Among the heavy woods, teak (Tectona grandis), second only to mahogany in value, is famous for its durability in tropical climates. When properly seasoned—in Burma, the tree is girdled and left standing dead on the stump for years,— it can be floated out of the forests. It is also partially resistant to insect attacks and those of teredos which is a very important property in the tropics, and is mainly used for shipbuilding and for carving, as are also the bibiri (Nectandra rodioei) or greenheart, which is the chief article of export from British Guiana, which is insect and teredo proof and is therefore especially useful for under-water construction.
Trincomali wood (Berria Ammomila) and Sal (Shore° robusta) are valuable Oriental trees for general construction, and timber from various species of gums (Eucalypti) and Kauri (Dammara Australis), which include some of the tallest trees of the world, are invaluable to Australasia. The ubiquitous tamarind (Tama rindus Indica) offers another useful wood, and in the countries about the Caribbean we find the small but exceedingly hard lignum-vita: (Guaiacum officinale) famous for its wearing qualities, the locust (Hymexcea Courbaril), the yokewood (Catalpa longissima) of very general usefulness; the ausubo (Sideroxylon fatid dissima); the candlewood, or tabanuco (Da cryodes excelsa); the lance wood (Oxandra lanceolate) very elastic and exported for shafts and fishing rods; the crab-wood (Carapa guienensis); the tropical cedar (Cedrela odor ata) made up into cigar boxes; and a host of trees. The Philippines produce the ipil (Intsta), particularly durable when cut for ties; betis (Illipe bells), and the aranga (Homalium) and liusin (Parinarium griffithia rum) valuable for salt-water construction as in wharfs.
Bamboos attaining to the height of trees, although really enormous grasses, have an in finite variety of uses ranging from food to house construction and surround the globe. The curious mangrove swamps that lie on shel tered shores are eaually common throughout the tropics, and are raided for fuel, pilings, and, in the Far East, for tanbarks and dyes. Other tannins are obtained from the twisted Pods of divi-divi (Ccesalpinia coriaria), and from Australian wattles, especially from the golden wattle (Acacia pycnantha) • and the black wattle (A. decuorrens), the latter being cultivated also in Hawaii. Cutch is a product of A. Catechu. Acacias, moreover, yield fine and durable wood, sometimes fragrant, and many. commercial gums, as gum arabic. The kair tree (A. Catechu) of India is there con sidered to be even more durable than teak, and to be uninjured by insects, while A. Koa of
Hawaii is said to be the best timber in that territory.
A common tree on tropical shores is the yellow-flowered tulip-tree, or emajaguilla (Thespesia populnea) which is a favorite shade, timber and ship-building tree in India. Its bark yields a strong fibre for tying bundles. It belongs to the mallow family famous for its fibres, which also includes the emajagua or mountain mahoe (Hibiscus elatus) that fur nishes a fibre compared to jute, used for cord age and also for millinery. Its inner bark was stripped for tying cigars and was known as °Cuba An extraordinary form of these netted bast fibres exists in the lace-bark tree (Lagetta lintearia) which can be pulled into open meshes much resembling a coarse white fabric. A white cloth is manufactured in Africa from uganda bark-cloth trees (Bra chystegia). The mulberry family is also re dundant in bark fibres, clothing and sacks being evolved from the bark of the upas tree (Anti aris toxicaria), while the finest and whitest cloth and mantles worn by Hawaiians were made from the beaten bark of Broussonetia papyrifera, also famous as a paper-stock. Simi lar lacy bark layers are found in the Australian flame tree (Sterculia acerifolia) and other species of this genus; and in nettle-trees (Laportea; Trema) of both Australia and India.
The leaves of screw-pines (Pandanus utilis) are plaited into coarse sacks, and the fibres otherwise employed, but the greatest source of basket material in the tropics and of fibre for innumerable purposes lies in the palm family, which is probably the most useful as well as picturesque of any in the equatorial zone. The foliage of the round-leaved species, when properly trimmed, becomes fans; others are torn into strips such as raffia, from Raphia, which are woven into hats, baskets and the like. The huge leaves of many serve as thatch for the slight tropical buildings. , The stringy fibre of other species, like that of Mauritia flexuosa; of the tecuma palm (Astrocaryum tucuma); or that known as piassaba fibre de rived from the extraordinary Leopoldinia piassaba and from Attalea funifera and still other species, is twisted into cordage or made into brooms and brushes. Kittool fibre comes from the jaggery palm (Caryota urens) ; and coir, woven into cocoa-matting and said to make the finest cables on account of its elasticity, lightness and durability under water, comes from the fibrous husks of the coconut (Cocos nucifera).