4. Laurel (Spanish), Louro (Brazil).—Scat tered throughout the moist regions of the Amer ican tropics, tinder the above names, are a group of woods belonging to the genus Cordia (Borraginacece). They are brownish in color, strong and easily worked, hence are much used for certain classes of construction work. The woods under these names should not be con fused with the members of the Lauracece family mentioned above.
5. Balsa wood or cork-wood.— Scattered throughout the damp American tropics, usually under the name of balsa, are a group of very light woods (about eight pounds to the cubic foot) that have recently been much 'used in the making of buoys for life boats and are now being used for lining refrigerators. They are usually referred to Ochroma lagopus Sw. but it appears now that several species of this genus produce this wood.
6. Kapoc; Cotton tree; Ceiba (Spanish); Samatima (Brazil)--The kapoc of commerce is the cotton from the fruits of a tree (Ceiba pentandra Gann., family Bombacacce), and is exported mainly from planted trees in Java, and is used extensively in stuffing mattresses. The tree, however, is a native of the moist American tropics and is one of the largest in the forests. The wood is very soft and at present is very little used.
7. Ebony.— The true ebonies cif commerce come usually from certain species of the genus Diospyros, the persimmon family- (Ebenacece). The trees that produce this wood are found very scattered throughout the tropical forests of both hemispheres. The woods are very hard and dense and generally black or brown streaked with black. The growing scarcity of true ebony has led to the introduction of many substitutes belonging to species of other families.
8. Fustic, Mora (Latin America).— Fustic is the market name of perhaps the most important dyewood of commerce. It is mainly exported from the Caribbean Sea region of the American tropics. It is the product of Chlorophora tinc toria L. Gaud. of the family Moracecz. It is used in dyeing shades of yellow, brown, olive and green.
9. Lignum Vita.; Guayacan (Spanish).— This is usually the product of various species of Guiacum officinale L. and Guiacum sanctum L., although other species of Guiacum, Bulnesia arborea Engl. (locally known from Venezuela as vera), and Bulnesia sarmienti Lorentz (known from Argentina as palo santo), fur nish some of the wood. They all belong to the family Zygophyllarece. The wood reaches the markets of the world principally from the West Indies, Northern South America and Central America. The wood is much used in certain
parts of shipbuilding esnecially in stern bush ings and for bowling balls, bed castors, pulleys. etc. It is extremely hard and heavy and oily.
IX. The Mangrove Family (Rhizopho raceer).—The mangrove forests of the tidal swamps of tropical regions, composed mostly of species of the above family, are literally for ests of the sea. Although found best developed in the estuaries of large rivers in the eastern tropics, they are also present in the western hemisphere. Here one species (Rhicophora mangle L.) is found, while in the Eastern trop ics a number of species of this genus, and of the genera Bruguiero and Ceriops, form the main composition of the forests. While there are many local names for the different species in the eastern hemisphere, the gen eral local name in the Philippines and Spanish America is mangle, and in Brazil, mangue. In proportion to the area they cover they are locally the most valuable of all the forests for they are the main source of fire wood and tannin extracts. The latter, espe cially from Borneo, is exported in considerable quantities.
X. The Pine Family the woods of the pine family are marketed mainly from temperate zones, mostly the North Temperate, yet the highlands of the tropics and subtropics contain a number of ((pines" that are used locally and are coming to be exported to some extent. Many of the true pines (Pinus) and other genera of the western part of the United States extend into Mexico and in some parts form extensive forests. Pine in mer chantable quantities is also found in parts of the West Indies, and in Guatemala and Hon duras of Central America. Preparations are already being made to exploit these forests.
India, Burma and the Philippines contain true pines that are used locally. The lower slopes of the Himalayas in India also contain other genera of the family that are quite extensively utilized. In the semi-tropical regions of the Brazilian states of Parana, Santa Catharina and Rio Grande del Sul, and in the state of Mis siones (Argentina), occur very large areas of the Parana pine (44 raucaria brazitiona A. Rich.). There forests contain about 200 bil lion board feet of standing timber and are playing an important role in furnishing soft wood lumber to the adjoining industrial regions of southern Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay.