations are distinct they are valuable aids in identifi• Lagerstroemia, Duabanga, and Sonneratia. cation, but too much significance should not be attached to The present writer has observed them in Physocalymma scaberrimum Pohl, their apparent absence. of Bolivia. The vessel-ray pits are large and the membranes are abundantly dotted. M(f/a.f/OOTa«plant. able accuracy without seriously mutilating the specimens. The families in which these structures are seen to the best These five were: Tamarix, Acacia?, Argania, Cordia, and advantage in identification are the Combretaceae, Legu- Buxus. No. 2 TROPICAL WOODS 14 TROPICAL WOODS No. 2 15 In the Haskell Oriental Museum of the University of to test this hereditary tendency theory. I think that a study Chicago is a Graeco-Roman comb that is 1700 years old. It is also of the conditions under which twisted old trees are of boxwood, measures about 3 x inches, and has 12 coarse growing, including determinations of whether the twisting teeth I }4 inches long on one side and 36 fine ones of the same was common throughout the life of the tree, would possibly length on the other. This comb is in an almost perfect state throw further light upon the theory that wind produces spiral of preservation, and fragments of the bark are still in place trunk growth. on the sides. "There seems to be ground for suspecting that wind may have an influence on this spiral deve opment. I have cut old Boxwood is still used for combs throughout the entire re• Larix laricina which had developed spirally twisted annual gion of its growth. Some of the finest examples of the comb- layers after the trees were 30 to 40 years old, when, unpro• maker's art are produced in Japan where they are worn by tected by associated trees, they were subjected to heavy winds. the women. In the Philippine Islands wooden combs are a The wood laid on in the earlier years was not twisted. I do staple article on the market. The best grade is made out of the not know by actual examination that this periodic twisting beautiful dark-colored heart of the "camagon" (Diospyros is peculiar to any of the pines, but I suspect that it may be discolor Willd.), the cheaper ones from the sapwood of the true of Pinus ponderosa and of P. albicaulis. But I cannot same tree. Another wood occasionally used is the coppery recall having seen any spirally grown trunks of Pinus red heart of "alupag" {Euphoria didyma Blanco). flexilis, on which certainly wind should have such an effect, The Yale collections are indebted to Dr. S. Calderon, of if the theory is correct. ... I would personally like to see San Salvador, for some combs from San Julian, Salvador. a study of this sort begun for the practical bearing its results Except for their shorter teeth, they are very similar in ap• may have on seed selection." pearance to the Graeco-Roman one referred to above that was excavated in the Faiyum in 1901-02 by the Egypt Exploration* Apparently nothing further came of this suggestion and the •Society. These Salvadorean combs are made of "salamo" occasion for recalling it is the receipt of Vol. XI, Part II, {Calycophyllum candidissimum DC), a pale brownish wood of The Indian Forest Records, containing H. G. Champion's that is the same as that known on our markets from Cuba "Contributions towards a knowledge of twisted fibre in under the name of "degame." trees." This is an article of 70 pages, well illustrated, and divided into two parts: I. The phenomenon of twisted fibre with special reference to Pinus longifolia Roxb. II. Investiga• tions of the possible inheritance of twisted fibre in Pinus SPIRAL GRAIN IN TREES longifolia Roxb. The summary of conclusions is as follows: In a letter of June 25, 1911, the writer recommended to the " (i) It is a character common to all trees to produce a U. S. Forest Service that experiments be made to determine varying but small proportion of individuals with twisted whether or not spiral grain in trees is an inheritable character, fibre, the twist being L [left] at first but changing to R since if such were found to be the case it would have an im• [right] with passage of a period of time varying greatly in portant bearing upon silvicultural practice. In response to length with the species. These characteristics are best de• that suggestion, Mr. George B. Sudworth, Dendrologist, pre• veloped in coniferous species. pared a memorandum from which the following is taken: "(ii) There is probably a certain amount of fluctuating "The possibility that some individual pine trees may have variation in the direction of the fibre accounting for occa• an acquired or inherent tendency to develop twisted stems sional exceptions to this general rule, others being perhaps would, in my opinion, justify the study of a sufficiently large traceable to special inhibitive influences. number of plants, raised from seed of different twisted trees, " (iii) In areas where twist is exceptionally frequent, twisted i6 TROPICAL WOODS No. 2 fibre, or a tendency to produce it, is unquestionably capable of being transmitted from one tree generation to the next. " (iv) Conditions found in existing forests make the in• heritance of twist as an acquired character difficult to accept as a satisfactory explanation. " (v) In such areas, a twisted variety may have originated, possibly by a simple loss mutation of a factor controlling the orientation of the growing cells. Such mutation must have originated independently in many localities, its survival being favoured by the continued selection of the straighter trees for removal. " (vi) Sound forest management on the generally accepted lines especially as regards seed-selection and thinning, should result in time in the elimination of twisted trees." Since twisted fibre, in some instances at least, "is unques• tionably capable of being transmitted from one tree generation to the next," is there not herein a suggestion for those who would propagate figured mahogany and other fancy cabinet woods ?

"MELON" AND "RONRON" OF SALVADOR "Recently I have received from two sources specimens of the 'melon' or 'roldan' of Salvador. This turns out to be Amyris elemifera L., at least I cannot separate the Salva• dorean specimens from some of the West Indian forms. It is also known in Salvador as 'ocotillo.'" "Dr. S. Calderon has forwarded sterile specimens of the 'ronron,' and this is a species of Astronium, very likely A. graveolens Jacq. Sterile specimens of what is probably the same species keep turning up from Central America, all the way from Panama to Yucatan, but flowers or fruits have never been collected. The tree is common about the Canal Zone and along the Atlantic coast of Guatemala, where I have collected it myself. Both ' ronron' and ' melon' are important lumber trees in Salvador."—From letter of Dr. Paul C. Standley, Smithsonian Institution. Yale University School of Forestry

TROPICAL WOODS

NUMBER 3 September, 1925

CONTENTS ' i

The Chinese '' Pau Hoi" V African Zebra Wood and "Bubinga" 2J Colombian "Nato" 3J Palma Brava " for Shafts of Golf Clubs 4. Twisted Plane-trees 5^ Jacaranda Copaia in British Guiana ^ Moisture Content, Density, and Shrinkage of Mexican Mahogany Cuban "Sabina" for Archery Bows 9 Some Trade Names of Woods 9 Cystoliths in Wood 10 Spiral Tracheids and Fiber-tracheids 12 Information and Material Wanted 16 .^^Current Literature 17 Yale University School of Forestry

1 K.U'Jr. IV^AJL^ W U'U'JIJD

NUMBER 3 September, 1925

Published by the Tale School of Forestry, 205 Prospect Street, New Haven, Connecticut, U. S. A. Unless otherwise indicated, the author of all articles in this publication is SAMUEL J. RECORD, Professor of Forest Products in Tale University.

THE CHINESE "PAU HOI" The "pau hoi" is a Chinese wood which is so mucilaginous that the water in which chips of it have been soaked is used in hairdressing in the Orient. The tree has been introduced into Formosa and the peculiar use of the wood is also in vogue there. The tree was identified by Dr. Tutcher, late Director of the Botanical Garden at Hongkong, as Machilus Thunbergii, but Dr. Kanehira, Taihoku, Formosa, is of the opinion that it is a species of Cinnamomum. He bases this conclusion on the minute anatomy of the wood, particularly the abun• dance of the oil cells. Dr. Kanehira has kindly forwarded a sample of this interesting wood. It has the general appearance of white birch {Betula papyri/era). The application of water has much the same effect as in the case of the inner bark of slippery elm (JJlmus fulva). Water in which shavings have been soaked remains transparent, but acquires a ropy consistency like the fresh white of an egg. The writer does not know of any other wood that behaves in this manner. 2 TROPICAL WOODS TROPICAL WOODS 3 into Europe under the name of " faux bois de rose du Congo," AFRICAN ZEBRA WOOD AND "BUBINGA" for use in cabinet work, originates in the Fernan-Vaz region, These two cabinet woods, which are fairly well known to where the trees attain a height of 80 to 100 feet, with trunks European and American trade, have their source in French 24 to 32 inches in diameter and free of limbs for upward of Equatorial Africa. Their identities are in doubt, although 65 feet. He describes the wood as follows: "Bois d'un beau both are members of the Caesalpinioideae group of the Legu- rouge amarante, avec des zones longitudinales plus foncees, minosae. dense. Aubier d'un blanc rougeatre, assais epais. D. = 0.851." Zebra wood is so called because of the dark brown or black• The tree is classified as Brachystegia sp.? (Leguminosae). ish stripes on a pale brown background, different specimens It is to be hoped that the identities of these two African showing considerable variation in the spacing and relative woods, as well as that of the Brazilian tulip, can soon be fully proportion of the alternating bands. (The writer is indebted to determined. Mr. George W. Dailey, New Albany, Ind., for a number of samples illustrating this variability.) The wood is of medium density, easy to work, finishes smoothly, and takes a high polish. The rays are exceedingly fine and the pores are small, COLOMBIAN "NATO" though very distinct because of the circles of parenchyma The writer recently received from the Bureau of Foreign about them. Ripple marks are absent or local and irregular. and Domestic Commerce, Washington, D. C, a specimen of According to Chevalier {La foret et les bois du Gabon, Paris, wood obtained by Mr. H. Bentley MacKenzie, American 1916, p. 201), the tree is common in the region about Lake Commerical Attache at Lima, Peru. He states that the sample Fernan-Vaz, and the vernacular names are "bois zebre" and is from a shipment from the vicinity of Tumaco, Colombia, "zingana." He lists it as "Legumineuse indeterminee No. 7. and is known as "nato." Probablement voisine de Macrolobium." "It is a heavy wood," writes Mr. MacKenzie, "and it is The "bubinga" bears considerable resemblance to the said that the ordinary tie of 8' x 6" x 8" has an average darker-colored specimens of Brazilian tulipwood. The writer weight of 76 kilos or 177 pounds. Most of the ties purchased has seen only one specimen (Yale No. 4795) and it is not un• by the Peruvian Government railways and the Lima street car likely that others would show a considerable variation in the company are either of this wood or 'roble pellin' [Nothofagus proportions of rose-purple and rose-yellow. The wood is obliqua Mirb.] from Chile. The purchase of California redwood about as dense as hickory {Carya) and takes a beautiful ties is practically confined to the privately owned railways of poHsh. The rays are visible, and the pores, which are small and Peru." not very numerous, are disti net because of the diamond- "Nato" has been identified by the present writer as shaped patches of parenchyma. There are also concentric Dimorphandra oleijera Triana. This is the same as the " alcor- lines of parenchyma apparently limiting growth rings. Ripple noque," a large tree characteristic of the inner tidal belt of marks are absent. the Pacific coast of Panama and very abundant along some of Only two references to "bubinga" have been found in the the rivers of that region. The wood is much like that of the available literature. Bertin {Les bois de la Guyane frangaise et mora (Z). Mora B. & H.) of the Guianas, one of the most useful du Bresil, Paris, 1920, p. 309), in discussing the Brazilian timbers of those colonies and one of the very few woods which tulipwood, or "pao rosa," says that it is well known in France have proved satisfactory for railway ties in northern countries. under the name of "bois de rose" and is much more beautiful The specimen of "nato" examined by the writer has a than the "bois de rose d'Afrique: kevasingo et bubinga." specific gravity of 0.92 (thoroughly air-dry); weight about Chevalier {loc. cit., p. 169) states that "bubingo," imported 57'5 pounds per cubic foot. The color is reddish-brown, more 4 TROPICAL WOODS No. 3 No. 3 TROPICAL WOODS 5 or less streaked; deepening upon exposure. The wood is easy abundant in Negros, Tayabas, Mindoro, and northern Min• to cut, is not flinty or gritty, and its consistency and composi• danao. The trunk is straight and smooth, 50 to 65 feet tall and tion indicate that it is not likely to warp or check badly in 6 to 8 inches in diameter. The bark is thin and varies in color drying. It has every appearance of being durable in contact from light brown to nearly black, sometimes mottled with with the ground, but according to report it is not resistant to lichens. marine borers. Attempt is being made to interest consumers of The cross section of a stem shows the typical palm structure crossties in the United States, and the writer believes that the —a large core of fibrous pith surrounded by a hard layer of wood is well worthy of trial. closely compressed horn-like fiber bundles. This dense layer varies in thickness from three-fifths to four-fifths of an inch, is dark brown to nearly black in color, straight grained, and of fairly fine texture. In the densest portions there are between "PALMA BRAVA" FOR SHAFTS OF GOLF CLUBS 500 and 700 fiber bundles per square inch, being more numer• The writer has received various requests for information ous and slightly smaller than in the other species. The paren• regarding the wood of a Philippine palm known as "palma chyma between the bundles is of a dark brown color and brava." According to a news item in the Timber Trades occupies from 15 to 40 per cent of the area in the dense regions. Journal (London, Jan. 24, 1925, p. 273), a concern located in The whole trunks serve locally for pillars in houses, while the Tarlac, P. I., is turning out golf club shafts of this material at outer hard shell is used by the natives for house floors, spear the rate of a thousand a month, and selling at one-third the shafts, bows, ax handles, carrying poles, and walking sticks. cost of hickory. The qualities of the material are given as Local names.—Abiang (Pampanga and Pangasinan); anau follows: (Cagayan, Isabela); anahau (Ilocos Norte and Sur); anahau "The grain runs true from end to end. The steel-like wood (Manila, Rizal, Laguna, Tayabas, Camarines, Masbate, fibers minimize the liability to breakage and multiply the Albay, Sorsogon); bagsang (Samar); bahi (Samar, Leyte, strength and resiliency. Palma brava has the same diameter Antique, Capis, Iloilo, Cebu, Occidental and Oriental Negros, above as below, so no weakness results as from the taper of Bohol); balak (Moro); balla (Bagobo); ballang (Cagayan); ordinary woods. A perfect tortion or twist, so necessary in bulno (Bicol); labig (Ilocos Norte and Sur, Pampanga); distance clubs, is secured without the resultant warp evident luyong (Pampanga, Zambales); pilig, tikal (Tagalog); tikis in ordinary shafts." (Zambales); palma brava (Spanish-Filipino). Through the courtesy of Mr. Arthur F. Fischer, Director of Forestry, there have been added to the Yale collections a section of the trunk of this palm, known officially as " anahau," TWISTED PLANE-TREES and a golf club shaft as turned out by Mr. Leon von Haver- back of Tarlac, Tarlac, P. I. Mr. Fischer also forwarded The discussion of spiral grain in trees {Tropical Woods descriptions of the tree and wood, the work of Mr. Luis J. 2:14-16) recalls the interest that I took in this subject when Reyes, Wood Technologist of the Bureau of Forestry. The living in the canons of Arizona and New Mexico in the early following information is taken from Mr. Reyes' report. eighties. The plane-trees of those canons, I think Platanus There are two species of the palm, namely, Livistona ro- Wrightii Wats., displayed the twisted trunk condition more tundijolia Mart., var. luzonensis Becc. and L. Merrillii Becc. strongly than any other trees that I have ever observed. Our The former, which supplies the wood for golf club shafts, is general use of those trunks for firewood forced the peculiarity widely, though somewhat sporadically, distributed in the on our attention. As I now recall, the trunk of this tree was forested areas throughout the Archipelago, being fairly always twisted. I tried at the time to secure evidence that it 6 TROPICAL WOODS No. 3 TROPICAL WOODS 7 was caused by the wind, but could find none. When the trees for the "marupa" {Simaruba amara Aubl.). Inasmuch as the were in the bottom of a deep canon they would be uniformly wood oi Simaruba is beginning to assume some importance in twisted, no matter in what direction the canon extended. the markets of the United States, confusion of it with a less Alnus oblongijolia and other trees growing with them would desirable species would be unfortunate. not be twisted, which seemed to indicate an acquired tend• The wood of Jacaranda Copaia is light and soft, weighs ency in this direction on the part of the Platanus.—From 25-30 lbs. per cubic foot, is about the color of oatmeal, is letter of Dean H. H. Rusby, College of Pharmacy of the City without distinct heartwood, and has no pronounced odor and of New York, Columbia University. taste. The pores resemble small pinholes and are rather evenly distributed about i mm. apart; the vessel lines show distinctly on longitudinal sections, being darker than the background. Parenchyma extends from each pore, usually from the inner JACARANDA COPAIA IN BRITISH GUIANA edge, and may be in the form of narrow wings or of more or Mr. James Heydon, Plantation "Leonora," West Coast, less continuous concentric lines. The rays are near the limit of Demerara, has recently forwarded a section of a stem and vision on cross and tangential sections, but distinct on the some leaf material of a tree which he says is known throughout radial surface because they are of darker color than the fiber British Guiana as "samarupa." The wood has been identified background. Ripple marks are absent, though local tendencies by the writer as Jacaranda Copaia (Jacq.) D. Don, and this to their formation may be noted. Gum ducts were not ob• determination has been confirmed from a study of the botani• served. The inner bark is composed of stiff flat strands, readily cal material by Dr. Paul C. Standley, of the Smithsonian separable when dry. Institution. The distinguishing features of the wood of Simaruba are as According to the available literature the usual name for follows: The color is a uniform yellowish white, though subject this species in British Guiana is " fotui," " futi," or " phootee," to sapstain. There is no odor, but the taste is bitter. Vertical while in French Guiana the names, as recorded, are "copaia," gum ducts are usually present in every specimen and the oily " coupaia des chantiers," " bois a pian," and " faux simarouba." exudations collect dust and produce dark streaks on the The name "copaia" is from the language of the Galibis. The lumber. All elements are storied, producing ripple marks writer assumed that "samarupa" was simply a variant of which are fairly regular, visible, 50-60 per inch of length. In "simarupa," the common designation in the Guianas for regard to the minute anatomy, the vessel-ray pits are rather Simaruba, but in reply to a query on this point, Mr. Heydon large and round, the rays are i to 5 cells wide and few to 100 says that the tree is universally known in the Colony as cells high, and the fibers have bordered pits, while in the "samarupa" and not "simarupa." Jacaranda the vessel-ray pits are small, the rays i to 2 There is ample evidence, however, that the Jacaranda and cells wide and few to 20 cells high, and the fiber pits are the Simaruba are frequently confused. There is in the Yale simple. collections a wood specimen of J. Copaia (No. 5084), supplied Mr. Heydon supplies the following information concerning by the Forestry Branch of the British Guiana Department of the occurrence and size of the trees and the quality and use of Lands and Mines (No. 134A), which is incorrectly labeled the wood of Jacaranda Copaia: "Simarupa, Simaruba officinalis." Huber {Bol. Mus. Goeldi, Locality.—The tree is common in the mixed hardwood 6:202, 190^) states that J. Copaia, a tall tree of the upland forests throughout British Guiana. It makes its best growth on forest of the Amazon region and known locally as "caroba do the coastal reefs and along the banks of the Essequebo, matto" and "parapara," has bipinnate leaves, very showy Demerara, Berbice, and Corentyne Rivers, particularly near red flowers, and supplies a soft and white wood often mistaken their mouths. 8 TROPICAL WOODS TROPICAL WOODS 9 Soils.—The flat reefs, which vary in length from one to seven miles, are usually composed of sand with a mixture of CUBAN "SABINA" FOR ARCHERY BOWS clay, and have a layer of humus on top. The approaches to In a search for woods suitable for archery purposes tests reefs have more pegas mixed with the clay and less sand, while have been made on the Cuban "sabina," Juniperus sp. Mr. along the creek and river banks there is a thick layer of pegas Phillip Rounsevelle, of the Archers Company of Indian Hill, underlaid with clay. The change noticeable in the color of New Orleans, writes in this connection as follows: "We got this, and of other woods as well, is due in large measure to the two logs of this wood, which seems to be a kind of pencil cedar, different soil conditions, though the age of the tree is also and the bows from one of them are equal to the best Spanish involved. yew. The other log, however, although cut at the same time Size.—A total height of 80 feet is common and is often and in the same locality, was worthless for this purpose. We exceeded. The distance from the root to the first large branch are unable to detect any diflFerence in the appearance of varies from 18 to 48 feet, occasionally more. The diameters staves from the two logs." range from 6 to 30 inches. Some of the tallest trees are often very slender, while those with the largest diameter may be comparatively short. The leaves, which are doubly pinnate, are often i]/2 feet long. SOME TRADE NAMES OF WOODS Uses of the wood.—Owing to the lightness of the wood the Bagac = apitong, Dipterocarpus grandiflorus Blanco, or logs are used by the Indians (or bucks, as they are commonly panao, D. vernicifluus Blanco. (Phil. Is.) known) and others to add buoyancy to rafts of heavier timber. Bataan = tanguile, Shorea polysperma (Blanco) Merr. (Phil. Other uses are for making corials, or buck shells, cheap coffins, Is.) match sticks or splints, boxes, and houses. The wood is perish• Birma = mahban (see below). able in contact with the ground or exposed to the weather, but Boone wood = dalli or baboen, Myristica surinamensis Warb. is suitable for all sorts of interior work where a cheap material (Dutch Guiana.) is required. A suggested use is paper pulp. The supply of the Duali = palosapis,//«/jo/)/er« thurifera (Blanco) Blume. (Phil. timber is abundant and the growth is rapid. The prevailing Is.) price of the logs is 16 cents per cubic foot. Lamao = white lauan, Pentacme contorta (Vid.) Merr. & Rolfe. (Phil. Is.) Laurac = degame, Calycophyllum candidissimum DC. (Cuba.) Limay = miscellaneous Dipterocarpaceae. (Phil. Is.) MOISTURE CONTENT, DENSITY, AND SHRINKAGE Mahban = banak, Myristica aff. panamensis Hemsley. (Brit. OF MEXICAN MAHOGANY Hond.) (Specimens from commercial sources.) Orion = guijo, Shorea Guiso (Blanco) Blume. (Phil. Is.) Pondosa pine = western yellow pine, Pinus ponderosa Laws. Moisture content. Sp.gr. Weight. Sp.gr. Shrinkage. Per cent of oven- Air-dry. Lbs. per Oven-dry. Per cent of (Western U. S.) dry weight. cu.ft. air-dry vol. Red wood = Scotch pine, Pinus sylvestris L. (No. Europe.) I 15-5 0.542 33-5 0.485 4-25 Trac y/ood. = Dalbergia cochinchinensis Pierre. (French Indo- 2 17 0.540 33-7 0.487 5.40 China.) 0.525 4.20 3 '5-5 0-583 36-4 White wood = Norway Spruce, Picea excelsa Link. (No. 26 0.565 35-3 0-475 5.80 4 Europe.) Also possum wood or rakuda wood, Hura 5 13 0.500 31-2 0.456 3.60 6 12.6 0-59S 37-2 0.550 3.85 crepitans L. (Dutch Guiana.) IO TROPICAL WOODS TROPICAL WOODS II yellow or brownish yellow color and have somewhat the same CYSTOLITHS IN WOOD consistency as sugar maple {Acer saccharum). The pores are Cystoliths are of very rare occurrence in wood and are small, rounded, mostly solitary, fairly evenly distributed. apparently limited to a single family—the Opiliaceae. This Parenchyma is in exceedingly numerous, fine, irregular, tan• family, according to Engler {Pflanzenfamilien, N. Ill, i, pp. gential lines, faintly visible with the lens. The rays are about 142-I43), embraces seven genera, namely, Opilia, Rhopalo- as coarse as in maple and, particularly on radial surface, the pilia, Cansjera, Champereia, Melientha, Lepionurus, and large cystolith-bearing cells can be seen distinctly with a hand Agonandra. Most of these have previously been referred to lens (lox). They are more numerous in the Formosan speci• other families—the Olacaceae and Santalaceae. men than in the one from the Philippines. Cystoliths in wood were first observed by Van Tieghem in Under the compound microscope these cells are conspicuous Cansjera {Annates des Sciences Naturelles. ye serie, Botanique, in the rays of all three sections. On the tangential they bear a Paris, 1893, pp. 249-257). He says (p. 252): "Le bois, primaire close resemblance to resin ducts. Their true nature is shown to et secondaire, est normal, avec des rayons formes de une a the best advantage on the radial, where they are seen to be quatre series de cellules a section carree, dans lesquelles on large, thin-walled cells, scattered irregularly among the others, observe 5a et la, mais assez rarement, des cystolithes gemines mostly in the interior of the ray, but occasionally marginal. disposes dans le plan du rayon. C'est la premiere fois, croyons- Without contents they look like the oil cells in the Lauraceae. nous, qu'on signale la presence de cystolithes dans le bois." In the Philippine specimen only single cells were found, but in Van Tieghem also found cystoliths in the rays of Opilia, the Formosan one about 20 per cent of them were paired Lepionurus, Melientha, and Agonandra. He says {loc. cit., p. radially. The size of the cells varies from 0.078 mm. x 0.045 254): "Dans les rayons du bois secondaire de la tige, notam- mm. to 0.15 mm. xo.07 mm.; in general they are about twice ment, ils sont plus nombreux que chez les Opilia celtidifolia, as long (radially) as high. The individual cells of the pairs are Lepionurus silvestris et Melientha suavis." of the same size and appearance as the single ones. The writer has examined two specimens of the wood of The cystoliths consist of a stalk (a proliferation of the verti• Champereia manillana Merrill. One of these (Yale No. 5623) cal cell wall) and a body of calcium carbonate. They are usual• was supplied by the Philippine Bureau of Forestry (No. 27924 ly smooth and look like a clam in miniature; sometimes they B. F.), the other by Dr. R. Kanehira, Director of the Forest are aggregates of crystals and have the appearance of a morel Experiment Station, Taihoku, Formosa. Kanehira gives a mushroom. They are horizontally inclined, and, in the case brief description of this wood in his Anatomical characters and of the single cells, the stalk is always attached to the wall identification of Formosan woods (Taihoku, 1921, p. 189. PI. toward the cambium. In the case of the antipodal cystoliths, XXXVI, Figs. 212, 213), in which occurs the following state• the stalks spring from the common wall of contact, which is ment: "Pith rays heterogeneous, 1-5 fibers distant from each appreciably thickened. The average size of the clam-shaped other, 1-5 cells wide, 10-30 cells high; cystolith-like cavities bodies was found to be about 0.07 mm. x 0.04 mm. The cells present in great number, with crystals of calcium oxalate, are full size from the time of their formation, but the mature diameters of cavities being 40-60 /i." Again (p. 290), he says: bodies were first observed at a considerable distance (about "In Champereia manillana cystolith-like structures occur and 3 mm.) from the cambium. The cystoliths in the Philippine they contain crystals of calcium oxalate." There is evidently specimen appear to be much more irregular in shape than some confusion here between the cystoliths and the cells which those in the Formosan specimen. contain them. Furthermore, the cystolith bodies are com• The cystoliths observed in the bast (Formosan specimen) posed of calcium carbonate, not calcium oxalate. were all antipodal. Only rarely do they occur in the rays, in The specimens examined by the writer are of a uniform which case they are attached to the common vertical end 12 TROPICAL WOODS TROPICAL WOODS 13 wall of the two cells, the same as in the xylem rays. They are a large number of closely compressed spiral lamellae. The abundant in the phloem parenchyma and the common wall of pitch of the spiral in this case is usually much lower than in attachment is horizontal instead of vertical. The bast cysto• ordinary striation. The excessive lengthwise shrinkage of com• liths and cells are smaller than those of the wood, and the pression-wood cells in drying may be attributed to their pecul• bodies are mostly aggregates of crystals. (For illustrations see iar spiral structure. Solereder's Systematic anatomy oJ the dicotyledons, p. 736.) Dentate cells are of uncommon occurrence and the most conspicuous examples are the ray tracheids in woods of the pitch pine group. Finer dentations, mostly sections of true spirals, are found occasionally in the ray tracheids of Larix, SPIRAL TRACHEIDS AND FIBER-TRACHEIDS Picea, and Juniperus, and commonly in Pseudotsuga. Vertical The elements of the protoxylem of both Gymnospermae and tracheids with true spirals characterize the wood of Pseudo• Angiospermae have thin primary walls which are strengthened tsuga, Torreya, Taxus, and Cephalotaxus. In the last three they by local thickenings of annular or spiral form. There are no occur in all of the tracheids, while in Pseudotsuga they are less true pits, since communication between contiguous cells is had highly developed and may be absent in the outer portion of through the unthickened portions of the wall. In secondary the late wood of the growth ring. Spiral wood tracheids are xylem there is, in effect, a merging of the local thickenings sporadic in Picea and Larix, but in some instances are highly into a pitted wall continuous throughout the cell. developed. In a specimen (Yale No. 3851) from India, said to This continuous secondary wall may be (i) smooth, (2) be Picea Morinda Link., the structure closely approximates striate, (3) dentate, or (4) spirally thickened. The first is the that of Pseudotsuga; in places, especially in the late wood, the usual condition, the walls being fairly uniform except for the thickenings give place to striations. pits. These pits may be (a) more or less isodiametric, in which In dicotyledonous woods, spiral vessels have been observed case their arrangement is either alternate or opposite, or (b) in representatives of many families; Solereder (/, p, 1140) much elongated, and arranged in a scalariform manner. enumerates 76, but states that the feature is generally only a Alternate pits are arranged spirally, while the opposite and specific character. Where there is a decided difference in the scalariform pits are in horizontal series. In alternate pitting size of the vessels in a wood, spiral thickenings may be con• the condition is such as might have been produced through the fined to the smaller ones and to the vascular tracheids; occa• merging of spirals. When the apertures of the pits are slit-like, sionally, as in the Hamamelidaceae, they are found only in the as is not infrequently the case in vessels, they often extend overlapping tips of the vessel segments. beyond the borders and tend to coalescence into spiral stria- A vascular tracheid differs from a vessel segment in not tions. Opposite and scalariform pits are closely related and being perforated; i. e., development ceased before cell fusion suggest a development from annular thickenings. They repre• took place. At least a few such tracheids probably exist in sent the more primitive condition. every wood, consequently it is only when their number is Striate cells exhibit spiral slits in the wall. They are mostly large or they represent distinct modifications from the vessel- fibrous, such as the tracheids of conifers, particularly in the segment type that they have diagnostic value. Fiber-tracheids late wood, and to less extent the libriform and fiber-tracheids on the other hand, resemble libriform fibers, but have bor• of dicotyledonous woods. The pitch of the striations is usually dered pits. Sometimes these pits are very distinctly bordered, so steep that this feature alone serves to distinguish them from sometimes indistinctly; there is no sharp line of division be• true spirals. In so-called compression wood or "red" wood tween libriform fibers and fiber-tracheids. True spirals do not (rotholz), found in both the Angiospermae and Gymnosper• occur in libriform fibers, just as true septations do not occur in mae, the cells have a thick laminated secondary wall, slit into fiber-tracheids. From the tracheid there has been a develop- 14 TROPICAL WOODS TROPICAL WOODS 15 ment in one direction to the vessel; in another to wood paren• Epacridaceae.—Reported by Solereder (/, p. 493) in Epacris microphylla chyma, with libriform and substitute fibers as intermediates. R. Br., and (/, p. 972) in E. paludosa R. Br. Ericaceae.—Reported by Record (5, p. 137) in Arbutus and Arctostaphylos. Spirals in fiber-tracheids have more or less diagnostic value, Hamamelidaceae.—Reported by Solereder (/, p. 331) in Hamamelis chinen- but in only one known instance is the feature a generic sis R. Br. character, namely, in Ilex. In some species of Symplocos spirals Oleaceae.—Reported by Solereder (/, p. 525) in species of Jasminium, are as well developed as in Ilex, but in others they are rather Forsythia, Syringa, and Fontanesia. Proteaceae.—Reported by Garratt (6, p. 16) in the narrow tips of many of indistinct or entirely wanting. In both of these genera the the fibers of Knigkia excelsa R. Br. Garratt is incorrect in calling such vessels are spiral, their pits are opposite or tending to scalari• fibers libriform, since they have bordered pits, as he states. form, and their perforations are scalariform with many bars. Rosaceae.—Reported by Solereder (/, p. 309) as occasional in species of The rays of both are decidedly heterogeneous and the pits Stephanandra, Rosa, Cydonia, Chaenomeles, Mespilus, and Crataegus. In into the vessels tend to scalariform. In Ilex, however, the reference to Crataegus Oxyacantha L., Jones (7, p. 52) says: "Contrary to common belief, the vessels may, at least occasionally and locally, show very rays are of two classes, fine and coarse, while in Symplocos faint spiral thickenings, and similar markings are quite distinct in many of they are all fine. These characters have been employed by the the prosenchymatous cells." writer in identifying as Ilex specimens of "naranjuelo" of Saxifragaceae.—Reported by Solereder (/, p. 318) in Philadelphus corona- Colombia (Yale No. 2580), "kakataraballi "of British Guiana rius L.; by Kanehira (2, p. 102) in Deutzia taiwanensis Hay. From a casual (Yale No. 3043), "casada wood" of British Honduras (Yale reading of Kanehira's statement ("Wood fibers mostly septate; inner surface of the wall with spiral thickenings.") one might infer that he found spiral No. 7565), and "jsing-p'i-hsiang" of Amoy, China, (Yale No. hbriform fibers, but since elsewhere (p. 288) he indicates that the spirals are 7658). of only occasional occurrence, and as Holle {8, p. 7) says that both libriform Following is a brief account by families of the occurrence of fibers and fiber-tracheids occur in Deutzia, the explanation is clear. Kanehira (j, p. 31) also found such cells in Deutzia scabra Thunb. spiral fiber-tracheids. Further investigation will probably Styraceae.—Reported by Kanehira {2, pp. 148-153) in 13 species of Sym• extend the list, particularly of cases where such elements are of plocos in Formosa, but entirely absent in eriobotryafolia Hay and S. limited or sporadic occurrence. Janssonius and Kanehira both neriifolia S. & Z.; also by same author (j, pp. 40-41) in two Japanese species. call attention to the fact that spiral cells are less common in The present writer has observed spiral fiber-tracheids in two Formosan tropical woods than in those of temperate regions. species and in a specimen (Yale No. 7665) of "pe-ya" from Amoy, China, but failed to find them in the following: S. chiriquensis Pittier, S. martini- censis Jacq., S. tinctoria L'Her., S. oblongifolia Vid., and S.polyandra (Blanco) THE FAMILIES Brand. Aquijoliaceae.—Spiral fiber-tracheids characteristic of all species of Ilex Theaceae.—Reported by Kanehira {2, p. 39) as occasional in Stachyurus so far studied. bimalaicus Hook. f. & Thoms. ^orra^jwflffflf.—Reported by Solereder (/, p. 561) in Lithospermum Tremandraceae.—Reported by Solereder (/, p. 95) as of occasional occur• fruticosum L., and by Kanehira (2, p. 162) in Ehretia glaucescens Hay. rence in Tetratheca. Caprifoliaceae.—Reported by Solereder (/, p. 442) in certain species of Abelia, Leycesteria, Lonicera, Symphoricarpus, and Viburnum; by Kanehira SUMMARY (2, p. 125) in Viburnum propinquum Hemsl. and (j, p. 36) V. Awabucki 1. Spiral thickenings of secondary origin are typical of the Koch. vascular elements of the protoxylem. Celastraceae.—Reported by Kanehira (j, pp. 15-16) in Euonymus data K. Koch and E. Sieboldiana Bl.; by Moll and Janssonius {4, II, p. 263) in 2. Spiral thickenings of tertiary origin characterize the E. europaea L., but absent in E. javanicus Blume. tracheids of Pseudotsuga, Torreya, Taxus, and Cephalotaxus, Cornaceae.—'S.t'pontd by Solereder (/, p. 437) in Aucuba, Garrya, and and are sporadic in Picea and Larix. Cornus oblonga Wall. Striation (streifung) noted by Moll and Janssonius 3. Spiral thickenings of tertiary origin have been found in (4, III., p. 736) in the fiber-tracheids of Nyssa sessiflora Hook. f. & the fiber-tracheids of certain members (nearly all of them Thorns. Elieagnaceae.—Rc^ntA by Kanehira (j, p. 49) in Ehagnus multiflora shrubs or small trees) of 16 families. In many instances their Thunb. occurrence is sporadic. They have their highest diagnostic i6 TROPICAL WOODS No. 3 No. 3 TROPICAL WOODS 17 value in Ilex, when they form a generic character, and secondly in Symplocos, where they are typical of many, but not all, species. Their systematic worth in other instances has CURRENT LITERATURE not been clearly determined. I Boxwoods. By SAMUEL J. RECORD and GEORGE A. GARRATT. REFERENCES CITED \n No. 14, Yale School of Forestry, August, 1925. 1. SOLEREDER, HANS: Systematic anatomy of the dicotyledons. (Eng. ed.) Pp. 81; 6 X 9; 8 full page plates and 2 text figures. Price 50 Oxford, 1908. « cents, postpaid. 2. KANEHIRA, RYOZO: Anatomical characters and identification of For• mosan woods. Taihoku, 1921. • This is the third publication on woods in the Yale School of 3. KANEHIRA, Ryozo: Identification of important Japanese woods by ' Forestry series, and is along the same lines as Lignum-vitae anatomical characters. Taihoku, 1921. * (Bui. No. 6) and Cocobolo (Bui. No. 8). The woods described 4. MOLL, J. W., and H. H. JANSSONIUS: Mikrographie des holzes der ' are as follows: Buxus sempervirens L., B. balearica Lam., and auf Java vorkommenden baumarten. Leiden, 4 vols., 1906-1925, 5. RECORD, SAMUEL J.: Identification of the economic woods of the United ' the various Indian, Chinese and Japanese species of Buxus; States. New York, 1919. also Buxella Mac-Owanii (Oliv.) Van Tiegh. and Notobuxus 6. GARRATT, GEORGE A.: Some New Zealand woods. Prof. Paper No. i, natalensis Oliv., of the Buxaceae; the West Indian boxwood, N. Z. Forest Service, Wellington, 1924. Casearia praecox Gris. (Flacourtiaceae); Knysna boxwood, 7. JONES, W. S.: Timbers, their structure and identification. Oxford, 1924, p. 52. i Gonioma Kamassi E. Mey., and "amarillo," Apidosperma 8. HOLLE, GUSTAV: Beitrage zur anatomic der Saxifragaceen und deren ' Vargasii D. C. (Apocynaceae); Siamese boxwood, Gardenia sp. systematische verwerthung. Botanisches Centralblatt 53: i: i et seq., 1893. (Rubiaceae); San Domingan boxwood, Phyllostylon brasil- iensis Cap. (Ulmaceae); "atata," Esenbeckia Atata Pittier I (Rutaceae); flowering dogwood, Cornus florida L. (Cornaceae); INFORMATION AND MATERIAL WANTED and Florida boxwood, Schaeferia frutescens Jacq. (Celastra• The writer is collecting material to continue the series of ceae) . short papers dealing with special anatomical features of Attention is given to distribution of the trees, and the wood. The cooperation of all persons interested in these structure, properties, and uses of the woods. The wood descrip• subjects is earnestly solicited to the end that the articles pub• tions include both gross features and minute anatomy, and are lished may be as comprehensive as possible. A partial list of illustrated with detail drawings and photomicrographs. There the subjects now under consideration follows: are also plates showing a stand of box trees; leaves and flower• 1. Intercellular canals in dicotyledonous woods. ing twigs of Casearia praecox; trees of Phyllostylon in Argen• 2. Deposits of silica and calcium carbonate in vessels. tina, Haiti, Costa Rica, and Mexico; an engraver's block; a . 3. Crystals and starch grains in libriform fibers. ' Graeco-Roman boxwood comb 1700 years old and one from an 4. Sclerosed or stone-cell tyloses. old Egyptian tomb; and five stages in the manufacture of a 5. Scalariform bordered pits between vessels. shuttle. 6. Scalariform bordered pits between vessels and paren• " Three keys are included, based upon bark characters, chyma. macroscopic features, and minute anatomy. Anatomical 7. Scalariform perforations with anastomosing bars. features of special interest are ray tracheids in Gonioma, and 8. List of woods with storied or tier-like structure. the group pitting and " cells-within-a-cell" appearance pro• 9. Occurrence of interxylary bast. duced by the conjugate condition of the wood parenchyma I and marginal ray cells in Gardenia and certain others. 18 TROPICAL WOODS No. 3 No. 3 TROPICAL WOODS 19

Timbers of Tropical America. By SAMUEL J. RECORD and wood fibers and fiber-tracheids, the only essential distinguish• CLAYTON D. MELL. New Haven: Yale University Press, ing feature being that in the former the pits are simple, while November, 1924. Pp. xvm+Sio; 6}/2 x 10; 51 full-page in the latter they are bordered. According to this definition two plates. Price ^10. of the fibers shown in the drawing on page 21 are fiber-trache• ids. The prosenchymatous tissue of Buxus sempervirens Pari I. The countries and theirforests. (Mr. Mell.) Describes consists of fiber-tracheids and not of libriform fibers as stated the forests and the conditions attending their utilization in the (p. 57); also the "extraordinarily deep pits" in the cross West Indian Islands, Mexico, and each of the countries of walls of the marginal cells of the rays in these woods are Central America and South America. in reality not pits, but conjugations. It seems hardly appro• Part II. The trees and their woods. (Prof. Record.) Describes priate to include vascular tracheids as part of the wood the trees and representative woods of 75 families. Reference is prosenchyma as is donein the caseof Ulmuscampestris (p. 57). made to better known kinds to show their relationships. There It is also doubtful if the term "marginal" is as expressive as are included in the description the range and size of the trees, "terminal" when applied to parenchyma limiting a growth the scientific and vernacular names, figures of weight and ring. These are minor points, however, to which attention specific gravity of the woods, notes on durability and other would not be drawn in the case of a book less carefully written. technical properties, present and prospective uses of the tim• bers, and information as to important by-products. The de• Tropical light weight woods. By KARL C. HYDE. Botanical tailed descriptions of the woods are based upon a study of Gazette 79: 4: 380-411, June, 1925. Illustrated with photo• authentic specimens in the Yale collections. micrographs and detail drawings. The woods described in detail are Heliocarpus popayanensis, Timbers: their structure and identification. By W. S. H. appendiculatus, and Apeiba aspera (Tiliaceae); Wercklea JONES. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1924. Pp. 148; 73^ x 10; insignis (Malvaceae); Pachira Barrigon and Cavanillesia illustrated with 165 photomicrographs and drawings. platanifolia (Bombacaceae); and Cordia heterophylla (Borra- This well printed volume is intended primarily as a hand• ginaceae). The work was done at Cornell University under the book for students of forestry. Considerab e space is devoted to direction of the late Professor W. W. Rowlee, who collected "a general discussion of the formation and structure of woody the material in Central and South America. The paper is tissue and to the consideration of fundamental principles illustrated with photomicrographs and drawings. applicable to the anatomical study of all timbers." Two distinct types of wood are recognized, namely, the The contents are as follows: Introduction, sources of tim• homogeneous and the laminated. The latter are heavier than bers, some salient features of timbers, histological features, the others and are characterized by concentric bands of un- some less common anatomical features, factors of diagnostic lignified tissue. The homogeneous kinds are considered value, European broad-leaved timbers, Indian broad-leaved preferable for commercial purposes of insulation and buoy• timbers, American broad-leaved timbers, coniferous timbers, ancy. The wood of Pachira Barrigon is, according to the some methods and reagents, and photomicrography as apphed author, the most likely substitute for balsa wood {Ochroma to timber study. spp.). The book is well written, the descriptions are condensed but "A distinct difference between the wood produced near the lucid, the illustrations are good, and the keys are usable. The pith and that nearer the periphery is noted in all species inves• chapters on Indian timbers are a valuable contribution to our tigated; the latter being harder, heavier, and generally more knowledge of tropical woods. fibrous than the former. The author does not clearly diflFerentiate between libriform "The walls of the individual elements do not vary in thick- 20 TROPICAL WOODS No. 3 TROPICAL WOODS 21 ness in different regions of the stem; but the thicker walled material studied was obtained from the Philippine Bureau of lignified wood fibers become relatively more abundant toward Forestry and consisted of 155 species, representing 108 the circumference, while the numberof thinner walled paren• genera and 41 families of Dicotyledons, and 5 species and 4 chymatous elements correspondingly increases toward the genera of Gymnosperms. Part I is devoted to descriptions of pith." the woods. Part II is a key based upon anatomical characters. Part III is devoted to a summary of the results of the investi• Lista preliminar de las plantas de el Salvador. By gation. PAUL C. STANDLEY and SALVADOR CALDERON (with the collaboration of 20 other scientists). San Salvador, 1925. Anatomical notes on Indian woods. By RYOZO KANEHIRA. Pp. 274; 6x9. Bui. No. 4, Dept. of Forestry, Govt. Research Institute, This is an exceedingly useful publication to all who are Taihoku, Formosa, 1924. Pp. 40; 6 x 9; pi. i. interested in the flora of Central America. While it is designed The object of this work is to compare the anatomical primarily for botanists, it contains considerable information characters of Indian woods with those of Formosa and also regarding the trees and the uses for their products. One of to assist in the determination of some foreign woods on the the most helpful features is the inclusion of the vernacular Japanese market. The material for study was a collection names along with the scientific, all of which are fully indexed. of small samples supplied by the Forest Research Institute at Dehra Dun and comprising 34 families, 76 genera, and 105 Mikrographie des holzes der auf Java vorkommenden species. The methods followed are the same as used by the baumarten. By H. H. JANSSONIUS. Leiden: E. J. Brill, same author in his Anatomical characters and identification 1925. Pp. 289-576; X 9; figs. 254-271. of Formosan woods. This, the seventh part of the work as a whole, is the second Part I consists of brief descriptions of 105 woods. Part II part of Vol. IV. This volume, the first number of which was is an analytical key to Indian woods. Part III contains a issued in 1920, is concerned, so far as completed, with the summary of the features observed, such as fluorescence, following families: Caprifoliaceae, Rubiaceae, Compositae, ripple marks, intercellular canals, etc. In the appendix are Vacciniaceae, Myrsinaceae, Sapotaceae, Ebenaceae, Styra• described five foreign, or "karaki," woods, namely, Santalum ceae, Oleaceae, and Apocynaceae. album L., Guaiacum officinale L., Aquilaria Agallocha Roxb. The first volume of this great undertaking was published in (?), Eusideroxylon Zwageri T. & B., Intsia sp. ("mirabau"), 1906. The descriptions follow a very complete outline pre• and Dryobalanopsis sp. ("kapor"). pared by Dr. J. W. Moll and are noted for their thoroughness. The work is of inestimable value to all who are interested in Some New Zealand woods. By GEORGE A. GARRATT, in the structure of woods. collaboration with the New Zealand State Forest Service. Professional Paper No. i, N. Z. State Forest Service, Identification of Philippine woods by anatomical characters. Wellington, 1924. Pp. 56; 6 x g^. Price i s. By RYOZO KANEHIRA. Taihoku, Formosa, 1924. Pp. 73; This study was based upon a set of wood specimens sup• 7H X loM; pis- 2. plied to the Yale School of Forestry by the New Zealand This is a second supplement to the author's Anatomical State Forest Service. The collection contains representatives characters and indentification oj Formosan woods, and the ' of 28 species of trees indigenous to New Zealand, members of purpose of the work is to provide a basis for comparing the 14 families, namely, Fagaceae, Proteaceae, Monimiaceae, woods of the Philippine Is ands with those of Formosa. The Lauraceae, Saxifragaceae, Meliaceae, Elaeocarpaceae, Malva- 22 TROPICAL WOODS No. 3 TROPICAL WOODS 23 ceae, Myrtaceae, Epacridaceae, Oleaceae, Verbenaceae, Pan American cooperation in forestry conservation. Bulle• Taxaceae, and Pinaceae. tin of the Pan American Union, Washington, D. C, Febru• There are notes on the importance and distribution of each ary, 1925, pp. 161-169. family and a general characterization of the woods. The This article is divided into three parts. The first gives the species are introduced with a list of the vernacular names and text of a questionnaire which has been addressed to the a statement as to the size and occurrence of the trees and uses department of agriculture of each of the Latin American of the woods. Then follows the wood descriptions in two republics. The second is entitled, " A lesson in tropical forest parts, the first based upon the macroscopic features, the development from the Philippine Islands," and is by Geo. second upon the minute anatomy. At the beginning of the P. Ahern, former Chief of the Philippine Bureau of Forestry. publication are two descriptive keys to the dicotyledonous The third part, "A forest devastation warning," is by Gifford woods, corresponding to the two classes of descriptions. Pinchot. "Just as the forests of Europe have pointed the way Following is a hst of the densities as determined by the for the development of the forests of the United States, so author. They are based upon thoroughly air-dry material. the present forest conditions of the United States should serve as a warning to Latin American countries." SPECinC GRAVITY OF NEW ZEALAND WOODS

Agathis australis Steud. 0.515 The United States as a market for tropical forest products. Beilschmiedia Taraire 0.699 By WM. B. GREELEY. Bulletin of the Pan American Union, Beilschmiedia Tawa 0.635 Dacrydium sp. 0.605 April, 1925, pp. 332-349. Dacrydium cupressinum Soland. 0-583 Dacrydium voestlandicum T. Kirk. 0.647 An interesting and informative statement of the importance Dracophyllum latifolium A. Cunn. 0.742 of tropical forests to the United States. The fact that the Dysoxylum spectabik Hook. f. 0.634 author is Chief of the U. S. Forest Service gives unusual Elaocarpus dentatus Vahl. 0.611 weight to his conclusions. "Even if the most approved meth• 0.623 Elaocarpus Hookerianus Raoul. ods of handling our forests could be instituted at once and our Knigbtia excelsa R. Br. 0-737 vast areas of denuded waste lands planted with forest trees, Laurelia Novae-Zelandiae A. Cunn. 0.434 Leptospermum scoparium Forst. 0.893-0.904 there would be a long period before those measures would Libocedrus Bidwillii Hook. f. 0.413 show results. This period of shortage, already being felt, can Litsea calicaris Kirk. 0.649 be met only in part by more efficient methods of utilization. 1.I86-I.2IO Metrosideros lucida A. Rich. More wood must be secured from outside sources to bridge Metrosideros robusta Forst. 1-137 Nothofagus fusca Oerst. 0.757-0.762 the shortage or else we must turn to materials other than Nothofagus Solanderi Oerst. 0.707 wood for many purposes for which wood is now being used 0/ea lanceolata Hook. f. (?) 1.180 with entire satisfaction. . . . The United States is an enor• Phyllocladus trichomanoides D. Don. 0.645 mous potential market for tropical woods, and the near-by Plagianthus betulinus A. Cunn. or countries with large supplies of these woods seem the logical Hoheria populnea A. Cunn. 0.703 Podocarpus dacrydioides A. Rich. 0.438-0.487 place from which to get it. Podocarpus ferruginea G. Benn. 0.571 " The first and very necessary step in expanding the United Podocarpus spicatus R. Br. 0.682 States as a market for tropical woods is to provide for a study Podocarpus Totara G. Benn. 0.577 of the distribution, quantity, and accessibility of these woods Fitex lucens T. Kirk. 1.024 JVeinmannia racemosa L. 0.686-0.703 and the collection and shipment of authentic and representa• tive material to the United States for tests of various kinds. 24 TROPICAL WOODS Tests will enable the properties of South American woods, such as strength, hardness, stiffness, ease of working, ability to stay in place after drying, etc., to be compared with similar properties of our native woods, and will form from the stand• point of both buyer and seller a very necessary basis for the selection of tropical woods to fit various requirements of use."

Why the United States is interested in Latin American forest development. By W. N. SPARHAWK. Bulletin of the Pan American Union, June, 1925, pp. 552-558. Mr. Sparhawk, Forest Economist, U. S. Forest Service, and one of the authors of Forest resources of the world (New York, 1924), is well qualified to write this article, the sub• stance of which is indicated by the sub-headings: Depletion of old growth hardwoods in the United States; Our require• ments for hardwoods are not diminishing; A shortage of domestic hardwoods is inevitable; Latin America's opportu• nity; The need for study of the tropical forest resources. "The points to be emphasized are: First, if our hardwood manufacturing industries are to survive, they must eventually utilize large quantities of timber from the Tropics; and, second, the present is none too soon to commence laying the necessary foundations for such utilization in the future."

International cooperation by scientific agencies in tropical forestry. By HENRY S. GRAVES. Bulletin of the Pan Ameri• can Union, July, 1925, pp. 682-689. The author, who is Provost of Yale University and Dean of the School of Forestry, introduces his subject thus: "Every discussion of tropical forestry leads to the same conclusion— that we lack the information essential to create a market for products of the forest and essential to attract capital for the development of large forest industries in the tropical coun• tries. The key to the solution of the problem of tropical forestry lies in scientific research and exploration." TROPICAL WOODS

December 1, 1925

CONTENTS

r ... An Enumeration of the Sapotaceae of Central America 1 By PAUL C. STANDLEY, U. S . National Museum

Note on Amazon Woods for Tight Cooperage 11

Note on Sclerosed or Stone-cell Tyloses 11

Some Secondary Timbers of British Honduras 12 By DUNCAN and NEIL S. STEVENSON, Assistant Conservators of Forests

Occurrence of Intercellular Canals in Dicotyledonous Woods

Current Literature Yale University School of Forestry

TROPICAL WOODS

NUMBER 4 December 1, 1925

A tech11ica/ jouma/ deuoled lo 1be fur1bmmu of lcnowledge of lropica/ woods andf oresls and lo 1be promotion of forestry in the 'tropics. 'The edilor of this publication and t~ writer of all ar1ides therein, the authorship of which is not otherwise induaud, is SAMUEL J. RECORD, Profus or of Form Produm in J"alt Unioersily. Address all communications 10 1be editor, 2.05 Prospect Strut, New Hauen, Connet1icU1, U.S. A.

AN El\'UMER.\TIO~ OF THE SAPOTACEAE OF CE"'.'\TRAL A!\lERIC:\

By PAUL C. STAS'Dl.EY, U. S ..\Tatiana/ 1\!useum 1 The Central American plants of the family Sapotaceae form a comparatively small group of trees and large shrubs, but among them are found a surprisingly large number of species of economic importance. Several are weU known for their edible fruits and others as a source of gum. The sapodilla tree (Achras Zapata) is the chief source of chicle, the principal ingredient of chewing gum. The commercial product comes chiefly from northern Guatemala, Tabasco, and the Yucatan Penjnsula and constitutes one of the most valuable exports of that region. It too often happens that plants whose products are im­ portant articles of commerce are unknown from a technical scientific standpoint, or at least but imperfectly known, and

1 Published by permission of the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. TROPICAL WOODS No. 2 4 No. 4 TROPICAL WOODS 3 this is the case with the group under consideration here. It is handsome shade tree, and is planted abundantly for this evident that several other trees that produce "chicle'' gwn purpose in the Canal Zone. Known everywhere as ''caimito." are unknown to botanical science. S~me of these are ?escribed The tree is native in the lowland forests of Panama, where here for the first time, and there 1s reason to believe that it attains a large size, and it is probably indigenous also i_n others await description. . . other parts of Central America, at least along the Atlantic In connection wi th the necessary publication of several Coast. Widely distributed in tropical America. new species of Central Am:rican Sapotaceae, whose names ~re Chry.rophyllum me)(icanum T. S. Brandeg.; Standl. Contr. needed for use in economic work, it has seemed worth while U.S. Nat. Herb. 23: n14. 1924. Veracruz, Oaxaca, Yucatan, to present for referenc~ purposes a ten.tative list of the C~n~ral British Honduras Guatemala (?), Salvador. A large tree, American representatives of the family. Several extrahm1tal with edible fruit. 'Known in Salvador as "caimito," "zapo­ species have been included from Yucatan, since this state is tillo," and "guayabillo ";in British Honduras as "wild star­ closely related economically to the chicle-producing regions apple." Closely related to C. argenteum. of Central America. Cbry.rophyllum argenteum J acq: En um. Pl. Cari~. t 5. 1760. It will be noted that a large proportion of the Central Costa Rica and Panama; also m the West Indies. Called American Sapotaceae have been described in recent years, "caimito cimarr6n" in Costa Rica. chiefly by Mr. H. P ittier. T here are at hand herbarium speci­ Cbry.rophyllum panameme Pittier, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. mens of some additional species, but the material is not in 18: 165. 1916. Lowland Atlantic forests of Panama. condition to permit their description. There is no doubt that a substantial number of ocher trees of the family will be dis­ LucuMA Molina covered in the region. It seems to be difficult to find the trees Lucuma campechiana H. B. Nov. Gen. & Sp. 240. in flower, the state in which their relationships may best be K. 3: studied, and often the trees are so large that it is difficult to 1819. Yucatan; Campeche. Reported by Hemsley.fr?m Hon­ obtain specimens of them. Collectors can not be urged too duras. This and L. .ralicifolia are probably not d1stmct. strong;ly to make every effort toward procuring adequate Lucuma .ralicijolia H.B. K. Nov. Gen. &.Sp. 3: 241. 1819. Southern Mexico; Pacific slope of Costa Rica and Panama. material of any of the Central American Sapotaceae that they A tree with edible fruit. Known in Mexico as "zapote ama­ may fi nd . I t is surprising to learn how few herbarium sheets rillo," "zapote borracho," "za.pote de niiio,". "c~zt~czapotl," are available of even the most commonly planted fruit trees 11 of the group. and "atzapotl "; in Costa Rica as zapotillo ; m Peten, Guatemala, as "aceitunillo." It unnecessalJ'. to that the list given here is only a _i~ s ~ ate Lucuma Palmeri Fernald, Proc. Amer. Acad. 33 : 87. 1897. prov1S1onal one. It is believed that all species reported hereto­ fore from Central .America, including Panama, and from Yu­ Pacific slope of l\~exico, _fr~r;t C.olim.~ to O~xac~! ~~lvado~; Large tree with eseeds, it is evident that they can not be referred to any of a cs b·•• obtuse or acutish, glabrous above or nearly so, be ob ruse, at ...,.. d I h . ft the Sapotaceae reported previously from Central America. · h . 'ceous with line, closely appresse , ustrous airs; owers cl ~e' l~:r axils, subsessile, the pedicels less than 1 mm. long; sepals 5, elliptic mm. long, obtuse or rounded at apex, densely ochraceo Lucuma amygdalina StandJ., sp. nov. 3 outsid; :ind sparsely sericeous wi thin; corolla 'l mm. long; glabro Branchlets slender, terete, reddish brown, with faint traces of brownish lobes short, broader than long, broadly rounded or truncate at apex; sericeous pubescence; petioles slender, 17 mm. long, shallowly sulcate above, dia ovare, alternate with the corolla lobes and half as long; Start1Cqll glabrous; leaf Wades narrowly oblong, 13-15 cm. long, 3.5-4 cm. wide, acumi­ serted tow:trd rhe base of the corolla tube, the filaments equaling the nate, :With obtuse tip, at base abruptly rounded, subcoriaceous, deep green o,·aJ anthers; ovary densely hairy; fruit oval-globose, 7 cm. long, 5 cm. and shghdy lustrous above, paler beneath, glabrous, at least in age, the costa smooth, glabrous, rounded at each end, the shell very thick and hanij slender and prominent, the lateral nerves about 15 pairs, divergent at an 4, ne:irly white, smooth, 4 cm. long, 2.5 cm. thick, rounded on the ba angle of 6o.0 or more, slightly arcuate or the lower ones straight, irregularly marked with an elliptic-linear scar 2.5 cm. long. anastomosmg near the margin; seeds oval-ellipsoid, 1 cm. long and 8 mm. Type in the U.S. National Herbarium, No. 1,169 ,948, the specimens t~ick, rounded at each end, smooth, brown, \'Cry lustrous, the area about the from a tree grQwing in the plaza of the Villa de! Guayabal, El Sal hilum oblong, 4 mm. wide, acute at each end, roughened, dull, pale brownish; endosperm none. January, 1924, by Salvador Calder6n (No. 1935). Type in the U. S. National Herbarium, No. 1 1 208,2~, collected at Et Paso, Petco, Guatemala, in 1925 by W. D. Durland.1 ln its hard-shelled fruit this Salvador tree resembles s-lerocarpa Pittier, of Panama, but there is little similari The tree contains a white latex. The local name is "zapote the leaves and flowers of the two species. faisan." The form of the leaves is distinctive and somewhat suggestive of peach leaves. Lucuma hypoglauca has been noted also at Santa ~ ~Calderon 1I14) and San Salvador and is said to grow ID th . > Lucuma Durlandil Standl., sp. nov. .. e mountains near Guayabal. T he vernacular names de I~ ~ida" (Guaya_bal) and " chicosapote." Tree, the young twigs sparsely sericeous with slender hairs; petioles stout, p;n 10-17 mm. long, shallowly sukate above, minutely sericeous at first, in age . he ~ru1t is esteemed highly as an article of food. The p glabrous or nearly so; leaf blades lance-oblong or sometimes obovate, broad­ is dest;ribed as fragrant. est at or above the middle, long-acuminate or abruptly short-acuminate, Bes~des the Salvadorean specimens 1 should refer here attenuate to obtuse at base, 17-1-5 cm. long, 4.5-8.5 cm. wide, coriaceous lustrous on both sides, slighrly paler beneath, the venation prominent o~ ~ a!en)al collected at Izamal, Yucatan, by G. F. Gaumer (No. 0 - , ..99. both surfaces, the lateral nerves about 10 pairs, divergent at an angle of 6o , 3 arcuate, irregularly anastomosing near the margin, the ultimate nerves prom­ lucuma tr/aL;r.1·10 p· . s1. °· ur!Jo 1tt_1~r , Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 20: inent beneath and finely reticulate; fruits lateral, short-stalked, ovoid, 1.2-1.8 4 19 22 . Southern Darien Panama cm. long; seed subglobose, 12 mm. long, brown, smooth, the area about the l .ucuma laet · . 'd · p· · ' · hilum covering about half the seed, roughened, whitish, shallowly sulcate s . ,.. D etmi is 1tt1er, Contr. U. S. N at. Herb. 20: 4 1 19 1 beyond the hilum. calenturie~t ,;~~rtment of lzabal, Guatemala. "Zapotillo Type in the U. S. National Herbarium, No. 1,2o8,'l71, collected at El All th e,. ingerto de montafia." Paso, Pct~n, Guatemala, in 1925 by W. D. Durland.• 0 imperfec~ s~:c:es_ t Lucuma ?escribed below are based upOn 1 William Davies Durland, M.F. Yale School of Forestry 1922.. Mr. uncertain. In eria ' and their generic position is therefore Durland's collections were made in connection with investigations for the satisfactor~· hsetve:aJ cases the specimens are decidedly un­ Chicle Development Co., Inc., New York City. It is through the co. operation of the Company that the publication in this journal of Dr. Stand. tance, chi~fly : since the trees are all of economic impor- ley's paper is made possible.-S. J. R. s sources of gum, it is desirable to have names 6 TROPICAL WOODS No. 4 No.4 TROPICAL WOODS 7 The tree yields a white latex. The vernacular name is 1:he type, i~ the U. S. National Herbarium, No. 1,"UY7,;59, consists of stenle leafy twigs collected in British Honduras in December 1924 bv H C " w potillo." Specimens that apparently represent the same Kluge• (Xo... p; Yale T"o. 7595). ' ' • • • species were collected at Chunohuitz, Peten. _The .vernacular _name is "Silly Young," which almost cer­ Lucum.a izabalensis Stand!., sp. nov. tainly 1s a corruption of the Spanish name "sili6n " reported for L. izabalm.si.s. , Tree 1 8-~5 m. high, the trunk 4<>-90 cm. in diameter, the branchlets ten:te, grar1,h, glabrate; petioles "tout, r-1.7 cm. long, shallowly channeled Seeds of a tree called "Silly Young" were collected on the above, glabrate; leaf blades narrowly elliptic..oblong, about 21 cm. long and lxpop road, Peten, Guatemala, in 1925 by W. D. Durland. 6 cm. wide, abruptly narrow-acuminate, acute at base, coriaceous, glabrous !hey are oval-oblong in outline, 22 mm. long and 12 mm. in age, paler beneath, the venation prominulous above, prominent beneath, m d1a.meter, .nearly terete, brown and shining, the area about the l.ttcr:il nerves stout, about 9 on each side, divaricate at an angle of 50° or the hilum slightly narrower than the diameter rounded at more, arcuate, extending nearly to the margin and forming an irregular in­ cramarginal nerve, the ultimate nerves irregularly and closely reticulate. each end, .slightly roughened and pale, and ;ot evidently

Type in the U. S. 1'ational Herbarium, No. 11037,016, collected at Las sulcate. It is, of c?urse, quite uncertain that these seeds belong

I_>layita!>, Department of l zabal, Guatemala, May 131 1919, by H. N. Whit­ to the same species as the type of l. be/izensis. ford and L. R. Stadtmiller • (:-lo. 35; Yale No. 3700). SIOEROXYLON L The type material consists of a sterile branch. Here proha­ bly is to he referred the same collectors' No. 65 , from Sin­ Sidero:1Cy/on Gaumai Pittier, Contr. l". S. Nat. Herb. 13: chado. This collection consists of very young seedlings and of 46o. 1912. Known onlr from lzamal, Yucadn. seeds. T he seeds are subglobose, slightly over 2 cm. long and Siderox;•lon 'l'empisque Pittier, Contr. U. S. ~at. Herb. nearly 2 cm. in diameter, dark brown, and very lustrous. The .13: 461. 1912. Chiapas, Guatemala, Salvador; doubtless also area about the hilum covers nearly half the seed, and is rough 111 ~ondu~as, an_d pro~ably in. ~icaragua. A tree of large or and pale, wi ch a shallow broad channel extending through its medium size, with edible fruit. Known in Guatemala and middle. Salvador as .. tempisque." The vernacular name is "sili6n." T he wood is reported to Sidero:~y/011 Capiri (A. DC.) Pittier, Contr. C. S. Nat. Le used for railroad ties. The lea\'es of this tree are strikingly Herb. 13: 462. 1912. \\'es tern I\lexico; Pacific slope of Panama. similar to those of L. .sderocarpa. Known in i\lexico as ·• capire," "capiri," "tempisque," '' h ua:ux, ., " zapote· deave, '' ., tototzapot,I " and ' ' cosa hu1co." . Lucuma belizensis Stand!., sp. nov. As with the other species, the fruit is edible. Sider0.\)1 /011 honduren.re Pittier, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. Tree, the tw.g. tertte, when young obscurclr and minutely scriceous; 20: 483. 1922. Known only from the Chamelec6n River, pet!olcs 7-10 ~nr~. long, i.ulcate above, sparsely a~d very minutely scriceous; lcal blad~ cll1p11c.o~long, 6-8 ~m . long! 3 cm. wide, acute, with obtu!>e tip, Department of Copan, Honduras. at base: acute or .tcunsh, subconaceous, 1n age glabrous or with a fe w minute Sidero:l(y/on rmiloru/(lrt Donn. Smith, Bot. Gaz. 35: 5. apprcsscd hairs beneath, thin, deep green above, the venation not elevated 1903. Described from Tucurrique, Costa Rica. Not seen by paler beneath, wi1h prominulous vena1:1on, the lateral nerves about 14 o~ 0 the writer. each side,. divergent a t an.angle of about 6o , near straight, irregularly anastomosing near the margin.

. • Harry. .Nic.hols W !i itfo~d, Ph.D., fo~erl y Assistant Professor of Tropical ' Mr. Kluge's collections in Central America were made under the direction f·orcstry in ) ale Univers11y, and LoUJs Roemmer Stadtmiller, M.F. Yale of the Yale School of Forestry and were in connection with his work as a School of Forestry 1911. T he collect1ons were made in connection with the tropic~! forest engineer. They consist of 45 wood specimens with botanical GuatcmnJa.ITonduras Economic Survey Expedi1:1on under direction of the muer1al f~om near ~iversdale, British Honduras, and 53 wood specimens Department of State, U. S. A. S. ]. R. with botarucal material from the Bayano River watershed, Panama.-S. J. R. 8 TROPICAL WOODS No.4 No. 4 TROPICAL WOODS 9 LABATIA Swartz Labalia Standleyana Pittier, Co?t:. U. S. Nat. He~b. 20: Bumelia megaphylla Blake, Contr. Gray Herb. 52: 76. 1917. British Honduras. Not seen by the writer. . (Lurnma Standleyana P1ttJer, 1916.) Atlantic low- 8 1 22 Bumelia pleistochasia Donn. Smith, Bot. Gaz. 18: 4. 1893. }ands41. 9of Panama, in the v1·c··1mty o f t hCe ana lZo ne. Guatemala. La/Jatia sambuensis Pittier, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 20: Bumelia Hayesii Hems!. Biol. Centr. Amer. Bot. 2: 297. s1. 11. (Luruma sambuensis Pittier, 1916.) Southern 4 19 1881. Type from San Jose, Guatemala. Not known to the Darien, Panama. AcHRAs L. writer, but perhaps a form of B. obovata.

Acbras Zapota L. Sp. Pl. 1190. 1753. (A. Sapota L., 1762; Bumelia guatemalensis Stand!., sp. nov. Sapota Acbras l\1ill.) Native in t h~ _Y~catan. Peninsula, T~­ basco eastern Guatemala, and adjoining reg10ns; planted m Tree, the branchlets slender, tcrete, dark reddish brown, on the younger parts very sparsely and minutely sericeous; petioles slender, 7 mm. long, most ,regions of tropical America. T his tree is the principal sulcate along the upper side, glabrous in age; leaf blades oblong-elliptic, source of chicle gum. The fruit is one of the best of all tropical 5.5-7.5 cm. long, 2.5-3 cm. wide, acutish at base and slightly unequal, at fruits. In most parts of Central America the fruit is called apex rather abruptly acute, with obtuse tip, subcoriaceous, nearly concolo­ "nlspero." The names employed in Mexico are "zapote," rous, lustrous above and glabrous, beneath nearly glabrous but with a few minute, closely appressed, scattered hairs; flowers lateral or axillary, the " ch' 1cozapote, " " ya " (l\ 1aya ) , and " zapoti· 11 o. .. pedicels 4 mm. long, slender, glabrate; sepals 5, oval-cUiptic, 2.5 mm. long, Acbras calcirola Pittier, Journ. Washington Acad. Sci. 9: minutely and thinly sericeous, obtuse or rounded at apex; corolla glabrous, 438. 1919. Panama. Known as "nispero," and among the 4.5 mm. long, the tube 1.5 mm. long, the 5 lobes J·parted into linear seg­ West Indians living in Panama as" sapodilla." ments, the l:tteraJ segments narrower and slightly shorter than the middle one; staminodia oblong-lanceolate, alternate with the corolla lobes and Achras Cbir!e Pittier, Journ. Washington Acad. Sci. 9: equaling them; filaments linear; ovary glabrous. 436. 1919. Atlantic slope of Guatemala; sterile specimens Type in the U. S. National Herbarium, No. 1,208,272, collected at El from Salvador are probably referable here. Known in Guate­ Paso, Peten, Guatemala, July, 1925, by W. D. Durland. mala as "zapotillo," and as a source of chicle; in Salvador called "nispero de montafia." The tree yields a white latex. The vernacular name is "avalo." BuMELIA Swartz The material available is scanty, and includes only a single imperfect flower. The condition of the flower is such that its The species of this genus are shrubs or small trees, often details may not have been interpreted properly. Because of armed with spines, and of little or no economic importance. the absence of seeds, it is uncertain whether the tree should Bume/ia spinijl01·a A. DC. in DC. Prodr. 8: 191. 1844. be referred to Bumelia or Dipholis, but it seems more probable Coast of Salvador; also in Mexico, Florida, Texas, and the that it is a member of the former genus. Bahamas. Known in 'Mexico as "coma." Bumelia retusa Swartz, Prodr. Veg. Ind. Occ. 49. 1788. Yucatan; also in Jamaica. "Putzmucuy" (Yuca tan, a Maya Bumelia panamensis Stand!., sp. nov. name). Tree, the short trunk about 6o cm. in diameter, the branches armed with Bumelia obouata (Lam.) A. DC. in DC. Prodr. 8: 191. 1844. stout spines 1 cm. long, rhe brnnchlcts terete, reddish brown, when young Honduras (?), Panama; also in the West Indies. densely and minutely brownish..sericcous; petioles 4-6 mm. long, sericcous; ~icaragua, leaf blades lance-oblong to elliptic-oblong, 5-7 cm. long, 2-2.7 cm. wide, Bumelia leiogj•na Don n. Smith, Bot. Gaz. i 8: 4. 1893. acute or acutish at base, acute or acuminate at apex, with obtuse tip, thin, Pacific slope of Guatemala and Salvador. Known in Salvador bright green, lustrous above, when young sparsely scriccous with minute as "limoncillo," "ispundio," and "zapotillo de pena." brownish lustrous hairs, in age glabrous, the costa salient beneath, the lateral nerves very slender, about 18 pairs, divergent at an angle of 50° or more, JO TROPICAL WOODS No.4 TROPICAL WOODS 11 nearly straight, anastomosing near the margin; flowers n~merous, in dea. Calocarpum viride Pittier, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 18: 84. fascicles in the leaf axils and on naked branches, the pcd1cels about 3 mm.; 1914. Guatemala and Salvador; reported by Pittier from long: sepal~ \, oval, 'l.5-3.5 mm. long, rounded at apex; finely lericeou.; Honduras and Costa Rica. Known in Guatemala and Salva­ roroUa ~.< min. lonit, 1he tube short, the 5 lobes J-parted, the middle lobe oblong the 1 latcrn(oncs linear-attenuate; staminodia 5, equaling the corolla dor as "ingerto" or "zapote ingerto." lobes, ~,·a:e..ohlong, the margins lacerate; stamens equaling the corolla loba. the filaments linear; o\'ary glabrous. Type in 1he U. S . .\'ational Herbarium, No. 1,2o6,..18, collected near Chej.o, Pro,1nce of Panama, PMama, in 1914 hr H. C. Kluge (No. 12; NOTE ON AMAZON WOODS FOR TIGHT Yale No. 71~6). COOPERAGE Rdated to B. leiogyna Donn. Smith, bu t differs in that the Consul Samuel H . Wiley, Oporto, Portugal, recently re­ sepals are glabrous. ported that a Brazilian wood known as "friejo" [Cordia The fruit is said to be about 2.5 cm . long and half as thick, Goeldiana Huber] is imported into Portugal for the manufac­ with black skin. The vernacular name is "limoncillo." ture of staves, though its importation has declined owing to the poor quality received and to the fact that it imparts a D1PHOLIS A. DC. flavor to the wines. Another Brazilian wood known as "itauba" [Lauraceae] is also imported for the manufacture of Pittier, Contr. Ll. S. Nat. Herb. Dipbo/is minutiflora 13: "balseiros," which are large casks used for storage purposes. 464. 1912. Copey, Costa Rica . A small tree. Casks made from this wood are said to last as long as those (L.) A. DC. in DC. Procutting has as yet been found. Cohune Ridge, but is not as thickly stocked as the Santa The wood is sometimes mistaken for mahogany, being Maria. somewhat similar in color and often showing good figure, but :\ young tree measured on the Sibun-Stann Creek Forest it is hea,·ier, stronger, and more lasting. On account of its Reserve had the following dimensions: Total height, uo ft.; dura.bility it is used for the construction of logging trucks for height to first branch, i2 feet; girth at 4}'5 ft. from ground, haulmg mahogany and logwood. It is also utilized for shin­ 7 U ft.; height of spurs, I;{ ft. gles, bridge stringers, trestle work and p lanking, beams, The habit of the tree is characteristic. Branches are given !'"asts, heavy machine work, building construction, and off in a manner suggesting a hand bunched up with the fingers indoor trim ..I t is one of the best timbers for dugouts, or fully extended. This is repeated throughout the crown. In the doreys, and gives long service. On the island of Rua tan, in the majority of cases the bark is smooth, though it may be slightly Bay Islands, it forms the principal wood for boat timbers; fissured when young or scaly when old. It is about half an crooked trees of the Broken R idge type are used, affording a inch thick, and upon scraping away the whitish gray mem­ natural bend. branous outer surface a characteristic yellow with white edges The timber ordinarily has a tendency to warp and split, is exhibited. unless mature and well seasoned. At a small mill on the The leaves are of a light green color anccn obtamed which give very handsome figure, but "white" and "red." The former is not lasting, dries more there is a tendency to flake which has not yet been overcome. quickly than the other, and is difficult to work when dry on TROPICAL WOODS No.4 No. 4 TROPICAL WOODS 17 account of grittiness. It is not so hard on tools when wet and OCCURRENCE OF INTERCELLULAR CANALS is good for inside house construction work. Red Yemeri is IN DICOTYLEDONOUS WOODS considered slightly less durable than Santa Maria, is easy to work, and is suitable for the same purposes as poplar. It is These structures, commonly known as gum ducts, have used extensively in the Sou th for boards and for the construc­ proved so useful. to the w~iter in the identification of tropical tion of doreys. worimycarpus (Anacardiaceae), Masti:da (Cornaceae), Copaijcra, Daniellia, Eperua, Kingiodmdron, Prioria, Oxystigma, and Sindora (leguminosae), and Simaruba Acknowledgment (Simarubaceae). Radial canals are also of two types, which, for lack of a The Yale c?llections have recently been enriched by gifts better classification, are herein designated as (1) large and of wood specimens from the P roefstation voor het Bosch­ wezen, Buitenzorg, Java; the Museo Comercial de Venezuela, 1 RECORD, SAMUEL J.: Jnrercellular canals i~ clicocyledonous woods, Caracas; and the Laboratorios de la Direccion General de Journal of Forutry 16: 4: 428-441, Apr. 1918; Further notes on --, idtrn 19: 3: 1-12, Mch. 1921. Agricultura, San Salvador, El Salvador. g T ROPICAL WOODS No. 1 4 No. 4 T ROPICAL WOODS (2) small. The latter seem to be of normal occurrence in all there were also vertical canals, but the latter were of the cases. They \'ary considerably in size, but usually are large traumatic or gummosis type. enough to be seen with a hand lens ( 10 x) and not infre. quen tly \\ ith the un.aided ey~. These canals have ~i l y or THE J'AMILJF.S AND GENERA gummr contents '~· h1 ch a_re likely to _exu_d~ _a_nd stain the Anacardiauae.- \'c:rrical c:in.1ls rcporic:d only in Drim.vcarpus. Radial specimen, thus adding decidedly to their v1s1b1lity. canals in .1stronium, Bucbanania, Campnosptrma, Dracontqmt/um, Glura, Radial canals of the second type are empty and dry, a nd Koodtrsiodtndron, ,\fdano"h, in Alrin,r;ia and l.i9111.imnbar. , . . Ltgum'!nosae.- \ 'crtical canals of. :"ormal rn Copaijera, al>ou t two inches out from the pith. From the n ature and t~·o cl ~. Danitllia, Eperua, Kingiodc~1ti~o n, l'rior~a! Oxymgma, and Srndora. G~m~ limited amount of material available the writer has no t been sis type in Andira, HarJu:uJc111, llrrmrnma! _llymm~a, and _P~bo:ynt <:>· able to determine the significance of these structures. In some Both vertic:il and radinl canals reported hy I sc h1rch in llerm1mera. Radial cases, as for example in Eupatorium la11ceo/a111m (Com­ canals reported by Kanehira in llardwuJci? pinna/a Roxb. L)·tbractae.- Radial canals in Crypttr ~nra. . . . . positae), leaf traces in the wood have a superficial resemblance Malvauar.-\'crtical canals, gumm os!~ t)'pe, _in H1b1uu1 :ind 'l'bespn1a. to. r~sin ducts, but the canals in question are not of such Mtliauae.- \'c:rtical canals, gumrnos1s type,.'" C,arapa, Ctdrtla, Entan- origin. dropbragma, Kbaya, ,\ftlia, S"n,/orimm,_and Su: 1ttm1~: The occurrence of both normal radial and vertical canals Morauae.- Radial c:1nals rcportc.-,1 1n c.'.sri/la, I-mis, Gymnmocarp10, :ind Sloetia. (Probably latex tubes anti n?t inter~cllular. canals.-S. J . R.) in the same spccimt:.n seems to be exceeding! y rare in c~i­ Mori11gauae.--\"crtical canals, gummos1s type, in Moringa. cotylcdonous woods, and the only authen tic instances arc 111 Myrluuat.--Vcrtical canals,_gu~mosis type:, in Angopbora, E.11(0/yptus, Shorea and possibly one or two other genera of the Diptcro­ and Rbodam11ia. RaJiill c;1nnls in f.ugtnia and Ltptospermum. R d'al carpaceac growing in J ava. This condition has not been Rosauar..-Vcrtical cnnals, gummosis t)"l>c, i~ l'run11~ am.I P~·gmm. a 1. als in Pygmm but not reported in ~amc: specimens with vert1cal canal_s. reported for any of the Philippine woods. Radial canals are ca~utauac.- Vc;tical c:inals, gummo,is type, in Baljourodtndro,,, Citrus, said to have been found in woods of two genera of the llam­ Esmbeckiu, Eux)•lopboru, and 7.1mlL•ox)'l11m. amclidaceac anteak (c:fectona grandis L. f.) . T eak was in troduced from declared as having been removed from Crown lands during Burma in 1913 and better success has been had with it than 1924 totaled 510,816 cu. ft., an increase of 33.9 per cent over with the other species because its silvicultural requirements the production of the previous year. Of this amount 168,257 are better understood. One of the worst mistakes has been too cu. ft. were exported, the balance (342,559 cu. ft.) being ab­ wide .spacing of the trees, thus entailing heavy expense for sorbed by the local market. cleanmgs or resulting in suppression of the young trees by the The quantity of mora (Dimorpbandra Mora B. & H.) ~a nk g:owth of weeds. Cedar and cypre need careful treatment declared was 38,296 cu. ft., an increase of 42 per cent over m their young stages, but given the right cond itions make I923. Hardwoods other than greenheart and mora amounted excellent growth. Planting under shelterwood promises better to 32,88 5 cu. ft. Of the softer varieties of woods of all kinds the results than in the open. production was 66, 150 cu. ft., of which crab wood (CaraP.a The best substitutes for American white pine are cedar guianensis Aubl.) comprised 85.5 per cent; nearly all of this and cypre, the only native woods with which most of the material was used locally. inhabita nts are familiar. Next to these are " laurier canelle" The number of railroad crossties exported was 39,238, of (Oreodapbne strumosa Gris.), "laurier cypre" (0. Ccrnue which 13,233, vaJued at $5,509 were shipped to th~ British !"'ees)'. a.nd " laurier mattack" (/lniba mcgacarpa) . " There is West Indies; 25,595, valued at $25,595, to South Afnca; 26o, m addinon a large number of soft woods of which but little valued at )\208, to the United Kingdom; 1$0, valuet~ at $107 is known, but which would he suitable for many of the pur­ to the Dutch \Vest Indies. Tests on mora ties are bemg made pos~s to whic~ white pine is put," particularly for box shooks. by the Imperial Institute, London. \~ari ous su ~st1tutes for American pitch pine (southern yellow The number of shingles manufactured was nearly two and pme) are discussed, prominent among them being galba and one-half millions, of which 1,278,200 were exported. Over TROPICAL WOODS No. 4 No.4 TROPICAL WOODS eight million pounds of charcoal were manufactured from licensed Crown lands. The value of all timber and wood Secretary McIJvaine, "and all specimens were found to be products exported was $209,Ssr, while the imports of lumber free from teredo attack. A sample of yellow pine similarly were valued at $235,405. The amount of balata gum exported placed had been attacked to a considerable extent." was l ,370,21 2 lbs., valued at $822,1 62. The total royalty from .I_>ages .T7-25 o~ the bul!etin are devoted to a more general all forest products was S5 1,511, an increase of Io per cent arti~le (u'! English) entitled, "The protection of timber over that of the preced ing year. against sh1pworm~ or ti:redo." There is a survey of the dam­ a.ge done. and a .d1scuss1on of the factors involved in protec­ t10n .•~v1d~nce is presen_ted to substantiate the hypothesis Verslag van een dienstreis tot het onderzoeken van de that all timber~ possessing a certain amount of silica parti­ mogelijkheid tot afzet van Surinaamsch hout vooral in cles and a certain hardness must be proof against teredo." Midden-Amerika. By J. W. G oNGGRIJP. Bul. No. 46 1:'he ~on ten~ of silica grains necessary to complete immuniza­ Dept. v. Landbouw, Nijverheid en Handel in Suriname' aon 1~ considered to be about 0.50 per cent, though the basis Paramaribo, J une, 1924, pp. 25 . ' for this percentage and the method of determination are not given. In certain of the species of timber the silica content is The first sixteen pages of this publication are devoted to so variable that while one specimen may be immune, another a.n account of a personal investigation by the author, at that may be more or less readily attacked. tune Conservato.r of Forests of ~u t ch Guiana, of the ship­ The Surinam woods which are least subject to damage worm problem in Central America with reference to the from marine borers are unfortunately not highly resistant to utilization of timbers from Surinam. At tention is called to decay, thus tending to limit their employment in untreated the fact that the Demerara greenheart (Nectandra Rodioei condition to structures which are permanently submerged. Schomb.) is not always as resistant to the attack of teredo The presence of silica in sufficient quantity to keep out teredo as it is reputed to be. T he species of borers which seem to be makes the wood difficult to work with tools, especially after the ~hief offe~ders in the Panama Canal are Bankia (Neo­ the timber has become dry. To what extent these handicaps bank1a) Zetekt and 'Ter~do (Neoteredo) Mira.flora, while in the will militate against the commercial utilization of the woods Saramacca Canal (Surinam) the greatest damage is done by remains to be seen. 'Tere~o (Neoteredo) Reynei; all three are recently discovered species. Maderas preciosas de el Salvador. By SALVADOR CALDERON The author recommends the trial of certain Surinam woods Reuista de Agricultura 'Tropical (San Salvador) 3: 2: 8~4, which have gained a local reputation for resistance to marine Apr.-June, 1925. borers. These are "manbarklak" (Eschweilera longipes A review of Record and Garratt's Cocobolo (Bui. No. 8, Miers), "angelique" or "basra locus" (Dicorynia p araensis Yale School of Forestry), with particular reference to the Ben th.), "anaura" (Couepia sp.), "sponsehoedoe" (Licania occurrence and importance of this wood in Salvador. The macroph;•lla Benth.), "ingibarki" (L icania beteromorpba vernacular name there is "funera" and there are two species. Benth.), and "foengoe" or "vonkhout" (Parinarium cam­ (Sec also 'I'ropical Woods 1: 6, March, 1925.) pestre Aubl., and other species) . According to a copy of a Jetter, attached to the copy of the Balsa boxes carry perishables safely. Southern lumberman bulletin sent to the reviewer, test samples of the above-named (Nashville, Tenn.), April 18, 1925, p. 44· woods were placed in sea water at the Paci fi c end of the Panama Canal locks September 17, r923. "An examination Owing to its insulating properties and lightness in weight, (Orbroma was made on :\1'ovember 26, r924," says the writer, E xecutive combined with sufficient strength, balsa wood spp.) TROPIC• .\L WOODS No. 4 No. 4 TROPICAL WOODS 27 has been used for the past two years by the Fleischmann Com­ Some British Honduras woods as paper-making materials. pany to make boxes fo~ th~ transport~ti?n of yeast without Bulletin of the Imperial Jns1i1u1e (London) 23: r : 4-8, ice jackets. The wood 1s given a prehmmarr treatment by Apr. 1925. ··a patented process of sealing the air cells." T~e .boxes a!C This report supplements the one entitled, "British Hon­ do,·etailed and glued at the corners and the ltd 1s held in duras timbers," which appeared in the Bulletin last year place with an iron strap. Two sizes are used, one containing (pp. 401, 406), as well as that mentioned above. The three fift,. pounds, the other eighty. It has been found that one of woods tested were "quam wood" (Scbizolobium sp.), "white the~e boxes will remain serviceable for over one hundred moho" (Hibiscus sp.), and "polak" (Ocbroma sp.). round trips. "The results of the investigations of these three timbers in­ Balsa is bdng experimented with for containers of various dicate that when treated under suitable conditions, 'quam other perishables. "One test has shown the feasibility of wood' and 'white moho' give satisfactory yields of pulp of transporting ice cream wi thout ice. T est shipments of per­ good strength and quality. The former can be reduced with a ishable pre cooled goods have been made from New York to rather smaller consumption of soda than the latter, hut, on San Francisco successfully. Commodities forwarded at a the other hand, 'white moho' pulp is composed of somewhat given temperature will not vary more than 10 to I 5 degrees longer fiber than the 'quam wood' pulp, is of rather better when in transit 48 to 6o hours, these experiments have shown . quality, and is more easily bleached. Both pulps would fur­ . . . Numerous shippers of frui ts, candy, mayonnaise, dairy nish paper of satisfactory quality." products, fresh meats, sea foods, and d rugs have adopted the "The' polak' wood presents a difficulty owing to the varia­ balsa box." tion in density in different parts of the trunk." "The hard portion is ver}; suitahle foryaper-n:iaking, ~ving a fairly high Balsa wood from British Honduras. Bulletin of Jbe Imperial yield of bleached pulp which fur111shed white paper of good Inst1t111t (London) '2J: 1:4-8,Apr. 1925. strength and c1uality. The soft portion of thew~, however, A report on the properties of some specimens of balsa is not so satisfactory, as it requires a larger qua~t1ty of soda (Ocbroma ~p.), one of the woods known locally as "polak." for its conversion into pulp, and the parchment-like cha~acter The material tested was from a log about 17 inches in diam­ of the bleached pulp is a disadvantage for the product!on of eter and 5 feet long. ordinary tvpes of paper. It would, however, be 1mpract1cable The following variations were noted in the weight per cubic to separat~ the two portions for pulping on a commercial scale." foot of the dr): \\"00<.1. at different distances from the pith: Center.up to~ in. radius~ 7.r;, lbs.; from 3 to 6 in. radius, 16.5 Development of forestry in British Honduras. By J. N. Ou­ lbs:; 6 in •.rad1u~ to .outside of log, 2r.5 lbs. The volumetric PHAST. Empire Foresl1J' Journal 4: I: 3~44, 1925. s~rtnkage Ill drpng increased from about 4 per cent near the The forest sawdust appear on the bark of logs mahogany, and the project for growi~g the saJ?odilla by inten­ within two to four hours after cutting; on girdled trees, the sive forestry methods for the production of chicle... . Aside next day after the ringing operations; and on the part of the from these new departures, and perhaps even more important log above water, some hours after partial immersion. Remov­ has been the evolu tion of a successful technique for the in~ ing the bark facilitates the work of the insects. tensi,,e silvicultural treatment of mahogany." Various methods have been tried to reduce the damage "Of the total area of forest land in the Colony (some five from wood-boring insects. One is to increase the density of million acres) approximately one half is privately owned, and the outer portion of logs by pounding, but the results are generally speaking, the alienated tracts include the best and not worth the effort, the treatment of a ton of wood requiring most accessible forest lands, and furnish the bulk of the out­ the labor of a crew of 12 men for four hours. The author's put of fores t produce in the Colony. Furthermore, forest recommendations in regard to the white "limbo" are as produce, of which the chief items are mahogany and chicle follows: (sapodilla gum), represen ts, on the latest figures available, I. Exploitation should be during the dry season, June to abou_t 87 per cent by value of the t~ t a l exports of the Colony. September, and only during the wane of the moon! The 1~porta_nce~ from the standpoint of forest policy, of en­ 2. The logs should not be barked before removal, but the couragmg_sc1ent1fic managem~ t and conservation of private branches and stumps should be peeled to attract insects forests, will, therefo:e, be obvwus. It is hoped to evolve a and later burnt with the felling refuse. scheme for systematic cooperation between the Government 3. As soon as the logs are cut, an S-iron should be driven into and pri.vate owners of fores t land in the development of their each end and the exposed wood surfaces painted with respectJve estates." creosote or hot coal tar, or seared with torches made from native resins. La conservation des bois coloniaux. Les piqures. By RooER 4. The logs shol.lld be placed in water as soon as removed SARGos. Revue de Botanique Appliquie et d'dgriculture from the forest and kept completely submerged. Coloniale (Paris), May JI, , pp. _ 8. 1925 343 34 5. The Jogs, whether or ~ot they have t~e bark on, s~ould be One .of the greatest difficulties attending the exploitation gotten to the squarmg yards as qu1ckJy as possible, and of tropical woods of ordinary kinds for everyday uses is the all debris at yards and landings should be burnt. danger of det.erioration of the tim ber during the interval be­ 6. Delay in transporting the logs to the coast should be re­ tween the felling of the tree in the forest and the utilization of duced to the minimum. the lum?er i~ a distant country. The importation into France 7. They should be shipped on deck, if possible, and not in the ~ff cer:a~n.. h.1Pchlr useful tropical African woods, such as the hold. ram1re. • irak'e, " or "I'1mbo , ' (9"'erminalia sp.) has been pract1ca 11y susp d d b . ' Boschbouwkundige aanteekeningen over een reis in Atjeh, en e ecause of insect damage Very soft Sumatra's Oostkust Tapanoeli en Sumatra's Westkust. woo d s, such as "fromage " " l' " . l'k I · . r or p araso 1er are 1 e y to By F. H. ENDERT. Med. No. 9, Proefstation voor het arrive ma completely riddled d' . ' K~rte It is e 11 con 1t1on. Boschwezen, Buitenzorg, Java, 1925. Pp. 16o; 6 x 9~; I which rg n~ra; th~ larvae of the Platypids and Scolytids map, I I x 14}4. . lined w{;h :~ t e so:.id wood and whose cylindrical galleries, This is a valuable report of a trip made by the author, m as black w e ~~ce ium of~ fungus, produce what is known the interests of botany and wood technology, from Langsa, orm- 0 ed wood (p1qu re noir des bois). In the Congo 30 TROPICAL WOODS No.4 No. 4 TROPICAL WOODS 31 th rough Medan, Lake Toba, Sibolga, Padang Sidempoean medium hard timbers ('maranti,' 'katoeko,' 'lagan,' and Fort de Kock, Pajacoembo, and Solok, to Padang. The rout~ 'kapoer ').'' JS shown in detail on a map. Pages 109-114 are devoted to a "The forest types mentioned, which render large scale summary in English, and pages u 7-16o, to two check lists, operations positively impossible, definitely contrast with the the first on the basis of the vernacular names, the second on forests near Langsa and on the island of Morsala. . . . T~e the scientific; the lists serve also as indexes. The number of main stock is composed principally of Dipterocarpaceae, m families listed is 78. which first class timbers such as 'damar laoet,' 'simantok,' "The genera of Sumatra have much more in common with and 'rasak,'_ play an important role..... A great drawback those of Malacca and of Borneo than with those of Java. . . . to the workmg of these forests, however, 1s that the cou?trY These differences are pronounced in the most marked degree is precipitous over large areas ... . In Langsa and Tam1ang in the forests of the plains and the undulating country." these forests are worked on a pretty large scale with Chinese "In the plains, properly speaking, J ava has only one type labor but only on the best situated plots. The areas which of forest, covering a large area, which is of economic impor­ are l~ss steep more and more attract the attention of rubber tance, i.e. the teak forests (Cf'ectona grandis L. f., fam. Verb.). cultivation, pushing forward from the East Coast of Sumatra The other forests are not very valuable. They are heterogene­ to the North." ous in composition, the quality of the timbers is below a "The type of forest encountered on the undulating country medium grade, and the stock of the better grades is small. to the south of Padang . .. can be considered as a transi­ "Comparing with Sumatra, the absence of teak forests, the tion to the mountain forests. The composition of the moun­ financial backbone of the Forest Service of Java, is striking. tain forests has more in common with Java than the other Large areas of Sumatra are covered with inferior forest, which, types .... For working on a fairly large scale only such for­ notwi~standing that the soil and the composing specimens ests can be taken into account as are near large centers ?f may differ widelr from the conditions of J ava and also from population .... The principal import~nce of th~ m01.~nt~10 ?the: localities of Sumatra, can best be compared with the forests is, as on Java, in respect to their hydro~o~1cal s1g?1fi­ inferior forest type of the Javanese plains." cance. The necessity of setting bounds to the shifting cultiva­ "A bet_cer pic~re is shown by the forests on d ry soil which tion of the mountain people is clearly demonstrated by the occur as 1slan?s 111 these ex~ensive swamp areas and also by desolate wastes covered with grass, ferns, and shrubs, of the m~ny forests 111 the tilldulat111g country of T apanoeli and the plateau of Tob~, which results. from th~ annihilation of the '~ ~t Co~t of Sumatra as well as by those in the vicinity of forests, foJlowed by ever recurring fires. SJdjoendJoeng, all of them on soils of Tertiary or older 0rigin. The. amount of :vooc.I per area is not very large, but the Forestry in Sarawak. By J.P. MEAo. Empire Forestry Jour­ quality as a rule Js, generally speaking, better, owing to the nal 4: I: 92-99, 1925. greater occurrence of representatives of the family Diptero­ carpaceae. For man~ forests in the plains and undulating "The independent State of Sara~a~, which has been a count.ry of Sumatra It can be put down as a rule that their British Protectorate since 1888 ... is situated on the north­ te~hnical value at prese?t is i~1dicated by the part which the west coast of Borneo and comprises an area of about 50,000 D~pterocarpaceae take 10 their composition. As known, the square miles, with a coastline on. the China sea of so.me 400 J?ipterocarpaceae play a very subordinate role in the compo­ miles .... The native population, comp~sed mamly of s1t1on of the forests of Java. On Sumatra the part of this Malays, Dyaks, Milanos, and Chinese, is estnnated at about family in the forests increases from south to north. Jn the 6oo,ooo. b hi type of forest meant here it is represented mostly by soft or "The forests of Sarawak are evergreen and may e roug y 3z TROPICAL WOODS No.-. No.4 TROPICAL WOODS 33 divided into t~v~ clas~es , littoral and inland. The former may the constitution and maintenance of reserved forests .. again be subdivided mto mangrove swamps and dry forests. Forest revenue has increased steadily since the Forest De­ "The inland forests m ay be divided into fresh-water swamp partment was established. Revenue derived from royalties fores ts and dry forests .... In the Lawas district is situated was, for 1923, 84,6oo dollars. Revenue derived from export a most remarkable forest of Dacrydium elatum. This is a fresh­ duties on forest produce was, for the same year, 386,350 water swamp forest, and the stand of Dacrydium is practically dollars, making a grand total of 470,950 dollars. The total ex­ pure. From measurements made this forest runs to as much penditure for that year, including the cost of collection of as ten thousand cubic feet per acre. It is a curious thing that export duties, was 67,470 dollars." Dacrydium e/atum has hitherto been regarded as a mountain species, being found usually at altitudes of three or four thou­ Research in forestry in India. By A. RooGER. Empire For­ sand feet. esl1y ]ournal 4: I: 45-53, 1925. "The dry forests m ay be subdivided roughly into lowland forests up to two thousand feet elevation and hill forests. This is an interesting account by the president of the Forest Research Institute and College, Dehra Dun," the In the~e lowlan~ forests i~ is usual to find that about 6o per o! wo~der­ ful progress that has been ma~e in recen~ y~rs m the science cent o~ the growing stock 1s composed of species belonging to of growing trees and in the science of uulismg them. It must the D1pterocarpaceae. ... The bulk o f the timber of the never be forgotten that one of the great difficulties .in lndi~, country is produced by these lowland forests ... . The hill which is not met with as a rule in more temperate climates, 1s fores:s are at present quite inaccessible and are likely to the great mixture of species .... Since about the year .1~ remain so many years to come.... addition to the for In it has been realized that the proper development and utt~a­ forests alr~ady desc ri b~d there are many square miles of tion of the forests of India must depend on expert and scien­ secondary jungle resultmg from the shifting cultivation of tific guidance, and that ca? o!1ly ~~ obtained through a the Dyaks and other tribes." properly organized research mstttute.. . . The best ~imbers of the country are "belian" (E usideroxy­ "The area of the forests in connection with which the Re­ lon Zwagen), "merbau" (l ntsia Bakeri I. biiu carpentry, \'eneer, and other purposes a t D ehra Dun. little more tannin, in some cases a little less. ~evertheless, it Many new facts have been recorded about these woods and certainly is noteworthv that (1) the best of the mangrove tans and (2). the commonest of these tans both show themselves th~ PUIJ)Oscs for which they are best suited are g rad ually be111g discovered." · richer in this more southern latitude." T he report deals with other phases of the work than those The author describes a method he originated for curing or preventing the stiffening of leather of Rbiz.opbora and Ceriops covered ~)' the above quotations. The whole serves as a val­ bark tannages, through the use of a brew of the powdered ua_b,le ~bject lesson or precedent for the development and leaves of the "thingan" (flopea odorata). u~1hzat1on. of the forests of other tropical countries. The rc­ :·1cwer hd1e.ves that one of the best investments Latin Amer­ ican coun~ncs could make would be the establishment of a Regeneration with the assistance of ''taungya" in Burma. Pan-American Forest Research I nstitute on the general plan By H. R. B1.Axt0R1 >. '(he Indian Fore.st Ruords, Yol. XI, of that at Dchra Dun. Part 111, 19z5. Pp. 4-I. Price 2s.

The ~angroves of South Tenasserim. By J. A. PILGRIM. The "Taungya ''is the Burmese.name for ~emp.orary cult~vation !ndran ronsl Rrrords, Vol. X, Part X, 1 2 . Pp. 73 . Price on hill land. Regeneration of torest species with the assistance t\s. 15. 9 4 ' of" taungya" is similar to the well-known German system of "waldfeldbau" or cultivation of forest with field crops. This. is an account of an investigation of various products "Sowing or planting of tree species is out with the of the li ttoral forests of Southern Burma by the tannin expert ca~ried sowing of the field crop, and the tree seedlm~s are tended by trJ the Go v~ rn mcn t of India: The species which are described the' taungya' cutter as long as the field crop is on the ground. and for which reports are given of the tannin content of the TROPICAL WOODS No. 4 No. 4 TROPICAL WOODS 37 As soon as the crop has been reaped the land is taken over by previously had been the only source of power for this purpose. the Fon!$t Department and the tree seedlings are tended until " T he selection of the plant and the cost involved have the crop -is established." proved to be fully justified and the results have been an entire success . ... T he cost of working is less than has Summary of investigations on bamboos and grasses for previously been obtained by animal power and its capacity paper pulp. By \\'. RA1rr. Preface by R. S. PF.ARsos. is, of course, much greater. No logs proved to be too difficult CJ'be Indian Fore.rt Rerords (Economy series), Vol. X I , Part for extraction by this outfit .... Improvements in animal JX, 1925. Pp. 11 ; pl. 1. Price 9d. power extraction have been started by the introduction of bullock winches.... Experiments show that this type of This publication is printed on bamboo paper made at the plant may prove very economical." A steam tractor and paper pulp plant of the Forest Research Institute and gives trailer were also tried out with success in replacing bullock an account of the acti\·i ties of that plant. Some of the general carts in log transport. conclusions are : ( 1) Nature's rule in the case of grasses appears to be that the shorter the period available for Jignification during Progress report of forest administration in Coorg for gr~wth, the le~s the quantity of Jignin, but the greater its 1923- 24. By V. G. DARRJ!llGTON, Bangalore, 1925. P p. 15; resistance. 831 x 13. (2) Cmshing hamhoo is preferable to chipping as it serves T he total area of Coorg forest reserves is 520 sq. mi. to get mi of much of the air in the sap canals, thus reducing T he working plan calls for the selection system, combined the waste of pulp due to frothing. with concentrated and repeated improvement fellings and (3) Water transport of bamboo is preferable to land trans­ cleanings. Transport difficulties are a perpetual source of port, not only on account of lower cost and cleaner material, embarrassment to forest exploitation. but also because of the soaking out of a considerable amount "The continued dependence of forest finance on ~andalw'?ocl of the starchy constituents upon which boring beetles feed. gives ground for anxiety. The prese~t rate ot ext~a~t10.n Water seasoning of bamboo for structural purposes is com­ cannot be continued indefinitely. It 1s hoped that 1f 1t is monly practiced in India to protect the material from insects possible to make large sales ?i t~mher to the sleeperyool the and mildew, and bamboos thus treated can be stored without necessity for the heavy expl01tat1on of s~ndal mar d1~appea.r. damage for two years, while untreated culms may be reduced The enumeration of sandalwood and its propagat10n will to a mass of dust in nine months. continue to be a foremost point of policy. There is at present no danger of depletion." . . . . . "Attention is being given to. poss1b1ht1es ?f convertmg Report of the Forest Administration in the Bombay P resi­ our raw materials into sleepers, big and. small, 111 the _forests. dency, including Sind, for the year 1923- 24. Bombav, The matter is of interest as the local r ai~way compam,es ma.~ 1925. Pp. 221; 6 x 931. P rice is. 9d. · be prepared to accept' matti' (q'cr~nina~ta tomm:osa),. na~d1 . This report sho~v.s th.at tl~e Forest D epartment in Bombay (Lagerslrocmia /anceolata), 'thachsalu (Grewta t~luejo!ta), 1s 111 healthy cond1t1on m spite of the general trade depression etc., sleepers as well as teak; and ~.hese are precisely the which followed the short-lived post-war boom. timbers we have in great abundance. An item of spcc!al !nter~t has. to do with experiments with a tractor and sk1ddmg wmch imported from America for extraction work in place of buffaloes and elephants which 38 TROPICAL WOODS No. 4 No. 4 TROPICAL WOODS 39 Monkey apple timber from Sierra Leone. Bu/l(tin of th( In this report, the second of the series, there is a discussion Imperial Jmtilttle (London) ~!.]: 1: 8- 12, Apr. 1925. of. the economic factors surrounding the industry in the l\11ddle. East ("Far East" of the first report), with special A report on the mechanical and working properties and the emphasis on the cost of production and the extent to which commercial possibilities of the wood of dnisoph_yl/ea laurina the future potential output from the existing planted area R. Br. (Rhizophoraceae). This is a rather hard and heavy can be depended upon to meet the world"s increasing '\\ c'(..J (sp. gr. 0 .70 to 0.90; weight, 43.5 to 56 lbs. per cu. ft.), demand. with prominent rays, which on quarter-sawn material arc "The plantation rubber industrv in the Middle East seen as "large, whitish-brown, dull flakes, sometimes over originated from seeds of Hevra brasiiimJis, otherwise known one-half inch broad, the ground tissue being lustrous orange as Para ru~ber, collected in Brazil by Sir Henry Wickham in brown." T his ornamental figure is less pronounced when I 876, germinated in Kew Gardens, London, and sent from the wood 1s polished, owing to the reduction in contrast of the there to the East. Other ruhbcrs, such as Castilloa (Castilla colors of the rays and ground. " The susceptibility of the wood spp.), Ceara (Mrmibot Glflziovii), and Rambong (Ficus to bad shakes (judging from the logs forwarded) and its e(aslica) _are not dealt with in this report, as they have prac­ readiness to 'check' are serious drawbacks to its use." tically disappeared from cultivation." At ~he end of 1923, the total area of rubber plantations in Crude rubber survey, No. 1. Marketing of plantation rubber. the Middle East was 4,296,000 acres; on this area, trees ready Br J. J. B LA \'. DJI'. Trade l nf. Bui. No. 180. Sup. to Com­ for tapping in 1924, that is, that were 5 years old or older, merce Reports, Washington, Jan. 24, 1924. Pp. 24; 5~ x 9; occupied 3,8 50,000 acres. The British-owned plantations 1 map. aggregate 3,230,000 acres, or 75 per cent of the total. The . This report is the first of a series of publications to be net exports of rubber for 1924 arc estimated at nearly 38-:-,000 issued as a result of the extensive investigation of the crude­ tons of 2,240 lbs. The United States imports in 1923 were valued at $185,000,000, or about 72 per cent of the whole ;ubbe~ m?nopoly authorized by the 6-;th Congress. This world's production. mvest1gat1on was under the direction of Dr. H. ~- Whitford, "Rubber requires a warm, moist climate, with deep soil of for~e r lr Assistant Professor of Tropical Forestry in Yale good physical texture. A rainfall in 70 inches is sufficient; over University. 120 inches is consi~ered high. Sixteen hundred feet is generally T he present report. cov~rs the marketing of crude rubber regarded as the highest altitude for rubber, though there are producetl on plantations m the Far East that is south­ some good estates at a higher elevation. Provided soil condi­ eastern Asia and a~jaccnt islands. Ninety-fi~ e per ce~t of the tions arc right, a dry season of sc,·eral months does not rul~ber produced m 1922 came from plantations of that necessarily rule out a country for planting. Districts with region. winds of cyclonic force and frequent morning rains should be The n~o other reports ."".hi~h have appeared are on the ~voided. The rubber districts of the '.\fiddle East lie mainly Middle East and the Ph1lippmes, respectively. There are in a belt 10° north aml 10° south of the Equator; in this three more to follow, _one dealing with the Amazon Valley, region temperature and rainfall arc suitable and destructive one with Central America, and one with Africa. winds practically unknown. "The approved planting methods at the present time are The plantation rubber industry in the Middle East. By clean clearing and removal of nil timber and stumps; dost: I ?AV~r> M. f•1GART. Tra~e Promotion Series No. 2, U.S. Bu. planting - about 200 trees per acre - with ca.rly thinning J.orc1gn and Domestic ~o~erce, Washington, 1925. Pp. 31 7; 5~ x 9; figs. 90; bibliography; index. Price 5oc. TROPICAL WOODS No. 4 out, e\'cntualh· to 70 or 80 trees per acre; and consen ·ation of !'oil and rainf:tll on slopes by terracing, digging of pits, con­ srruction of bunds, cover crops, etc. Certain soils may not require clean clearing." There 1s as vet no proven method of developing specially high-vielding strains. Tapping systems are still in the experi­ ment;! stage. New developments in the preparation of plantation rubber (chiefly shipment in liquid form and spraying) may result in the scrapping of a great part of present plantation factory equipment. The economic life of a plantation has not been determined, but may be about JO or 35 years. Comparatively little land suitable for rubber remains in Ceylon and Java. Large areas are still available in Malaya, Sumatra, Cochin China, and Borneo. There arc compensating factors in all the rubber-producing countries, which show a trend, at the present time, toward a general equality in costs of production. Possibilities for Para rubber production in the Philippine Islands. By C. F. VANCE, A. H. MuzZALL, J. P. BusH­ ~ n1,, and \lAR K BALDWI ~ . Trade Promotion Series No. 17, l . S. Bu. Foreign and Domestic Commerce, Washington, 1925. Pp. 101; 5~ x 9; figs. 32; bibliography. Price 20c. T his report, the third of the series, treats of the present small rubber industry in the Philippines and the possibilities of itc; expansion. T he fi ndings indicate tha t the climatic conditions there are as favorable for rubber planting as are those of the \liddle :hast. T here are large areas with better soil, topograph), and accessibili ty than the lands now gener­ ally available for new plantations in Sumatra and ~1 alaya . .'\!though the present land laws operate against extensi vc plantations, nevertheless moderate-sized plantations are possible with foreign capital, and the small native planter might, with proper encouragement, become a producer of impor tant fu rther supplies. I t is suggested that the" caingin" fa rmer might be induced to grow rubber and annual crops together and thus replace shifting cultivation, so destructive to the forests, wi th permanent agriculture and land ownership.