Chapter IV.

FORESTS AND FIBROUS PLANTS.

In the luxuriant forests that cover so many square miles of territory, Nicaragua possesses an element of incalculable wealth, which, from its accessibility to the great markets of the world, will, in the very near future, become the foundation of a great industry. Some beginning in this direction has been made in the neighborhood of Bluefields, but with the improvement of the bars at the river mouths and the opening of routes of transportation, this will expand in all directions and contribute in no small degree to the national prosperity.

The mahogany (caoba) is the monarch tree of Central American forests and is abundant in Nicaragua, growing to an enormous size, frequently measuring from 40 to 50 feet in height below the first branches and from 9 to 12 feet in diameter at the base. At a short distance the tree is a magnificent object, its giant arms stretching outward over a wide space and surmounted by a great dome of verdure, which at certain seasons of the year is colored with hues like the autumnal foliage of our northern trees. This change of color is the guide of the mahogany hunter, whose business it is to find the trees in the dense forest and point them out to the choppers. He climbs the highest tree he can find, detects the spot where they are growing, cuts a way to them through the undergrowth and carves on the trunk his employer's mark. This magnificent wood has long been appreciated for its beauty by cabinet-makers and for decorative work, but its value for ship

building and other similar purposes has never been estimated as highly as it deserves. It is in all respects better than oak. It shrinks less, warps and twists less, is more buoyant, holds glue better, and weighs less. (The average weight of mahogany is 44 pounds per cubic foot, while oak weighs 55.) Mahogany is slow to take fire, is free from dry rot and the effects of acids, and does not suffer from any change of temperature. The non-corrosion of metals is a very valuable property in this wood. A decoction of it gives hardly any chemical reaction, and has no effect on iron or copper. The tree can be cut at anytime during the year, but it is generally felled in the dry season, between October and May. When the tree is down, the branches are lopped off and the logs squared. They are then drawn by oxen to the nearest water course, where they are rafted and allowed to remain until the high water of June or July, when they are floated to the port of shipment. When railroads penetrate the forest districts, vast quantities of this timber that are now remote from the streams will become available.

The tree second only to mahogany in beauty and value is the cedar (cedro), so well known from its extensive use for pencils and cigar boxes. In Nicaragua, it is abundant, grows to an immense size, and produces wood of the finest quality. It can be worked as easily as pine, and when polished is as beautiful as mahogany, while its aromatic odor preserves it from the attack of insects. It also, like the common red cedar of the North, is very durable, and is not liable to rot when exposed to damp.

The wild cotton tree (ceiba) is one of the grandest forest trees. It grows rapidly and to great size; trunks of 70 feet in length and 14 in diameter near the root are not uncommon. The wood is very useful for building purposes; it is lighter than pine but perhaps not quite so durable, and can be worked very easily. It is largely used by natives to make canoes, or bongos, many of them of large size, which are hollowed out from a single log; also for

making barrels. It produces large pods, filled with a downy substance like floss silk; the shortness of the fiber renders it unavailable for textile purposes, but it is frequently used for stuffing cushions, pillows, etc., and is doubtless available for other economic

uses.

The guanacaste is a noble tree, notable for the immense size it attains and the enormous spread of its branches. It produces fine, durable lumber, and large quantities of gum exude from it, which might be made available as an article of commerce.

The jenisero, a tree of the acacia family, also reaches great proportions and produces an excellent wood, which is unknown to commerce, but occupying a middle place between mahogany and cedar, with somewhat of the good qualities of both.

The guayacan (lignum-vita). The wood of this tree is too well known to need description; there are two varieties, black and green, both abundant in the forests of Nicaragua.

The granadillo, rourón, and ñámbaro (rosewood) are all beautiful and valuable cabinet woods, which grow abundantly. The nispero, which produces one of the best tropical fruits, also furnishes a most valuable wood which, for cabinet uses, rivals mahogany in beauty. It is hard and heavy; under water it becomes as hard as iron, and will last almost indefinitely. The madroño produces a very fine grained wood, suitable for turning, and would be very useful as a substitute for boxwood, for wood engraving and other purposes.

The tree called madre de cacao (mother of cacao), which is used extensively to shade the cacao plants, does not grow to a large size, but produces a wood called by the natives madera negra (black wood), which is useful for foundations, posts, etc., as it is almost indestructible when under ground.

The guapinol produces a fruit from which an edible substance is made and a gum equal in every respect to copal. Its wood is also very beautiful and useful either for construction or cabinet purposes.