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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
BULLETIN No. 354

Contribution from the Forest Service
HENRY S. GRAVES, Forester

[ Washington, D.C. C(O etaber 20, 2906 |
FORESTS OF PORTO RICO

PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE
AND THEIR PHYSICAL AND ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT

By
LOUIS S. MURPHY, Forest Examiner

In Cooperation with the Government of Porto Rico Board of Commissioners
of Agriculture. John A. Wilson, Temporary President,
Succeeded by Tulio Larrinaga, President

CONTENTS

. Page Page
Muitradlietlony oiie's) oes! 6 ee lee 1 | The Forest—Continued

Physical and Economic Features: Forest Formations . ......- 28
Geographic Situation . . .... 2 Forest Influences. .. +... . 86
Physiography and Soils ..... 8 Commercial Aspects ...... 89
WITREDAUS on eS ise 6! wes SP Ls y8 § 7 Forest Industries. ....... 44
MOARINEMAES th atd eNOS als) oe Met he’ie: sa 7 Forest Products ......-+-+ 46
Land Distribution, Utilization, and Forest Problems . ..... . - 46

} PORMSSONE). 5) cy oes s wehacswis's 9 Insular Forest Policy ...... O61
MICRON ci alleys" 60 ce eek 16 The Luquillo National Fore: lorie ae
Transportation. . ..... - - 18 | Appendices:

The Forest: I. Trees of Porto Rico ..... 56

Forested Condition and Distribution 21 Il. Bibliography . . . © » » » « 98

WASHINGTON
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
1916

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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Contribution from the Forest Service,
HENRY S. GRAVES, Forester

Washington, D. C. W October 20, 1916

FORESTS OF PORTO RICO; PAST, PRESENT, AND
FUTURE, AND THEIR PHYSICAL AND ECONOMIC
ENVIRONMENT.

By Louis 8! Muneny, Forest Examiner.

CONTENTS.
Page. Page

TEAC tbe htt a 2 Se ee 1 | The Forest—Continued.

Physical and economic features : Forest formations............-....------ 23
Geographic situation. -......-.....------- 2 Mores wiiluvences |). nos. 2 sc. see ss 36
Physiography and soils............--.--- 3 Commercial aspects. 3: 4. -.2 22.5 get2 39
PIV ARTIAE Oe aoe se eee nS owe okt o kicks 7 Horest INGUStriess sc. 2 sssee) Le tee Eee 44
QUIET ee SS ele Ser Beene oe 7 FOReStPLOdUCES =) f5 22 =o cies le sa pee 46
Land distribution, utilization, and taxa- HOROSE DEO DIOMIS ee se ae ns ee oS oe ee 46

TAQ SEM eye aia eltie cals Se ee tes estas ae 9 insular forest poliey~<- 2.7 See 0 se eke 51
Popilanioniees ee 23:2. js aude bec citente 16 The Luquillo National Forest. ........-- 55
SPEANSPONbATION.S 4 S222. 8 See deme sae de 18 | Appendices:

The Forest: I. Trees of Porto Rico.......-- se tot see 56

Forested condition and distribution. .... 21 ie Bibliography: 2c 22G.2 cheese eeeee 98
“ INTRODUCTION.

Every year the people of Porto Rico consume over three times as
much wood as the forests of the island produce. Great quantities
of timber have been cut or burned by the ‘‘conuco”’ to make a clear-
ing, which is abandoned after a few years and becomes a mere waste.
The charcoal burner is still at work destroying the young growth
needed to keep up the forest. Failure to put an end to the destruc-
tive practices that are rapidly reducing the forests or to provide the
means of developing and fully utilizing them in a scientific manner
has already brought about a shortage in the domestic supply of wood
and consequent hardship to the people. It is the object of this bulle-
tint to give a complete account of the trees and the forests of Porto

1 Under an informal cooperative arrangement between the Secretary of the U. S. Department of Agri-
culture and the Governor and Board of Commissioners of Agriculture of Porto Rico the author spent six
months, from November, 1911, to May, 1912, on the island, making a first-hand study of its forest problems.
A preliminary report of his findings and recommendations regarding these problems was published in the
“First Report of the Board of Commissioners of Agriculture of Porto Rico,” San Juan, Jan. 1, 1912, pp.
48-60. In this report it was recommended that the authority of the board be extended to cover the man-
agement of the forests; and that an insular forest service, with a qualified and experienced forester in charge,
be established to carry on the work. This service could be established at a maximum cost of $20,000 and
Maintained for $8,000 or less a year, and would effect an annual gain to the island through the scientific
Management of its forests amounting to over $350,000.

21871°—Bull. 354—16—1

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2 BULLETIN 354, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. V8

Rico, to show their value to the people of the island, and to suggest
the means of improving them and making them permanent.!

PHYSICAL AND ECONOMIC FEATURES.

Porto Rico is very sparsely wooded. The impenetrable forest
jungles, commonly associated with the West Indies, are so scarce
that one may cross and recross the island without seeing them, for,
with the exception of those in the Sierra de Luquillo, they are tucked
away in the more inaccessible places into which few except the
‘‘jibaro” ever penetrate. The island is, however, by no means
devoid of wood growth. Around almost every habitation there are
groups of trees, such as the bread fruit and mango; and numerous
scattered single trees, mostly palms, dot the open landscape. The
protective cover of shade trees of the coffee plantations gives a
decidedly forested appearance to many localities.

Porto Rico presents an unusual combination of physical and eco-
nomic conditions. The insular and geographic position of the coun-
try, its diminutive size, its restricted area of level lands, and its
density of population, to mention but a few of many influences, have
occasioned unusual demands on the forests. The same cycle of
change is found here as is recorded by civilization everywhere—a
profligate waste and despoliation of the bounties of nature, followed
by an acute need for what has been destroyed.

GEOGRAPHIC SITUATION.

Porto Rico is the easternmost and smallest of the Greater Antilles
and is well within the Tropics. It issituated between latitudes 17° 54’
and 18° 30’ north and longitude 65° 35’ and 67° 15’ west, occupying a
position about midway in the chain of islands connecting Florida and
Venezuela and separating the Carribean Sea from the Atlantic Ocean.
It is about 450 miles east and slightly south of the nearest point of
Cuba; about 500 miles north of the nearest point of Venezuela; about
1,000 miles from Colon (Panama); about 1,500 miles from New York
and New Orleans, and a little more than twice that distance from
Gibraltar.

1 In addition to new material the present bulletin revises and brings up to date two previous bulletins
of the Forest Service: ‘Notes on the Forest Conditions of Porto Rico,” by Robert T. Hill, Bulletin 25,
Division of Forestry, Department of Agriculture, 1899, and “The Luquillo Forest Reserve, Porto Rico,”
by John C. Gifford, Bulletin 54, Bureau of Forestry, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, 1905.

It is appropriate to acknowledge in this place the author’s indebtedness to the works enumerated above
and in the bibliography. Special acknowledgment is due to the officers and employees of the Insular
Government and of the Porto Rico Agricultural Experiment Station (U.S. Dept. of Agriculture) for giv-
ing the author access to official unpublished data and personal assistance in locating and getting to the
various places visited; to Mr. Paul Buffault, Conservateur, Administration des Eaux et Forets, France,
and Mr. Thomas R. Wallace, American consul at Fort de France, for valuable information concerning forest
conditions and legislation in Martinique (French West Indies); also to the Office of Acclimatization and
Adaption of Crop Plants of the Bureau of Plant Industry, Department of Agriculture, for the use of photo-
graphs comprising Plates I, IV, and VI, fig. 1.

FORESTS OF PORTO RICO. 3

Porto Rico has a total area of 3,435 square miles (2,198,400 acres).!
The main island is 3,349 square miles in extent, and the islands of
Vieques, Mona, Culebra, and other adjacent smaller islands within
its governmental jurisdiction are 51.5, 19.5, 11, and 4 square miles,
respectively. The territory as a whole is thus about five-sixths
the size of Jamaica or the island of Hawaii, seven-tenths the size of
Connecticut, and four times as large as Long Island.

In general outline it is almost a geometrically regular parallelogram,
approximately 100 miles long and 35 miles wide. Its longest dimen-
sion lies east and west. The sea line is nearly straight and the coast
is usually low, especially on the southern side, although there are a
few headlands. The only protected harbors are San Juan on the
north coast, Guanica and Jobos on the south, and Ensenada Honda on
the southeast. The
remaining ports, such
as Arecibo, Mayaguez,
and Ponce, are scarcely
more than open road-
steads.

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PHYSIOGRAPHY AND SOILS.

Porto Rico and the
other islands of the
Antilles and Central
America and northern
South America were

formerly, according to
ge ol O gists, a unit e d an d Fic. 1.—Porto Rico Sree: airs Connecticut and Long
distinct continental

land mass—the Antillean continent. Then came a great subsidence,
which left only the tops of the mountains above water. After a while
the ocean floor was again thrust up, the old continent reappearing.
The sediment of which it was composed, covered in the meantime
by deep-sea muds and chalks, was then folded into huge mountain
systems, individual peaks reaching as high as 20,000 feet above sea
level. Another but lesser subsidence of the Antillean continent ac-
complished its breaking up into the present island groups, Jamaica
being the first to be isolated, then Cuba, and finally Porto Rico and
Haiti.

There are at the present time three main physiographic regions of

the island of Porto Rico—a central mountainous core of volcanic
Era ase De a OO I a a

1 “Areas ofthe United States, the States and Territories,’’ Bulletin 302, U.S. Geological Survey. This
area is the one officially determined upon by the U. S. Geological Survey, the General Land Office, and the
Bureau of the Census, and is based on computation from the U.S. Coast Survey-map. The detailed

figures concerning the areas of the smaller islands were obtained directly from the Office ofthe U.S. Coast
and Geodetic Survey. :

4 BULLETIN 354, U. 8S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

origin, an elevated area of coral limestone (former marginal marine
deposits) surrounding the mountainous portion, and the coastal plain.

CENTRAL MOUNTAIN AREA.

The central mountain area occupies by far the largest portion of the
island. Viewed from the sea it presents a rugged and serrated aspect;
numerous peaks and summits, with no definite crest line, rise from a
general mass, which has been cut by erosion into lateral ridges, sepa-
rated by deep, steep-sided gorges. The drainage divide is approxi-
mately parallel to the southern coast and about 10 or 15 miles distant
from it. The region thus has a long and relatively gentle inclination
toward the north coast, but falls off rather abruptly toward the south.

The Sierra de Luquillo,' the most easterly of the three ranges making
up the central mountain mass, is surrounded by low coastal plains, and
is completely isolated, except for a low water-divide which crosses near
Las Piedras to the Sierra de Cayey. By thus completely dominating
the landscape it gains the appearance of being very high; and one of
its peaks, El Yunque (the anvil), has been credited with being the
highest eminence on the island. According to the most recent
determinations ? this peak reaches an altitude of 1,062 meters (3,483
feet). The east peak has an elevation of 1,054 meters (3,457 feet)
and the west peak 1,020 meters (3,346 feet). These higher peaks are
flanked by numerous lateral ridges which extend in every direction.
The valleys, known as ‘‘quebrados,”’ are deep and gorgelike and are’
separated one from another by very narrow, almost knife-edged
ridges, ‘‘cuchillas.” Falls, cascades, and rapids are conspicuous
features of the drainage system here. This range supports the only
large tract of virgin forest growth on the island.

The remaining mountain mass forms an uninterrupted expanse of
broken uplands. The main crest line extends from Humacao on the east
through Aibonito and Adjuntas to within a short distance of Maya-
guez on the west coast. The portion east of Aibonito is known as the
‘Sierra de Cayey;” that to the west, the ‘‘Cordillera Central.” This
region has an average elevation of about 2,500 feet, above which the
higher peaks project irregularly, a few to an elevation of more than
3,500 feet. The thirteen highest peaks on the island are in the ‘‘Cor-
dillera Central.’’ The highest of these (not named on the Coast and
Geodetic Survey chart) situated about due south of Jayuya, has an

1 Herrera (see Bibliography) describes the Luquillo as follows: ‘‘Ten leagues East-South-East from the
City of Puerto Rico is a very high and great Mountain, with three Breaks on it, call’d del Luquillo, or of
the little Madman, on Account of a revolted Indian {that withdrew to it. The highest Point of it is
call’d Furzidi, a Name given by the Blacks, signifying a place always clouded, and the third is call’d of the
Holy Ghost.”

2U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey Chart 920, issued July, 1910.

3 These two together appear to be given the name “ El Cacique” (The Indian Chief) by Gifford. He also

names the round mountain to the west “El Toro” (The Bull), and the mountain next to it on the south
**1 Carnero”’ (The Sheep).

Bul. 354, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. PLATE I.

F—I9769A

OPENING IN VIRGIN STAND OF MIXED TROPICAL HARDWOODS. RAIN-FOREST FORMATION
NEAR LA ISOLINA (ARECIBO).

FORESTS OF PORTO RICO. 5

elevation of 1,341 meters (4,398 feet), while ‘‘Mt. Guilarte,’’ com-
monly considered second to El Yunque, is 1,204 meters (3,950 feet).

The many lateral ridges which diverge from the central mountains,
mostly from the north side, are commonly very steep-sided and nar-
row-crested, and the valleys are deep, V-shaped, and almost devoid
of level bottom land. Rock outcrop is generally infrequent, except
toward the outer portion, where the ridges are often capped with hard
limestone.

The central mountains are composed largely of black or other dark-
colored igneous rocks, which occur in the form of tufls, conglomerates,
silts, and an occasional dike of diorite. Their volcanic forms have
been destroyed by erosion. The material thus worked over into sedi-
ment in prehistoric ages now occurs in well-defined strata. Two rela-
tively inconspicuous limestone formations also occur, one black, bi-
tuminous, and shaly, and the other light gray and crystalline.

As a result of the almost uninterrupted action of an abundant pre-
cipitation, a high relative humidity, and a warm temperature, rock
weathering at the higher elevations is more rapid than erosion, as
shown by a soil mantle of unusual depth and almost no bare indurated
rock here. The characteristic soils are deep, reddish clay loams and
tenacious red clays. So cohesive, unctuous, and compact are these
soils that they are able to maintain themselves in an almost vertical
position. Cultivation, in consequence, is in many places carried on
to the very tops of the ridges and on the steepest slopes, yet evidence
of excessive erosion and ‘landslides is surprisingly inconspicuous.
At the lower elevations the sandy character of the soil and the more
common occurrence of outcrop show that the rate of rock erosion has
exceeded that of weathering.

THE CORAL LIMESTONE BELT.

The belt of coral limestone is several miles wide in places and on its
interior border overlaps the igneous rocks. This area is of sedimen-
tary origin. Where rock solution has been the most active agent of
decay, it retains the general form of a table-land. Where erosion
has been the most active only isolated conical hills remain. In
certain parts of the island the limestone extends directly to the
water’s edge, where it terminates in steep scarps, often 100 feet or
more in height, notably on the south coast west of Ponce and on the
north coast west of Quebradillas. Elsewhere on the island the rem-
nants of this formation stand as steep, sloping, solitary mounds or
domes, which rise singly or in chains above the coastal plain.

Along the junction of the central mountains and the limestone belt
is a distinct line of weakness marking the former shore line. Strong
valley lines are developed there, separating the two physiographic
regions. These ‘‘parting valleys” are especially well developed on the

6 BULLETIN 354, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE,

south side of the island in the valley of the Guanajibos at Sabana
Grande, and on the north side at the junction of the Don Alonso (or
Lim6én) and Arecibo Rivers.

An uninterrupted block of limestone formation, known in places as
the Pepino Hills, occurs along the north side of the island from Ciales
nearly to Aguadilla, and is some 6 to 10 miles wide from north to
south. It offers a marked contrast to the low rounded limestone
hills which flank it to the north, because of its greater elevation,
rough, angular topography, pitlike valleys, bare rock outcrops of
chalky whiteness, and subterranean drainage. Wherever the large
rivers, such as the Rio Grande de Arecibo and the Manati, cross this
area they have cut deep canyonlike valleys whose sheer cliffs of con-

siderable height occasionally rise directly from the water’s edge.

Otherwise the area is strikingly devoid of surface drainage features.
The hills are very closely packed together, their connecting ridges
hardly more than rocky septums separating the disconnected pitlike
valleys. The steep-sided depressions show, on a tremendous scale,
to what an enormous extent rock solution takes place under tropical
conditions.

The region, if viewed from above, would look like a honeycomb.
Not infrequently the ‘‘sinks” are 100 feet and occasionally 200 feet
or more deep. The larger pits sometimes contain an acre or more of
bottom with a very fertile soil, commonly under cultivation to such
crops as coffee, bananas, and ground provisions. The bottoms of
others are occupied by bogs or small lakes. The crags and summits
are almost invariably wooded. Caves, which mark the early stages
of pit formation, are common.

Travel here is extremely difficult. Roads are out of the question
and the trails are not numerous and are extremely rough. There is
no alternative hut to cross the pits in succession, descending to the
bottom of one and then climbing to the rim of the next almost
straight down and straight up again.

THE COASTAL PLAIN.

The sandy ridge fronting the coast forms a barrier between the sea
and a narrow low-lying area scarcely above tidewater level, and
partly marine and partly alluvial in origin. On the north side of
the island there are many swamps and lagoons covered with a thick
growth of mangrove bushes. The most typical are the Cafio y
Laguna de Tiburones between Arecibo and Barceloneta, Laguna del
Tortuguero north and east of Manati, and the string of lagoons east
of and connected with the harbor of San Juan. On the south side,

1 The term “pepino’’ (cucumber) undoubtedly refers to the appearance of the elongated mammillary
summits ofthe hills. Anequally characteristic term, “cockpits,”’ applied to a similar formation in Jamaica
is descriptive of the valley bottoms.

a a

FORESTS OF PORTO RICO. |

the mangrove is only slightly developed, but there are in places
extensive saline plains too low and wet for cultivation, where rank
grasses, a few scattered acacias, or low, succulent, salty herbs con-
stitute the only vegetation. 3

The coastal plain proper is elevated but a few feet above the sea,
and has but a slight gradient toward the mountains. It terminates
rather abruptly at the foothills, except in the valleys of the larger
rivers. These plains are entirely sedimentary, having been laid
down when the island stood at a somewhat lower level than now.

The coast-plain hills are isolated, low, and dome-shaped. Some
have been nearly buried by the alluvial deposits of the rivers; others
rise 100 feet or more above the level of the plain.

The soil, except on the hills, is largely a fine, rich alluvium, sandy
in places, and is almost entirely under cultivation or in pasture.

DRAINAGE.

It would be difficult to find another country of its size so well
watered as Porto Rico. Within the mountainous area are many
swift-flowing streams which have cut for themselves deep, steep-
sided valleys. In their upper courses they traverse steep, angular
gorges, where numerous cascades and cataracts are to be found, par-
ticularly in the Sierra de Luquillo. The peculiarity of the drainage
system where it passes from the central mountain into the limestone
region has already been described. Within the coastal plain the
valleys are broad, with considerable areas of bottom land through
whcih the rivers pursue a meandering course. The streams flowing
north from the main divide are much more numerous and longer than
those from the south side, and they likewise carry a much greater
and more constant volume of water. The island is reported to have
upward of 1,300 named streams, of which the Rio de la Plata is con-
sidered the longest, about 45 miles. None of the rivers is naviga-
ble, except for small boats, and then chiefly in their tidal reaches.
They, nevertheless, are of tremendous importance as a source of
domestic water supply, and their power possibilities are also very

considerable.
CLIMATE.

WINDS.

Though Porto Rico is well within the Tropics, it has an equable
and comfortable climate, for the modifying influences of the ocean
are accentuated by its position in the direct path of the North
Atlantic trade winds. These counteract the enervating effect of the
high temperature and humidity, the occasional periods of sultry and
oppressive weather invariably occurring when they fail. They vary
in direction from northeast to southeast, usually coming from east or
east-southeast. Their average velocity from month to month is

8 BULLETIN 354, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

remarkably constant, rarely varying more than a mile from the
annual average of 11 miles per hour, excepting in July, when the
velocity rises to 13 miles, and in October and November, when it falls
to 8 or 9 miles.

Hurricanes whose centers pass over the island are rare; in the past
40 years there have been but three, the most recent as well as the
most destructive being that of August 8, 1899. The recorded
storms of this character for the entire West Indies average about one
a year and occur chiefly durmg the months of August, September,
and October.

TEMPERATURE.

The temperature throughout the year is uniform. The records of
the United States Weather Bureau for a period of more than 10 years
show a combined average annual temperature for over 40 stations in
the island of 76°; during the coolest months of winter the average
is 73° and during the warmest months of summer 79°. The-daily
range is much more than the seasonal range; thus at San Juan the
difference between the afternoon and early morning temperature is
10° or 11° and at an inland station may be as much as 20° or 25°.
In the afternoon the temperatures along the coast rise to an average
of 84° in the winter months and to 89° in the summer months and in
the early morning fall to 66° and 73°. In the hills and mountains of
the interior the average daily maximum is about 81° in winter and
87° in summer, while the corresponding minima are 61° and 68°,
respectively.

The extremes of temperature recorded during the past 10 years do
not differ greatly in different portions of the island. At the more
elevated stations the maximum range is between 90° and 95° and
along the coast and in the valleys 95° and 100°. The extreme maxi-
mum has reached 100° only three times during the 10 years, at one
time reaching 103°. The minimum temperatures range between 50°
and 55° except for stations on the immediate coast, where the tem-
perature seldom goes below 60°. The lowest recorded temperature
is 43°, and it is probable that on the highest elevations it goes some-
what lower. Iti is, however, extremely doubtful if it ever approaches
very near to the frost line.

RAINFALL.

The average annual rainfall is much more variable than the
temperature. The average for a 12-year period from 44 stations
shows 77.30 inches; for the year 1901 it was 93.72, and for 1907 but.
64.18. The gecgraphic distribution of rainfall shows a still wider
variation. The heaviest is recorded in the Sierra de Luquillo, which
is exposed to the full sweep of the moisture-laden trade winds. The
average annual rainfall here exceeds 135 inches, with a maximum

FORESTS OF PORTO RICO. 9

_ record in 1901 of 169 inches. There are two other well-defined areas
where the average annual rainfall exceeds 100 inches, namely, the
peaks about Adjuntas and the mountains surrounding Las Marias and
Maricao, San Sebastian, and Lares, in the central and west-central
portions, respectively, of the Cordillera Central. These centers of
heavy precipitation are likewise centers of heavy foréstation. Except
for the Luquillos, the forests are artificial ones, being largely coffee
plantations, yet their influence on climate is in all respects similar.

While abundant rain and the absence of protracted droughts char-
acterize conditions on the north side of the island, the reverse obtains
to the south, where several months may elapse with little or no rain.
Here precipitation is not only scanty but unevenly distributed through-
out the year. The average annual rainfall for the stations along and
near the south coast is 45 inches. The minimum average annual
rainfall of 37 inches is recorded at Guanica, while 21 inches in 1907 is
the absolute recorded minimum of recent years.

The rainfall on the whole island increases from 11 imches in the
winter months (February being the lightest) to 16 inches during the
spring, 23 inches during the summer, and 26 inches during the fall.
The maximum generally occurs in September on the east coast, in
October along the south coast, and in November along the north coast.
The rainfall is largely in the form of showers, which, although fre-
quently very heavy, seldom last over 10 or 12 minutes. Rain for a
day or more at a time is comparatively rare.

Rain falls practically every day im the year over some portion of
the island, except possibly a few days in February. For the island as
a whole the average number of days in a year with rain is 169, the
minimum and maximum frequency are 28 at Guanica on the south
coast in 1907 and 341 in the Sierra de Luquillo in 1900, respectively.
The average humidity for the island is about 78 per cent, the minimum
in the driest month, 75 per cent, and the maximum in the most humid,
81 per cent.

LAND DISTRIBUTION, UTILIZATION, AND TAXATION.

Lanp DIstTRIBUTION.

The land policy of Spain appears to have been conceived in a spirit
of great liberality. It not only provided for the usual extensive
grants to the grandee and to the soldier of fortune, but also offered
encouragement to the bona fide settler of small means. The first law,
promulgated by Ferdimand V under date of June 18, 1513, a scant
20 years after the discovery of America, granted settlers free title to
holdings of something in excess of 170 acres, upon compliance with

1“VLaw First”? (See Recapitulation de Leyes de los Reinos de las Indias, Book 4th, Title 12th).
Translation by Bureau of Insular Affairs, War Department.

10 BULLETIN 354, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

certain requirements concerning residence and cultivation, resembling
very strikingly our own national homestead act, passed 350 years

later.
GOVERNMENT LANDS.

By 1830 the Government had disposed of approximately half of the
island, and between that time and the Spanish-American War had
given away about nine-tenths of the remainder. The rest of the
Crown lands, which, by the Treaty of Paris, December 10, 1898, became
the property of the United States, amount, as nearly as can be ascer-
tained from the records,! to 147,971 acres, of which 7,400 acres are
classified as swamp land. These lands, except a small amount
reserved for Federal use, were ceded by act of Congress approved
July 1, 1902, to the people of Porto Rico. Some 3,000 acres in addi-
tion have reverted to the local government in default of taxes. Thus
the entire public domain, including Federal and insular lands, amounts
to less than 151,000 acres.

By far the greater part of this land lies in the mountains. Except
for a few of the more accessible tracts, comparatively little is known
about its present condition, or even its location, since in only one or
two instances has any survey or detailed examination been made.
General information gathered in the vicinity of some of the larger
tracts indicates that only a very small amount of this land supports a
productive forest, except a tract in the Sierra de Luquillo. The
greater part is at present an idle, unproductive, grass or brush covered
waste. In some few instances it is so situated as to be suitable for
coffee culture, but in the aggregate it is of slight agricultural value,
though it has a large potential value as forest land.

PRIVATELY OWNED LANDS.

Figure 2? indicates for the years 1828, 1900, and 1912 the compara-
tive areas of public lands and of private lands under cultivation to
different crops, under pasture, and under forests.

In 1828, while slightly over half of the island was privately owned,
scarcely more than 3 per cent was under cultivation. Agriculture
was then carried on largely for the production of home staples. Thus
plantains, Indian corn, and rice covered more than half, while the
commercial agricultural staples of to-day, cane, coffee, and tobacco,
together covered scarcely one-fourth of the whole cultivated area.
Between 1828 and the end of the Spanish régime the area under culti-
vation had increased to about 13 per cent. Nearly half of this was
in coffee, and somewhat more than one-fifth of the remainder in cane.

1 See report of the Commissioner of the Interior for Porto Rico, 1909.

2 Compiled from Flinter’s “Porto Rico,’’ containing the official returns for 1828, from Knapp’s “ Agri-
cultural Resources and Capabilities of Porto Rico,” and the summary of tax assessment (corrected to
Aug. 10, 1912) in Report of the Governor of Perto Rico, 1912.

FORESTS OF PORTO RICO. 11

During the same period the area of so-called pasture land had more
than doubled, so that it exceeded in extent all the other land classes

combined, and. privately owned forests
had increased slightly. Private owner-
ship was thus almost doubled, having
absorbed nearly 95 per cent of the
total land area. -

During the period of American occu-
pation the cultivated area has nearly
doubled, amounting in 1912 to 23.28
per cent. Of this area cane covers a
trifle more than two-fifths, coffee more
than one-third, minor fruits about a
fifth, and tobacco, coconuts, oranges,
and, pineapples, in the order named,
the remainder. This agricultural ex-
pansion has been carried on about

equally at the expense of “pasture’’

and “timber and brush” lands. On
account, however, of the much greater
area of pasture lands, these were rela-
tively little affected in the aggregate,
while the forest lands were reduced
nearly two-fifths.

There is no information available
showing the average-size holdings in
the various classes of property or in
what proportion the economically de-
veloped lands are held in conjunc-
tion with the waste and forested
lands. The data upon which the dia-
grams (fig. 3) are based most nearly
approach this information by showing
for the assessment area analyzed the
proportion of the total, “by num-
ber” and “‘by area’ of the farms in
certain acreage groups.

1 This figure differs from the one (56 per cent) given
in the Register of Porto Rico for 1910, which also varies
from the so-called ‘improved area’’ (75.3 per cent) given
by the Thirteenth Decennial Census (1910). Both of these

percentages have included in them a considerable area
of ‘so-called ‘“‘pasture’’ land. The grass land in the

aye?”
PUBLIC LAND [__}

BERRA CULTIVATED LAND
PRIVATE ) EscJ PASTURE
LAND )f£==JTIMBER AND BRUSH

UNCLASSIFIED
(i912 ONLY)

Fig. 2.—Land in Porto Rico. The changes
from public to private ownership and the
main uses to which it is put.

low country might be considered ‘“‘improved,’’ because it is used part of the time as pasture and
is then plowed up and put into cane, but it is impossible to conceive of more than one-fourth to one-
half of the total of land classified as “pasture’’ as being thus alternately cropped and pastured. This
would make the “improved’’ acreage aggregate 35 to 50 per cent of the total territorial domain. The
remaining one-half to three-fourths of the land classed as.‘ pasture’’ could more properly be classed as waste
land or ‘‘ruinate,’”-as is done in Jamaica and elsewhere, because it serves no productive economic use.

12 BULLETIN 354, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

We find 91.34 per cent of all farms have an area less than 100
acres each, which would indicate a wide popular distribution of the
land in small holdings. But the average area per farm in this group
is only 21.4 acres; so that by far the greater number of individual
holdings must be much less than 20 acres.’ It is not surprising,
therefore, that the remaining 8.66 per cent of the whole number of
farms covers 55 per cent of the total farm area, or that these farms |
have an average of about 280 acres per farm.

With 93 per cent of the land in private ownership, the success of
any reforestation work attempted by the Government will depend
in a large measure upon the cooperation which can be secured from
the private landowner. The conditions are the most unfavorable in
the mountain region, where there is a considerable proportion of

Number of farms - Per cent
Acreage Groups . O 1/0 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 _/00

1 t0 100 Acres (91.34%) GAG ee
Z ae ee es

10/ to200Acres(5.02C%)A\| |
20! to 300 Acres ( /. eee ) tesla

and over

Acreage ee 10 “20. 30 40 50 60 70 60 90 /00
110100 Acres (44.722) V7 ZY, VLA CE We BE EA
101 t0200Acres(16.26%) jy, |_| | dt CT CT
201 t0300Acres(9.19%) G77 | | | tf | | tt |
30) to W00 Acres (5 SOG) AN ye le een dea
40! to500Acres(4.67%)Yn || |... ara
S50! tol000Acres (/ 0.279%) a a.
/00/ to!500Acres( 4.22%) Y Z
150! andover (5.09%) GY

F1q. 3.—Distribution of land ownership in Porto Rico by acreage groups and number and area of farms.
From data compiled by bureau of property taxes, Government of Porto Rico.

small holdings, from which as a class very little cooperation can be
expected. In addition to the small farms, there are a few coflee and
tobacco plantations. Much of the land, however, is not even under
small-farm cultivation. Vast stretches of it are nothing more than
grass land, which is classed for assessment purposes as ‘‘pasture.”’
In the coastal country the holdings are larger and offer better possi-
bilities for cooperation. Many of the coast hills are already wooded,
‘while others have been cleared for pasture. Here the need for forests
on account of their protective influence on water and soil is not of
importance, but the demand for wood is obviously urgent. Forests
are needed in this particular section also as a refuge for birds, which
are an important factor in controlling insect pests in the cane fields,
besides being of esthetic value.

1 According to the census of 1899, 51 per cent of all farms were less than 5 acres in extent, while the Thir-
teenth Decennial Census (1910) reports 72 per cent of all farms less than 19 acres in extent.

TARMAMA AM NDADMA NIA

73

+ G.T.Trem ble
‘951 5 Or ae 5m eyee

THE NORRIS PETERS CO., WASHINGTON, D. C.

’

6
vou oa¥¥
ZC

U.S.DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
FOREST SERVICE |
HENRY S GRAVES FORESTER |

wlio
PORTO RICO
AND CONTIGUOUS ISLANDS | |
UNDER ITS JURISDICTION

|
FROM DATA BY THE WAR DEPARTMENT |
U.S. COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY AND | |
|

i]

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
OF PORTO RICO

, «<a ee

Roads Projected

SCALE APPROXIMATELY 5S MILES=1 INCH |
: Trails 5 ok 10 ISMILES
A N S BE A = Telegraph Lines (Along Roads) ee Sa ae
af « = Canals |'tifation or Orsinage) 3 2
+273 Lo
|
—— — 1 a
6700 7

etion& Elevation of Peaks
by US GG.)
. 6645
EEE EE EE EE

lo
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Longitude West from Greenwich

IS KILOMETERS.
ey

6615 6600

=. = — = ———
6545. ie

FORESTS OF PORTO RICO. 13

LAND UTILIZATION.

Porto Rico is essentially an agricultural country and will undoubt-
edly continue as such. Of its commercial staple crops—sugar,
coffee, and tobacco—only the first two are important competitors of
the forest from an acreage point of view, tobacco occupying less
than 1 per cent of the insular area. Coffee cultivation is a most
satisfactory form of agriculture for the steep mountain slopes where
it is carried on and its replacement of the forest is usually justified,
for it exerts many of the beneficial influences of the forest and few
of the detrimental ones of the field crops. Sugar might be said to
offer little economic competition with forests, because it peu
occupies the more level and strictly agricultural soils.

Cattle raising was early taken up, eal there was formerly a very
considerable export trade in live stock, hides, and tallow. The total
live stock now on the island amounts to not more than 350,000 to
400,000 head, and there is no export trade whatever. Cattle and
horses make up nine-tenths of the stock (cattle alone three-fourths),
the larger part of which is work stock. These are, to a considerable
extent, used in the low country and are grazed in the pastures there.
There seems, therefore, to be little economic justification for any
longer retaining the bulk of the cleared uplands in pasture. Their
partial or complete reforestation would add materially to the pro-
ductive wealth of the island.

It is in the cultivation of native ground provisions—rice, yams,
and the like—that agriculture comes into closest contact with the
forest. From time immemorial, not only in Porto Rico but through-
out the Tropics the world over, the same primitive agricultural prac-
tice has prevailed. Wherever it is in operation the “‘conuco,” or by
whatever other name! the method is known, is essentially the same.
Upon the area which it is desired to cultivate all the trees are felled
and set on fire. Sometimes the larger ones are killed by girdling
and allowed to remain standing. Clearing is most apt to occur
during the dry season, when conditions are most suitable both for
burning and for planting the new crop.. Little or no care is taken to
control the fire and it often burns over a far greater area than is
wanted for cultivation. The beans, rice, or other ground provisions
are planted immediately following the burning, the ashes having
enriched and sweetened the soil. Little or no cultivation is given
the crop, and cropping seldom continues for more than 3 years.
Eventually, as the fertility of the soil decreases and grass, weeds,
and other volunteer growth get the upper hand, the area is aban-
doned and a new clearing made.

1 What is known as the ‘‘conuco”’ in Porto Rico and other of the Spanish West Indies is known in the
Philippines as caifigin, in India variously as jhum, kumri, and khil, in Burma as juangya, and in Ceylon

as chena or hena. The same practice is also reported from the Sudan, Central America, and many other
parts of the Tropics.

14 BULLETIN 354, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

The best types of forest are invariably the ones first selected,
because they give the richest ash and are less difficult to clear than
areas of small, thorny growth. Thus for a meager crop of native
provisions a valuable timber crop is destroyed, which it will require
a generation and more to reproduce.

Where the amount of available land is scarce an area may be
successively cut over several times at intervals, the parts cleared
becoming naturally reforested again between cuttings. Where, how-
ever, climatic, particularly moisture, conditions are not favorable it
may be difficult or impossible for the forest to reestablish itself in
competition with a grass cover. In such cases the succeeding forests
may grade from a dense thorny growth through chaparral and low
brush, or a very fragmentary scattered tree growth, to open savanna
and even desert. It is almost certain that the vast and almost totally
unproductive area of so-called pasture land in the central mountain
section is the direct result of this practice, which is even now being
extensively carried on in all its primitiveness.

The total lack of property survey, lax title registration, and the
free and unmolested operation of.the prescriptive right have made
it easy for this devastating practice to thrive. Legislation can and
ought promptly to be undertaken to eliminate these contributory
causes. But the government must go farther. There must be a
serious educational campaign combining, unifying, and extending
the work of the public-school system, the agricultural experiment
station, and any other agencies working for rural betterment, until
there can be instilled into the mind of the ‘‘conuco” farmer a proper
regard for the fundamentals of economic agriculture, by which con-
tinuous cultivation under a suitable rotation of crops will be substi-
tuted for the present nomadic system. To give force and effect to
that campaign the government must, of course, provide these people
with the means of acquiring the land and other essentials to the
practice of such improved agriculture.

TAXATION.

The same archaic provisions are in force in Porto Rico for the taxa-
tion of forest property as are to be found throughout the United
States. The system of taxing the forest annually is unjust and dis-
criminatory, encouraging forest destruction. In a country like Porto
Rico, with practically no forest resources, it becomes prohibitory as
well. Certainly few will elect to plant new forests or apply forestry
to improve the productiveness of forests already there if by so doing
they merely invite an increased assessment and taxes. The system,
in fact, offers a distinct incentive to the owner to destroy what
timber there is, so that there will remain but the bare land to tax.

¢

FORESTS OF PORTO RICO. 15

Under these circumstances the law should make it possible for the
forest to be classed as a crop. The growing of ‘a forest is no less
desirable to encourage than the growing of a crop of sugar cane, coffee,
or tobacco; yet these latter are exempted entirely from taxation,
while the forest is classed as an ‘‘immovable” and taxed annually
at its full value. There is little wonder, under these circumstances,
that no effort is made to practice forestry, which would inevitably
increase the extent and value of the forest; or that the value of this
class of property has decreased regularly from year to year, and for
the fiscal year 1912-13 amounted, both timber and land together, to
but 3.3 per cent of the total assessed value of all real property.

The law should at least provide that the land and timber be classi-
fied, assessed, and taxed independently of one another. The average
forest crop requires several years, often decades, to mature. During
this period it yields little or no revenue whatever. It is only fair to
the producer of such a crop that his taxes be arranged to fall due in
large part at the time when the crop matures and is sold. This may
be accomplished in one of three ways. If the owner pays throughout
the entire period a tax based on the full productive value of the bare
land, then the timber should be exempted entirely. At most it
_ should be taxed but once—on its sale value as it stands in the forest
in the year that it is cut. The rate in this case should be the same
as that applied to all other real and personal property for that particu-
lar year. Asecond method is to defer collecting any tax on the land
until the timber is cut and then to take both the land and timber tax
out of the sale value of the standing timber in that year. The rate
in this case would, of course, have to be considerably higher than
the general property tax rate and would properly be graduated accord-
ing to the length of the period since the previous tax was paid. A
combination of these two methods, modified according to circum-
stances, though less just to the landowner, would be at once an
advance over the present plan and the most likely to be acceptable
to the community. Thus an annual tax on the land would be levied
either at the full general property rate on a nominal fixed value for
the bare land or at half or other fractional part of the general prop-
erty rate on the full productive value of the bare land. Then when
the timber was cut, it, too, would be taxed, but at a rate corre-
spondingly higher than the general property rate, say 10 per cent.

Porto Rico is fortunate in that it has no constitutional obstacles to
remove before it can proceed to a change. Neither the organic act
nor any of the subsequent acts of Congress puts any specific restric-
tions on taxation. It is only necessary, therefore, in order that this
unjust discrimination against forests and forestry may be removed,
to induce the legislative assembly to amend the present law.

16 BULLETIN 354, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

A decidedly favorable feature of the present taxation system of
the island is its centralized organization. The insular government
assumes the responsibility for the assessment and collection of all
taxes, general and municipal, thus reducing the chances of inequali-
ties bemg introduced between urban and rural properties, and be-
tween similar classes of property in different municipalities. Until,
however, there can be effected a complete cadastral survey of the
island, making possible the enforcement of compulsory title regis-
tration and the assessment of land values based thereon, any system
of taxation, no matter how adequate, must, as now, be a dead letter
in its real property provisions; and the present practice of ‘‘ distrain-
ing personal property for all taxes due and only proceeding on real
property when no personal property exists’? must continue.

POPULATION.

Porto Rico has had a steady increase in population since Columbus .
found 30,000 native Indians? on the island, except in the early years
of settlement, when through conflict, disease, emigration, and slavery,
the native population was rapidly reduced to a state approaching
extinction. Although it was reported in 1543 that but 60 Indians
remained on the island, it is probable that relatively pure Indian
stock persisted in the mountainous sections up to comparatively
recent times.? Here, too, the aboriginal type of feature is readily
discernible to-day and the primitive method of ‘‘conuco”’ cultivation
is most commonly encountered.

Because of extensive slave importations almost. from the beginning
of settlement and the correspondingly slow colonization up to the
middle of the eighteenth century, as late as 1820 the negro popu-
lation outnumbered the white by 5 to 4. At present, however, the
white race dominates all others by more than 7 to 4. Except for
Cuba, there is no other island in the West Indies where this condition
is even closely approximated, all but two showing 10 per cent or less
of white people. Porto Rico has also a smaller proportion of negro
- population than most of the southern seaboard States.

The density of population in Porto Rico is phenomenal, particularly
as there is a great preponderance of rural inhabitants. It is exceeded
in but few of the other West Indies, is 1 per cent more than in China,
and slightly more than in Japan. Porto Rico, with 325.5 persons per.
square mile (79.9 per cent rural), ranks fourth among the political
subdivisions of the American territory,’ after Rhode Island with
508, Massachusetts with 418.8, and New Jersey with 337.7. On the

URE phe Sb See are Pens LE ye See ge eS wy a a a
1 Fewkes, Jesse Walter, ‘The Aborigines of Porto Rico,” 25th Annual Report, Bureau of Ethnology,
1907. }
2 Flinter (see bibliography) remarks that there were in 1832 Indian families living in the mountainous
interior.
8 Thirteenth Decennial Census (1910),

‘

FORESTS OF PORTO RICO. ET

basis of rural population alone, Porto Rico, with 260 country people
per square mile, outnumbers its nearest competitor, New Jersey, by
more than 3 to 1, and Rhode Island by 17 to 1. Furthermore,
Porto Rico’s rural population density alone outranks the total popu-
lation density of any but the three States mentioned (fig. 5).

The distribution of population in Porto Rico is remarkably even,
and the centers of area and population are less than 5 miles apart

IES
| pape ell
Fi a Bier ‘ares Lin
SeBED ar

: ae

(write Race GR Slave (AtricanNegro) Black(Negro Stock)
Willa Native Indian WG Sree (African Negro) MM Mu/erte (Mixed)

4#O 50 60 70 60 90 1/900 19/0

Fic. 4.—Growth in population in Porto Rico.

1, 1493. Island discovered by Columbus. Pre-Columbian population (Fewkes).

2. 1508. First white settlement under Ponce de Leon.

3- 1515. Indians imported from Jamaica and other West Indies in servitude (Fewkes).

4, 1530. First numerical record concerning importation of African negroes (census 1899).

5. 1543. Bishop of San Juan reported to the King of Spain but 60 native Indians remaining on the island
(census 1899).

6. Total population middle of seventeenth century, 880 (census 1899).

7. Slavery abolished by act of the Spanish Revolutionary National Assembly, March 22, 1873.

8. Census of 1877 adopted new classification dividing the colored population into “mulattoes” and
“blacks,” which it will be seen closely conforms to the earlier classes of ‘‘free”? and ‘slave’?
(census 1899).

in a direct linet The center of population lies to the north of the
center of the island, because of the more equable climatic conditions,
the greater area of arable land, and the location of the capital and
largest city, San Juan, on the north side.’

1 The center of area of the island is situated 3 miles north and 2.1 miles west of the town of Barros, and
the center of population (1899) was 6.6 miles west and 2.4 miles north of the same town, making the two
points distant from each other 6 miles east and west and 4.5 miles north and south. (Census of Porto
Rico, 1899).

21871°—Bull. 354—16——2

18 BULLETIN 354, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

Occupational statistics show that 33 per cent of the total popu-
lation’ are engaged in gainful occupations, and that 62.8 per cent
of that number are engaged in “‘agriculture, fisheries, and mining,”
the two latter of which are almost negligible.2, Almost three-fourths
of the men and boys engaged in any gainful occupation are employed
directly in agriculture. Literacy is a feature of population statistics
which has changed so considerably since the American occupation
that but little value attaches to the 1899 figures, which are the latest
available. Some idea, however, can be gained by a comparison of
the school attendance, which has increased from between 2 and 3 per

STATE WAMES IN THE ORDER PER CENT :
1a, <A THEIR TOTAL DENSITY | POPULATION OF RURAL POPULATION PER SQ. MILE
Bs & OF POPULA ATION PER SQ.MILE \ POPULATION O 100 200 Joo 400 500
atv 1 RHODE ISLAND.4. 00000. 508.S.. PT oe
R38 NS 2 MASSACHUSETTS x1 00100 B18 Becnsnnewenees bY ie
RNS 3 NEW JERSEY. 22220000 Re ee EEE EERE Sif) ie YY
Sees 4 PORTO F/CO T2S.S 79. O%.2
L388 5 CONNECTICUT. Bn eeees 251 S20 wee seen 10-SK.vu.Y
QOERS 6 NEW YORK... 2 nee cee Zap o crn even BL 2 Bee ys
RSSS | 7 ALMVSVLVANIA 22 e2vei! 710. v0 o nnsn ars TI. OB u2- VY,
babe 8 MARYLAND©. «ap 22 v0- ISOS eo 0 20 enn FIZ Benen
SEEe SOMOS or saccuer ssl Tao ae ERA
Krag 10 DELAWARE....~ --22rr-e./OT.O_n0 02+ ~~~ $2.0%....
BESS Wi LINO... oes 70016. Ee 38.5%...
we ISS MENTUCHK Bc ca acaue i San OQ taacec eee FET Baneerl
EME ZEWVESSEE: 3 os obec cues SF cocsannte 79. ooran
ys _| S VIRGINIA. 2222-222 usyiZt2 2 Birman
RS 16 WEST VIRGINIA ®M |... 50.820 2n -nnonn- 813% 0.
Sigh [7 SOUTH CAROLINAM. ..— #9.7. 20-200 | 6525 ey pea Arie
Ss 2/ NORTH CAROLINA...../ ASF. ...2..---- OS.64..... Ys Gi ;
YE | 22 CLORGIAW22. 22 2 oennes 44.4-.......... 60.0%....G//)| Lda URAL POPULATION
RRS At ALABAMA. 022.00 eo 2204 7. n20------- 62.7%---. GY
Re ee eee 40.0............70.0%....Yy,
ERR | 27 WSSISSIPP ne 20 2eceeee T8820 22 ~~ 22... 68-5%....U/
Sas 2B LOUISIANA co once TO Sts an FOOLY
SEN 29 ARKANSAS ©. 00 ane0rne-SO.O. a 2-00 =~ =-. 87.1%
SER [as onanomar.. Bh emer opi ey ae
SOR [I# AANSASS -----0-- BYR 7h oles: 70.82.
Ress SE NEBRASKA OM 62550 I SiS 20 a snnas FTIR nif
RNS 37 CALIFORNIA Gia monn Se So aca en TOC
MORE | 36 TEXAS -20-nncneeenee Vb; Ok swan cc oP STE

STATES MARKED THUS ® CLOSELY APPROXIMATE PORTO RICO IN THE NUMBER OF THEIR RURAL POPULATION
STATES MARPKEO THUS ¥% HAVE GROSS POPULATIONS EXCELOING THAT OF PORTO RICO BY LESS THAN SE FZ

Fia. 5.—Comparative density of populations, showing graphically the relative position of Porto Rico and
certain selected States.

cent of the total population during the year following the close of
the Spanish-American War to 14.4 per cent in 1912. In 1899, of the
total population over 10 years of age, only 16.6 per cent could read.

TRANSPORTATION.

The mountainous character of the island, the heavy and unctuous
qualities of the soil, and the excessive rpindall conspire to render road
building both expensive and difficult, so that until comparatively

1 Thislow percentage of persons engaged in gainful occupationsis occasioned largely by the abnormally
large number of women and of children under 10 years of age, most of whom are enumerated in the
dependent class. Thus 30.9 per cent of the total population are children under 10 years of age, and 43.9 per
cent under 15 years. (Census, 1899).

2 The census of 1899 showed but 455 fishermen and 48 miners or quarrymen on the entire island.

8 Report of the Commissioner of Education (Annual Reports, War Department, fiscal year ending June

30, 1912, Report of the Governor of Porto Rico).

FORESTS OF PORTO RICO. 19

recently roads and other means of travel in Porto Rico have been
poor. This confined early settlement and development to the sea-
board and delayed the opening up of the interior. Then, too, the
products of one section have not been sufficiently different from those
in another to sustain an intra-island trade either by land or water.
These circumstances and the system of trading which flourished
between the West Indies, Europe, and America until recent times
made tlie ports of the south coast, for instance, each commercially
closer to Bilboa and Cadiz and to the world ports in general than to
San Juan or each other. San Juan in particular, being formerly the
last port of call on the voyage to the Old World from Gulf and Carib-
bean ports, often found it easier to get timbers and other natural
products from Santo Domingo than from the immediately adjacent
country or a neighboring Porto Rican port. The fact that for over
a eentury Santo Domingan timbers have been in common use in San
Juan has led to the belief that Porto Rico was never well timbered or
that what large material there was soon became exhausted, whereas
the lack of adequate internal transportation facilities offers a more
likely explanation.

This paucity of transportation facilities persisted until well past
the middle of the last century.?, The famous military road, the main
artery of the projected plan for highways under Spanish sovereignty,
was commenced about 1842 and finally completed in 1888, with a
total length of 134 kilometers (about 84 miles). The remaining
mileage of improved roads, which aggregated 275 kilometers (about
175 miles) at the close of the Spanish régime in 1898, largely com-
prised isolated sections of several road projects. From the Ameri-
can occupation to June 30, 1912, 794 kilometers (500 miles) of mac-
adam road have been constructed, making a total of 1,069 kilometers :
(670 miles). These are largely trunk-line roads, from which extend
many dirt roads suitable for the bull cart and like vehicles, while
beyond these are mountain trails where pack and saddle horses and
the land canoe, or flat-bottomed dugout hauled by oxen, are still
the only means of transportation.

It is usually only rough mountain frags that reach the ‘‘conuco”’
farmer, the forested area, and many of the coffee plantations. These
trails are mostly in very bad condition. Absolutely without drainage,

1 One can see the effects of similar conditions in operation to-day in Santo Domingo. With.85 per cent
of her land area under virgin forests, a sixth of which is pine, Santo Domingo imported from the United
States in 1911 forest products to the amount of $130,800, including 3,937,000 board feet of lumber, valued at
$91,296, and shooksand other unmanufactured timber products, exclusive of naval stores, valued at $12,206
additional.

2 Robin (see bibliography) in 1802-1806 testifies not only to the poor transportation facilities, but to the
abundant forests, in the following reference: ‘‘The island of Porto Rico is still little inhabited, in spite
of the earliness of its settlement. * * * The habitations, isolated and dispersed over the island, lack
communication with one another. * * * It is, however, not necessary (in order to provide roads) to
cut the mountains, raise the valleys, or All the marshes, but simply cut down the large and vigorous
trees.””

20 BULLETIN 354, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRIC D
3 GRICULTURE.

the tenacious clay soil, already saturated with moisture, has kneaded
into it additional water through the travel of the bulls and heavily
burdened pack animals until in places it becomes a semifluid mass
resembling thick orange-red paint, often of a depth reaching to a
horse’s belly. During the dry season, when they dry out on top
and crust over, these ‘‘baches”’ are even more treacherous than in
their semifluid state, for when a horse breaks through the crust he
is the more liable to get mired. Only horses bred to this kind of
travel know how to handle themselves under such trying conditions.

For draft purposes in this back country the bull is almost exclu-
sively used. Most of the freighting across the island and into the
interior is even now, and on the best roads, done by bull carts, except
for a short line of railroad between Rio Piedras and Caguas. Very
recently the auto truck and auto stage have been tried in the cross-
the-island freight and passenger service, as well as along the coast,
and their use unquestionably will be extended.

At the time of the American occupation there were 254 kilometers
(about 160 miles) of narrow-gauge railroad in operation in the coastal
portion of the island. At the present time (1912) it is possible,
through the connections established between the various sugar com-
panies’ railroads and the original public-service road, almost to en-
circle the island by rail.

; THE FOREST.

The forests of Porto Rico are now so fragmentary and so limited
in extent and have been so materially modified by the acts of man
during several centuries that they afford of themselves little basis
for classification and description. Clearings, severe cuttings, and the
culling of the more desirable timbers were noted by the earliest tray-
elers. Then, too, many native species have been transplanted from
their natural haunts to others and many introduced species have
been brought in and spread over the island. It has consequently
been necessary to draw extensively on information from a num-
ber of sources and to study the various formations as they have been
described in their undisturbed natural state in whatever other part
of the Tropics they could be found. In this manner only could a
groundwork be obtained for classifying and distributing according
to their proper relations the remnants of the once extensive Porto
Rican forests.

1 In describing the fundamental features of the various formations the works of Schimper and of Broun
particularly have been freely drawn on, and in reference to special features those of Harshberger, of Fer-
now, and Taylor, and of Woodward (see Bibliography), not to mention the various historical works which
have contributed side lights on matters of general distribution.

The work of defining the distribution of formations is a comparatively simple one, because of their close
relation to the distribution of rainfall, which latter has been carefully charted by the local Weather Bureau

Bul. 354, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. PLATE ll.

F-19765A

Fic. 1.—AN UNIMPROVED COUNTRY ROAD THROUGH THE LOWLANDS.

F—I9763A

Fia. 2.—NATIVE MEANS OF TRANSPORTATION WHICH REQUIRES NO ROADS.

COUNTRY ROAD AND NATIVE TRANSPORTATION.

i

FORESTS OF PORTO RICO. 21

FORESTED CONDITION AND DISTRIBUTION.

There can be little doubt that Porto Rico was at one time forested
from the shores of the Atlantic to the Caribbean, from the Virgin
Passage to Mona.’ Historians, while in general silent as to the
extent and character of the forests on the island, have in the aggre-
gate left a considerable collection of data concerning the subject,’
sufficient it would seem, together with present-day indications, to
bear out the contention of a once completely forested Porto Rico.

One has but to turn to the neighboring islands of the Greater
Antilles, which are closely related both geologically and botanically,
if further corroboration of Porto Rico’s original forested condition is
required. This close relationship and similarity even down to such
details as common names is strikingly brought out by a comparison
of the description by Fernow and Taylor? of the Sierra Maestra in
Cuba, by Woodward,*-of the Santo Domingo forests, and by Gifford,?

office. Slight departures only are necessary to make allowance in certain cases for the influence of the
limestone soils. Altitudinal differences are so slight as to have comparatively little effect.

In the descriptions local names, wherever possible, have been adhered to, and following each such
name is a number in parentheses, thus, guaraguao (74), which number refers to the specific description
in Appendix I, ‘‘The Trees of Porto Rico.”

Whenever desirable, a brief paragraph in small print concerning the chief features of the same or a
closely related formation in other parts of the Tropics follows the description of the local Porto Rican
formation. Thus it is hoped that interest inthe forest willbe heightened through comparison and that
the Way may be opened for the judicious selection of new species to be introduced into Porto Rico.

1 The following from a letter from Mr. Alex. Wetmore, assistant biologist, Bureau ofthe Biological Survey,
U.S. Department of Agriculture, who recently completed an exhaustive study of the bird life of the island,
is of considerable interest in this connection: “On examining the endemic species of Porto Rican birds,
T find that with one or two exceptions they are forest-inhabiting forms, pointing thus to a very extensive
forest area on the island. The forms as differentiated here must have inhabited such an area during the
period of evolution, and species with a preference for open savannas may have come in later, or may have
been very few in number until within historicaltimes. The extensive area of moist deciduous and tropical
rain forests shown by you on the forest-distribution map, all point to this hypothesis.”’

2 Oviedo, writing of the early years of 1500 concerning animals, trees, and the like in Porto Rico, stated
that they did not differ from those already described in the “Isla Espanola.’”’? The North American and
West Indian Gazetteer (1778) states that ‘the sides of the hills are covered with trees of various kinds,
proper for building ships and other useful purposes.’’ Fray Ifigo (1788), besides mentioning the superior
and much greater variety of timber trees in the uplands, also states that many trees are found in the southern
part of theisland as well, although conditions there were much more arid and less fertile than on the north
coast. In the account of the capture of San Juan by the Earl of Cumberland (1597), the small island on
which San Juan is situated is described as “for the most woods.’’ Continuing, the Luquillo region and
the interior generally are described as follows: “The valleys are much wooded but in very many places
interlaced with goodly large Playnes and spacious Lawnes. The woods are not only underlings but
timber trees of goodly tallnesse and stature, fit for the building of ships and of every part of them.” Accord-
ing to Herrera, (English translation, 1726), ‘The Island * * * has much good pasture for cattle,
which decreases, by reason of the great numbeg of trees increasing * * * so that the Island is over-
grown with Woods.” TFlinter (1834), speaking of the surroundings of Guayama, says that 5 or 6 years
previously it was merely “‘an immense tract of woodland.’”? He also says: “The forests which cover the
mountains of Porto Rico are filled with timber of the best quality for the construction of ships and houses.
Insome parts of the coast from the very improvident manner in which wood has been cut down and burned
for charcoal and much left to rot on the ground, timber is getting scarce; but in the interior there is yet
an abundance of superior timber.’’ In 1830 timber to the value of $21,000 was exported through
the customhouses of this island, exclusively of what is shipped clandestinely.”” This work in particular
has numerous other references to the extent and luxuriance of the forest growth on the island. Finally
Barrett (1902) tells us that ‘‘more than half a century ago the Spanish planters of the island began clearing
the interior districts for coffee and tobacco culture. There being no good roads and but little demand for
timber, the trees were burned where they fell; hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of lumber and
cabinet woods were thus destroyed.”

8 See Bibliography.

22 BULLETIN 354, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

of the Luquillo. The forests of Porto Rico differ from those of the
other islands chiefly in the absence of any pine growth. Santo
Domingo, now least changed from its original pre-Columbian con-
dition, still has fully 85 per cent of its land area under virgin forest.
Probably at least 50 per cent of Cuba is wooded, not far from 30 per
cent being virgin forest. Santo Domingo has a population density
of 33 per square mile, Cuba 46, and Porto Rico 325. There is little
wonder that Porto Rico is nearly deforested.

The assertion of a completely forested Porto Rico does not mean
that there were no open lands at the time of Columbus’s first visit.
There were in fact even then more or less extensive clearings surround-
ing each native village. These clearings were continued and extended
by the white settlers that they might cultivate sugar cane, ginger,

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FOREST CLASSIFICAT/ON BASED ON MAP OF MEAN ANNUAL RAINFALL DISTRIBUTION 4 ines Shown thus SO m—e
FOR 0899 -/9039 ACCORDING 70 V.S. WEATHER BUREAU Oe ees
niche: %, Vf 12 Inches
EEE LITTORAL WOODLANDS [sap TIDAL WOOOLANOS } C/o figures near names of
V7 WOVST DECIDUOUS FORESTS 75 Ga
LEA TROPICAL RAIN FORESTS 62%
SSM) or Ofc10Vv0US FORESTS 23%

Fig. 6.—Porto Rico. Pre-Columbian distribution of forest formations. (Diagrammatically shown.)

and other crops, and provide pasture for cattle brought from Spain.
The clearing proceeded more rapidly on the north than on the south
side of the island and was likewise confined for the most part to the
lowland. Until nearly the middle of the nineteenth century the -
interior mountain forests were probably but little disturbed. The
gradual ascendency of the coffee industry over that of sugar and
tobacco, which culminated during tke closing years of Spanish rule,
undoubtedly strongly influenced the development of the interior.
Of the once extensive virgin tropical forest there now remain only
isolated remnants scattered over the island in its most mountainous
parts. The best known and most famous of these, and the largest
as well, still covers a considerable portion of the Luquillo Range.
While it has for upward of half a century been gradually encroached
upon, progress has been slow. The abruptness of the slopes and the
size of the trees have made timber exploitation by native methods

4 FORESTS OF PORTO RICO. 23

very difficult. Exposure to excessive and constant strong winds,
abnormally heavy precipitation, and extended cloudiness have pre-
vented the region from being invaded to a greater extent by the
coffee planter. These same conditions also have doubtless not been
entirely to the liking of the ‘‘conuco”’ farmer, at least so long as there
were other lands available. This tract has an aggregate acreage of
between 35,000 and 40,000 acres, including several thousand acres of
low gnarled growth on its summits and wind-swept slopes. A part
at least of this forested area is in government ownership.

Other tracts, more or less limited in extent, of virgin or only lightly
culled high forest are to be found near Maricao, in a deep ravine at
the headwaters of the Rio Maricao, near Jayuya, on Mount Morales
and Mount Mandios;! near ‘‘La Isolina”’ on the Rio Limon between
Utuado and Ciales,? and in Barrio Angeles between Lares and Utuado
on the Rio Angeles.’ The aggregate of all such areas, aside from the
Luquillo, is believed to be well within 5,000 acres, making the total
area of high forest scarcely 2 per cent of the total land area.

There are besides about 400,000 acres assessed as ‘‘timber and
brush lands’’ and a few thousand acres additional classified as
swamps and largely under mangrove. Of the timber and brush
areas the bulk will be found in the southern, southeastern, and south-
western parts of the island, on the dry limestone hills and other land
of little or no agricultural value. On the north side such areas will.
be found almost exclusively on the thin-soiled, conical limestone
hills.

Thus, including virgin forests and all, the total ‘wooded area
amounts to approximately 20 per cent of the total land area. In all
probability not more than from one-fourth to two-fifths of this area
(5 to 8 per cent of total land area) is now under forest capable of
yielding a wood product other than charcoal and fuel wood. If now
there be added the 168,000 acres in coffee plantations and the 6,500
acres under coconut palms which are in effect artificial forests, the
grand total of all lands under a forest or brush cover will approximate
600,000 acres, or 27 per cent of the insular domain.

FOREST FORMATIONS.

The term “virgin forest’? was formerly applied by travelers in
the Tropics exclusively to the evergreen forest found in constantly
humid regions or those of similar luxuriance along the watercourses;
in other words, to the tropical forest jungle. Not only are these not

2 Reported to the writer personally by the director of the U. S. Weather Bureau at San Juan and by

L. M. Underwood in Journal N. Y. Botanical Garden, Nov., 1901.
3 Reported personally to the writer by the lieutenant of police at Utuado.

24 BULLETIN 354, U. S$. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

the only virgin forests in the Tropics, but in many cases they them-
selves may not be virgin at all, but second growth.’ 3

Because the rain-forest—the jungle—presents not only unusual but
often spectacular features which make a most direct appeal to the
interest and a most lasting impression on the mind, it has come to
typify the tropical forest in general. Yet it would be scarcely less
misleading to represent the mammoth redwoods or the giant fir and
cedar forests of our Pacific coast, or even the magnificently diversified
hardwood forests of the Appalachian region, as being the typical
and prevailing forest growth of temperate North America.

In its original forested condition Porto Rico undoubtedly pre-
sented a diversity of forest formations unexcelled in any other
similar area in the West Indian Tropics. Of the general types found
throughout the Tropics, only those were impossible of occurrence
which result from extremes of altitude and of drought. Thus alpine
and desert elements were unquestionably never developed here.
The various formations in the order of their occurrence from the
coast toward the interior are as follows: Littoral woodlands, moist
deciduous forests,? and tropical rain-forests on the north or humid
side, and the dry deciduous forest * on the south or semiarid side.

The distribution of these formations was, of course, not so simple
as might be implied by the last sentence, there being more or less
overlapping. Remnants of these formations are, with few excep-
tions, still to be found in the out-of-the-way places of the island,
although their original balance and relative importance have been
very much modified.*

1 This is very interestingly brought out in Cook’s “Vegetation Affected by Agriculture in Central
America” (Bureau of Plant Industry Bulletin 145), from which the following is quoted: “Many localities
which are now occupied by apparently virgin forests are shown by archological remains to be regions of
reforestation. Thus in the Senahu-Cahabon district of Alta Vera Paz, relics of two or three very different
types of primitive civilizations indicate that as many ancient populations have occupied successively the
same areas which are now being cleared anew by the coffee planters as though for the first time.

“Tt does not yet appear that any considerable region of forest has been explored in Central America
without finding similar evidence that the present forests are not truly virgin growth. * * *”

And again, speaking of the evidence of antiquity as exemplified by the crumbling of large earthenware
pots of an earlier civilization, he continues: ‘‘ We can not know how long it has taken the pottery tocrumble,
but we can at least contrast the condition of these decayed pots with other pieces of pottery placed in caves
of the same district in later prehistoric ages, which will appear fresh and new, as though recently burned.
And yet the bones beside these apparently new pots have also crumbled nearly to dust, and there has
been time for the surrounding country to be occupied with old forests of hardwood trees, like true virgin
growth.” He also mentions terracing of the land as showing that agriculture was formerly extensively
practiced and notes the presence of a type of terrace evidently designed ‘to hold drainage water and
prevent erosion * * * being frequently met with in the heavily forested region of eastern Guatemala.”

2 Called “monsoon forest’’ by Schimper.

3 Also called “‘thorn-woodland” by Schimper and “‘chaparral”’ by Harshberger.

4The natural balance and relative importance of the different formations as given by Woodward for
Santo Domingo on a percentage basis for the total forested area is as follows: Wet hardwood type (which
includes the “moist deciduous” and “tropical rain” forests of the above classification), 58 per cent; dry
hardwood type (“lit.oral woodlands” and “dry deciduous” forests), 28 per cent; pine type (lacking
entirely in Porto Rico, but occurring on a similar site to the “dry deciduous” forest), 14 per cent.

PLATE III.

Bul. 354, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture.

vesl6I—s4

-(ogloauy) VNITOS| V7] YV3N NOILVWHO4 1Sa¥O4 snonaload 1SIOIN “OONNVAaV 40 GNVLS NIDUIA

FORESTS OF PORTO RICO. 25

LirroraAL WoopDLANDS.

The littoral woodlands, although most characteristically developed
on the humid side of the island, have certain strong resemblances to
the dry deciduous forests of the south coast, the one merging into,
giving way to, or overlapping the other at their points of contact.
Both formations are forced to struggle continually against the effects
of drought. In the case of the littoral woodlands this is occasioned
largely by porous and saline soil conditions accentuated by certain
adverse climatic factors, strong wind particularly. With the dry
deciduous forests, the determining factor is deficient rainfall, to
which adverse soil conditions give added effect. The littoral wood-
land formation presents two distinct types, namely, the mangrove
or wet tidal woodlands below high-water mark and the dry tidal
woodlands above high-water mark.

\

THE MANGROVE.

The mangrove, or wet tidal woodland, is a distinctly tropical for-
mation. Though unable to withstand unbroken wave action on the
open coast, it readily establishes itself in the shallow brackish waters
of protected embayments, creeks, and lagoons, where, under favorable
climatic conditions, it forms dense, almost impenetrable thickets.
The Porto Rican mangrove rarely attains a height of over 10 feet
above the water, though elsewhere it reaches very respectable forest
dimensions. Even in the more or less protected lagoons it is gen-
erally exposed to the strong trade winds, which accounts in part for its
low stature, while its popularity for fuel and other uses undoubtedly
prevents it from attaining its full size. 7

The sea, receding at low tide as far as the edge of what seems at
high tide a veritable forest rising from the waters, reveals a tangled
mass of stiltlike roots anchoring the trees to the blue-black muck
along the shore. With every tide new soil material is deposited
among the mangrove, which keeps gradually pushing out to occupy
new ground, through its remarkable mode of reproductior The
fruit when it reaches maturity remains attached to the parent plant,
the seed embryo all the while continuing its development into a
new young plant. Having attained a certain size this plant releases
itself, falls into the soft mud, strikes root, and becomes firmly fixed
within a few hours.

The mangrove in general attains its most favorable development
where the humidity is high, precipitation abundant, and an inter-
mittent cloudiness prevails. Its distribution accordingly coincides
in general with that of the rain-forest.1_ Thus the mangrove in Porto
Rico is most abundant along the north and east coasts, is much more
restricted on the west coast, and is only sparingly and locally de-

1 See Schimper’s Plant Geography.

26 BULLETIN 354, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

veloped on the south. Here it occurs chiefly at the mouths of the
larger rivers, where a dilution of the sea water enables it to grow
in spite of the otherwise unfavorable climatic conditions.

Three of the four common species of the western mangrove,' of
tropical American and West African coasts, occur in Porto Rico.
One is known locally as mangle colorado (122),? and the other two
as mangle blanco (or bobo) (127 and 157). Mangle colorado occupies
the outer exposed edge of the formation, while mangle blanco occur,
the one (Avicennia) intermediately and the other (Laguncularia) at
the inner boundary. The latter often forms pure mangrove. Other
species associated with this formation are mangle botén (125) and
mangle prieto (unidentified), small trees, usually under 20 feet in
height. On drier islets within the formation other species may occur,
and likewise on the inner side, where by a gradual transition the man-
grove gives way to the dry tidal woodlands. Epiphytes, so charac-
teristic of other tropical forest formations, are scarce and are con-
fined to a few bromeliads and lichens.

The mangrove is of considerable economic importance, furnishing
fuel, especially to the bakeries, from its limbs and branches, and posts
and house piling from the submerged parts. For these latter uses it
is very highly prized because of its resistance to decay and to the
attack of the white ant. The bark contains a tanning material and
a dye, though to what extent it is used locally is not known.

Practically all of this mangrove land belongs to the insular govern-
ment. Ina few places, as in parts of San Juan Harbor, the mangrove
will have to be cleared away to make room for needed water-front
improvements. Other tracts might perhaps be converted into arable
land by drainage. Most of these lands, however, should be retained
by the government and managed under approved forestry principles
as public wood reserves.* They would constitute a most valuable

1 The fourth species, Avicennia tomentosa Jacq., is not identified from Porto Rico. The eastern man-
grove is much richer in forms. Thus in Farther India and the Malay Archipelago, where it shows its
greatest diversity, it consists of Rhizophoracez (9 species), Lythraceze (3 species), Combretacez, Meliacez,
and Verbenaces (2 species each), Myrisinacese, Rubiacese, Anthracew, and Palme (1 species each); 22
species in all, according to Schimper.

2 The figures in parenthesis refer to the descriptive list (Appendix I).

3 In many eastern tropical countries the immense value of these swamp areas is now fully appreciated.
In the Federated Malay States the mangrove is classed as ‘‘one of the two important divisions of the com-
mercial Malay forests.’ In 1904 the development of the mangrove areas as a source of fuel supply for the
Government railways and for general public consumption was begun under sytematically prepared working
plans. (Burns-Murdock, A.M. ‘Notes from the Federated Malay States,” Indian Forester, Vol. XXX,
No. 10, Oct., 1904). .

In the Philippines the mangrove is regarded as “‘in many respects one of the most valuable forest assets
of the islands.”’? The bureau is now engaged in selecting the most important commercial areas and thor-
oughly investigating their possibilities. (Director of Forestry of the Philippine Islands, annual report
for fiscal year ending June 30, 1912).

The mangrove is managed on a short rotation under a clean-cutting system, making it a simple crop
to handle. As practiced by the Philippine natives in growing ‘“‘bacauan’’ (includes several mangrove
species) for cordwood, the seed is collected and sown at:a cost of about $2.50 an acre. Then without any
further attention the crop at the end of six years is ripe to cut, and brings as high as $20 an acre on the
stump, according to W. D. Sterrett, formerly forester of Bataan Province, Philippine Bureau of Forestry.

FORESTS OF PORTO RICO. 23

source of cheap wood supply for general use, where it is most needed,
in and around the coast cities, and would yield a considerable income
to the government through the sale of the wood and other products.

Dry TipAL WoopLaNnDs.

The dry tidal woodland is confined to the sandy or gravelly soil
areas skirting the open shore or lying directly behind the mangrove
type in the sheltered embayments. While its former extent and
distribution can be reasonably well defined, its original composition
can only vaguely be surmised. Its sole representatives at the present
time are groves of coconut palm; the dry deciduous forests of more
or less strongly modified composition, due to the intermingling of
typical shore species such as uvero (14) and others; and the open
shrub growths of these latter species alone.t The coconut palm type
will be considered in more detail elsewhere as will also the dry decid-

uous forests.
EASTERN LITTORAL WOODLANDS.

The littoral woodland is readily distinguishable in the East Indies and adjacent
continental areas, where it has been more or less carefully studied and described, par-
ticularly in Java. At present two of the most conspicuous trees planted in and around
San Juan are from this formation, the almendra (123) and the more recently intro-
duced Casuarina equisetifolia (Australian beefwood). Other characteristic tree species
of the eastern littoral are Cycas circinalis, Pandanus (several species), Calophyllum
inophyllum (Guttiferse), Cerbera odollam (Apocynacee), Hibiscus tiliaceus and Thes-
pesia populnea (‘‘Emmajagua” and ‘‘Santa Maria,’’ respectively, of Porto Rico),
(Malvacez), Hernandia peltata (Hernandiacez), Heritiera littoralis (Sterculiacez), and
various Leguminosz (Inocarpus edulis, species of Albizeia, Cynometra, Erythrina, Pon-
gamia glabra, Sophora tomentosa, and others).

Moist Decipuous Forests.

Transitional between the littoral woodlands and the rain-forest
formations in all probability originally occurred the moist deciduous
forests. On the north side of the island this formation occupied the
limestone belt lying between the coast and the central mountains
and extending from San Juan west to Aguadilla. On the south side it
very likely was confined largely to the middle and upper south slopes
of the central mountain clay soils. Little forest growth of any sort,
however, now remains on these areas. Particularly is this true of
the south slopes of the Cordillera Central, where the trees are scattered

1 The failure of plant geographers to recognize and segregate this information in the West Indies is prob-
ably due to the fact that the sites where this formation had formerly attained most characteristic develop-
ment have long been exclusively appropriated by man for the cultivation of the coconut palm. Else-
where, possibly by cutting and the more aggressive competition on the part of the closely allied dry decidu-

ous formation, its composition has been so modified as to make these two formations scarcely distinguish-
able one from the other.

28 BULLETIN 354, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE,

singly or in small clumps on the open grass slopes and in narrow -
strips along the watercourses.!

On the north side of the divide the virgin Forests area near La
Isolina constitutes a possible remnant of this moist, deciduous forest.
Here the tabanuco (69) is a prominent feature in the stand. Else-
where, as on the limestone uplands north of Lares, the moralon (15),
aceitillo (66), capa blanca (155), limoncillo (129), granadillo (124),
and other large trees are reported formerly to have been common.
Here, too, we should expect to have found the caoba (72). Some of
the rich forest growth was cut for fuel and building material, but
much of it is reported to have been cleared away by the ‘‘conuco.”
The land here is now merely open grass land.

In the ‘‘pepino”’ or ‘‘pit’’? country a homogeneous forest cover is
impossible. In the pit bottoms, which are now largely under culti-
vation to bananas and coffee, a high forest cover of the moist deciduous
type undoubtedly prevailed. The steep sides and summits of these
hills in many places even to-day present a well-wooded appearance,
though the occurrence of an occasional fair-sized tree in some par-
ticularly inaccessible place throws into contrast the main cover,
which is low and bushy and much like that of the dry deciduous
formation. Undoubtedly these rough crags have been cut over in
the past, but owing to their absolute uselessness for cultivation they
have escaped being burned over.

EASTERN MOIST DECIDUOUS FORESTS.

The moist deciduous formation of India and Ceylon contains most of their valuable
timber trees, such as teak ( Tectona grandis), sal (Shorea robusta), satinwood (Chlorory-
lon swietenia), ebony (Diosypros ebenum), trincomalie-wood (Berrya ammonilla), etc.
Near the coast anumber of evergreen trees are found in mixture, as Mimusops hexandra,
M. elengi, species of Memecylon, Pleurostylia wightii, Nephelium, Sapindus, etc. In
Australia this is a savanna forest and consists largely of acacias and eucalypts.

In South America this formation more closely resembles the savanna than the rain-
forest type and is known locally as ‘‘campos,’’ ‘‘Ilanos,”’ ‘‘caatinga,’’ ete. It is
important economically because of the rubber-yielding trees which grow within it,
the ‘‘ceara-rubber” tree or ‘‘manisoba” (Manihot glaziovii, M. dichotoma, M. piyau-
hensis, etc.) and the ‘‘para-rubber” tree (Hevea braziliensis), the former in the open
savanna forests of northern Brazil and the latter in the basin of the Amazon.

TropicaL RAIN-FORESTS.

Forest vegetation culminates in density and luxuriance of growth
in the rain-forests, the most extensive of the original forest forms,

1 Fringing-forests.—Closely allied to both the moist deciduous and rain-forest formations are the
appropriately named fringing-forests or gallery-forests, mentioned, respectively, by Schimper and Broun,
dense tropical forests of unusual luxuriance occupying the banks of streams and rivers within dry regions.
They owe their luxuriance to the abundant moisture in the soil. Their extent back from the river thus
depends on the quantity and constancy of the stream flow and the modifying influence it is able to exert
on the adjacent soils. Such was the type of forest in all probability that Flinter (see note, p. 21) referred
to particularly as occurring in the vicinity of Guayama. Remnants of these forests are to be seen to-day,
in many places bordering the south coast streams where they have not been destroyed to make way for
cane growing. The contrast between them and adjacent forests of the dry deciduous formation is very
striking. The rich forests of the Amazon are to a considerable extent of this type.

Bul. 354, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. PLATE IV.

F-19760A

Fig. 1.—SECOND GROWTH Moist DeciDUuoUS FOREST BETWEEN ISABELLA AND
QUEBRADILLAS.

F—197574

Fia. 2.— FRINGIN@G FORESTS”? WHICH SKIRT THE WATER COURSES THROUGH THE
SEMIARID SOUTH COAST REGIONS, YET EXHIBIT MANY OF THE CHARACTERISTICS
OF THE Moist DECIDUOUS AND RAIN-FOREST FORMATIONS.

iIDyieeS OF sEORESHT:

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FORESTS OF PORTO RICO. 29

formerly covering the entire central uplands of the island, including
the valley plains of the large rivers, and reaching quite to the coast
on the east and west ends of the island. They undoubtedly attained
their richest development in the bottoms and sheltered slopes of the
larger river basins, but these being the most productive and the most
accessible, were the first to be stripped of their forest wealth. There
is little doubt that the greater part of this splendid natural resource
was never utilized, but was felled and burned. What remains is but
a poor example of this once magnificent forest domain.

The rain-forest from a distance looks not unlike our northern
deciduous forests, except where groups of palms or the yagruma (136)
occur in mixture with the broadleaf trees or where the bright-colored
blossoms of some flowering tree or epiphytic plant perched high in
the crown of its towering host interrupts the green of the background.
The foliage presents a variety of the duller and more somber greens,
but lacks entirely the fresh new green of the spring foliage in the
north. The crown level is also less regular than that of our northern
woods. Individual trees with wide-spreading crowns tower far above
the general level, the whole presenting a jagged and haphazard appear-
ance. On closer inspection a further contrast is apparent in the
greater number of trees with compound leaves, such as cedro (71),
guaraguao (74), and many others. The crown of the average tree of
the rain-forest is very much less branched than that of the northern
deciduous forest tree, there being but few main branches, themselves
only slightly branched, so that the tree has a very irregular appear-
ance. The leaves are highly diversified, not infrequently glossy, and
of a fine leathery texture, and though pinnate seldom finely so or
felted with hairs. They are usually set obliquely with relation to the
direct overhead light and often aggregated in tufts at the ends of long,
bare branches.

The interior of the rain-forest is still more striking in contrast and
more haphazard in appearance than its exterior. The growing space
appears to be unequally utilized; in places the stand is very dense
and is matted and tangled with a profusion of thick-stemmed woody
lianas and countless epiphytic orchids, bromeliads, ferns, and even
trees, covering every branch and extending to the tops of the tallest
trees; in other places the cover is very much broken, permitting great
patches of sunlight to reach the ground. In the denser parts the
ground is very sparsely covered, while in the openings palms and
other young trees, or a most detestable cutting grass, strive to occupy
the ground. ‘True shrubs are inconspicuous, most of the undergrowth
being of the same species as the main forest cover.

The soil in the forest is not only in large measure bare of herbaceous
growth, but it is very poor in vegetable mold. It is simply blackened
by the decaying vegetable matter. Humus, as we know it in the

30 BULLETIN 354, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

broadleaf forest of the the north, is very rare. Decomposition is
extremely rapid under the influence of tropical heat and great humid-
ity, and these, together with more gradual leaf fall, extending over the
entire year, prevent the accumulation of litter. Then, too, the tor-
rential rains wash much of it off the steep slopes almost as rapidly as
it is formed.

As to the trees themselves there is almost infinite assortment of
kinds, sizes, and forms. One of the most striking features is the large
number of light-colored, smooth-barked species resembling in appear-
ance our northern beech.!. Then, too, the trunks of the trees forming
the main crown cover are very characteristic, being for the most part
of very unequal thickness, and usually more slender? than those in
the virgin forests of the Temperate Zone. Large trees up to 5 feet
in diameter above the root flare, however, are not lacking even to-day
in the Luquillo. There are, besides, many trees, tabanuco (69) for
instance, with a much-buttressed base formed by planklike outgrowth
from the trunk and the uppermost roots.

There is a striking lack of uniformity in association and in distribu-
tion of species. The reasons for this are the vast number of species,?
the combination of accidental association that such a number makes
possible, and the absence of any considerable modifying soil or other
conditions tending to form fixed associations within the broader and
more uniform climatic one. The presence or absence of a tree, par-
ticularly one of the more valuable kinds, like cedro, appears to be a
matter largely of chance. The really valuable trees seem almost
hopelessly in the minority, while the inferior species are so numerous
as to impress one with the apparent worthlessness of the forest. Un-
questionably many of the so-called worthless woods are unjustly

1 According to Schimper this is owing to the prejudicial effect of humidity on the formation of cork, the
bark thus remaining poorly developed. The formation of bark is often so poor that moderately large
trees show green, owing to the chlorophyll of the cortical layer being visible through it. There is, never-
theless, considerable individuality to the bark of different trees; some have thin flaky and scaly bark, as
in Myrtacex, or a green surface, as in some Leguminosez; others, again, are armed with spines or corky
warts, while still others exude resins when wounded.

2 This, according to Schimper, is a distinguishing characteristic of the virgin tropical forest. Woodward,
too, discussing the rain-forest in Santo Domingo, states that while trees over 5 feet in diameter and 100 feet
high are occasionally found, the average is far below these figures.

8 Gifford and Barrett in their ‘‘ Trees of the Luquillo Region” (aophnilix: to Bulletin 54, Forest Service,
“The Luquillo Forest Reserve, Porto Rico’’) compiled a classified description of something over 100 identi-
fied species and enumerated besides the common names of nearly 100 more.

4 That the condition is not peculiar to Porto Rico, as many believe, and that, except inextent, the rain
forests of the Luquillo do not essentially differ from the other Antillean forests, the following will show:
Woodward remarks that in the virgin rain-forests of Santo Domingo two caoba (mahogany) trees to the
acre constitute a good stand. Fernow, likewise, is speaking of the virgin forests of the Sierra Maestra, Cuba,
remarks that it was most puzzling to discover a law of distribution. “After many days cruising,” he says,
“cover canyon, slope, and ridge one finds in identically the same kind of locality a new species, a single tree
or group never to be seen again in further cruisings. Nearly 400 miles had been traveled before the first
group of ebony was met.”’ He further states that ‘‘the openness of the main stand may be judged from the
statement that as developed by some 1,200 acres of sample area, less than 1.4 trees of commercial size per

acre were found. When it is considered that over 100 species participate in making up this stand the diffi-
culties of a commercial or even a botanical survey will be realized.”

FORESTS OF PORTO RICO. — a

discriminated against because their good qualities are commercially
unknown.

There is an almost complete absence of species having a gregarious
habit, the tabanuco (69)! and palma de sierra (3) being the chief

exceptions.
RAIN FORESTS OF THE LUQUILLO.

The entire forested area in the Sierra de Luquillo is within the
rain-forest belt. The situation is, however, a generally unfavorable
one as compared with other areas of abundant rainfall by virtue
of its unshielded exposure to the full force of the trade winds, so that
the forests here represent rather the minimum tropical rain-forest
development. ;

The main stand of the typical rain-forest development previously
described covers probably somewhat more than half of the mountain
area. Its four leading species are tabanuco (69), guaraguao (74),
laurel sabino (17), and ausubo (141), in the order of their numerical
importance. Largely because it has always been in great demand
among the natives for all manner of uses, the ausubo is now quite
searce. Cedro (71), too, is only occasionally to be found here. It is
doubtful if there was ever more than a scattering of caoba (72),
because of its preference for a slightly less humid site. While these
forests are usually considered to be undisturbed original growth,
such is not, strictly speaking, the case, for cedro and others of the
more valuable woods have been taken out a tree at a time by a
eradual culling process extending over many years.”

Two subordinate types.within the tropical rain-forest belt of the
Luquillo are the “hurricane hardwood”’ and “‘sierra palm’’ types.
The former, occupying the places of greatest exposure, the ridge sum-
mits and the easterly slopes above 2,500 feet elevation particularly, is
a low, gnarled, and stunted tree growth, mainly of the inferior species.’
Scarcely 25 feet high, the stands are in most places very dense and
the limbs of the trees interlace and are covered with water-laden
moss. For days at a time this type may be continuously bathed in

1See Plate ITI. ; .

2 There is authentic information concerning one cedro cut within the last 6 years from the south side of
the range, the stump of which yet remains and measures 18 feet in circumference (53 feet in diameter).
Several attempts are reported to have been made before a purchaser could be found for this tree because
ofits size and the difficulty of felling it and moving it away with the ordinary means at hand. Another,
still standing at the present time, measures 25 feet 5 inches in circumference.

8 An instance called to the attention of the writer relative to one of the secondary peaks visited by him in
1912 toward the south side of the range (elevation 3,000 feet) suggests the possibility of the hurricane of 1898
being at least a contributory cause of the low cover found on these exposed sites and led to the selection
of the name “‘ hurricane hardwood’’ type to designate this growth. An American resident said that atthe
time she took up residence there in the winter of 1899-1900 this peak was stripped entirely bare ofall vege-
tation and that it remained so for 2 to 3 years afterward. Gradually it showed patches of green and
eventually became entirely covered. The present stand is a dense young growth of yagrumo, palma de
sierra, and other of the poorer quality hardwoods. It may be significant that Dr. George Eggar, quoted

by Hill, does not remark on the presence of such a growth at the time cf his exploration of El Yunque in
1887, when a More normal growth may have been present.

32 BULLETIN 354, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE,

moisture by the clouds, which leave the summits of these mountains
only intermittently during a considerable part of the year. Although
commercially of no value whatever, this scrub growth is tremendously
important in protecting the exposed slopes from erosion.

Palma de sierra occurs throughout the uplands and in places in
sufficient numbers to dominate the stand, forming what may be
called the “sierra palm’ type. This occurs alike on the exposed
easterly slope and in the protected basins, often where the land is
rough and stony and windfall most likely. Consequently it is quite
likely a temporary type brought about through windstorm or other
accident to the original stand. In the protected localities the
associated species comprising the more valuable hardwoods are
numerous and usually well developed, so that the growth is not
without commercial value and future possibilities. At present these
two types—the “hurricane hardwood” type, of no commercial value,
and the “sierra palm’’ type, only partially merchantable—ageregate
about half the forested area and dominate the mountain tops and
exposed uplands of the Luquillo. rm"

RAIN FORESTS OF THE EASTERN TROPICS.

Many valuable species, including the great natural order of the Dipterocarpaceae,
find their homes in the luxuriant rain forests of the Philippines, the other East Indies,
and the neighboring mainland. The different trees of this order by the variety of
their woods, varying from those resembling our soft pine to the heaviest and hardest
cabinet woods, are suitable to almost every conceivable use. Several are gregarious
and form more or less pure forests, as for instance the eng (Dipterocarpus tuberculatus)
of Burma, the hora (D. zeylanicus) of Ceylon, also Vatica obscura and V. roxburghiana
of Ceylon. Other forests are dominated by members of this natural order. Thus, in
the moister forests of Ceylon there are portions composed almost entirely of different
species of Doona, freely mixed with Dipterocarpus, Shorea, Stemonoporus, Hopea, and
along rocky gullies Vateria. In the Philippines 70 per cent of the total stand of timber
is said to consist of trees of this family. Economically, therefore, this natural order
is a very important one, for besides its major timber products it yields many valuable
minor products, as camphor from Dryabalanops aromatica, gum resin and dammar
from several species of Shorea, Doona, and Dipterocarpus, and so on. The tribe of
the bamboos also finds in these wet tropical forests its greatest development.

Besides the above there are many species of value both in the East Indies and on the
mainland, in Africa, and tropical Australia and Queensland. This region, not to
mention the resources of tropical America, affords opportunity for almost infinite
selection for introduction by which to repair any deficiencies in commercial qualities
of the Porto Rican tree flora.

Dry Dercrpuous Forests.

The dry deciduous formation known in others of the West Indies
and in Central America and Mexico as chaparral was in pre-Colum-
bian times the second most extensive. Typically a formation of the
semiarid region, it dominated the south coast lands, foothills, plains,
and lower slopes of the central mountains from Patillas to Hormin-

Bul. 354, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. PLATE V.

F—I9762A
Fic. 1.—SOUTH SLOPES OF LUQUILLO MOUNTAINS.
Cleared almost to the summit. ‘La Florida,” the fruit farm in the foreground, is in the

southeast corner of the Forest onthe Rio Blanco. The elevation here is about 100 feet while
the peak in the background, scarcely 2 miles distant, is 3,000 feet above sea level.

F—19759A

Fia. 2.—LUQUILLO MOUNTAINS FROM THE NORTH.

Valley of Rio Maneyes in foreground. El Yunque, elevation 3,483 feet, at the right. Smoke
in the middle ground probably from the burning of cane refuse after the harvest.

LOQUILLO NATIONAL FOREST.

Bul. 354, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture.

PLATE VI.

F-I9761A
Fia. 1.—-THE WOODED SuMMIT OF EL YUNQUE, FROM LAS PIEDRAS, A Rock BALD
CLOSE TO THE SUMMIT.

Note the sierra palms mixed groupwise in the hardwood stand.

F—20022A

Fla. 2.—VIEW TO THE EAST FROM EL YUNQUE, SHOWING THE OUTLINE OF THE EAST
COAST FROM CAPE SAN JUAN SOUTHWARD.

The greater part of the forested tract in the foreground belongs to the insular government
Note the smoke in the right center from a charcoal pit or conuco clearing, doubtless.

LUQUILLO NATIONAL FOREST.

FORESTS OF PORTO RICO. 33

gueros (not far from one-fourth the area of the island), as well as
Vieques, Culebra, Mona, and the other outlying islands. It still
occupies to a large extent the thin-soiled, rugged limestone hills, and
has extended itself on the poorer soils of the north coast, principally
at the expense of the dry tidal woodlands and moist deciduous forests
of the limestone formation. In both situations, however, its compo-
sition is somewhat modified through the persistence of some of the
more tenacious species of the formations displaced. On the deeper
soils of the more gentle slopes and plains of the south coast country
back from the streams the dry deciduous forest has in large meas-
ure been displaced by agriculture—nomadic agriculture originally,
which burned and destroyed the forests and planted on their ashes.
This land once cleared and then abandoned reverts to a forest growth
with extreme difficulty, if at all. The open grass-covered savanna
is the general result, with but here and there a tree where a particu-
larly large individual escaped destruction or local conditions favored
its getting a start and enabled it to compete with the turf. A tran-
sitional form of forest which might be called the “savanna forest”’
may occasionally be met with where the open savanna and the true
forest join. Here the most hardy and drought-resisting varieties of
trees form open stands in the grassy waste.

Although the dry deciduous forests vary from the closed chaparral
form to that of the open savanna, they have certain well-defined
characteristics. They are more or less leafless during the several
months of the dry season and have a generally brown and parched
appearance, evergreen trees such as the pajuil (86) being rare. Grass
and other herbaceous growth under and between the trees is almost
always present. lLianas are small and slender and absent entirely
from the more open parts of the formation. Tillandsia (Spanish
moss) festoons many of the trees and is the most conspicuous and
most common among the epiphytes, here known collectively as
piiuelas. There are a few other bromeliads and an occasional orchid.
Exceedingly characteristic also of the formation are the pitajaya
(120) and tuna (120), the tree cactuses and opuntias.

The trees themselves, rarely over 30 feet high, are short and thick-
bodied, have a thick, fissured bark and a light, open, feathery crown
which in the open is very apt to be flat-topped and umbrella-shaped,
or to have its branches and foliage arranged in tiers. Leguminous
trees with thorny branches and fine, usually firm-textured compound
leaves, are particularly characteristic. Among the more common of
these are guava (36), guama (37), tachuelo (54), cobana negra (44),
algarrobo (45), campeche (50), moca (58), and many others. The
wood of many of these trees is extremely heavy, hard, and durable,

21871°—Bull. 354—16——3

34 BULLETIN 354, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

Among nonleguminous trees are guayacan (60), jobo (87), almacigo
(70), tea (64), guano (107), ucar (126), quebra hacha (94), and a host
of others. The ceiba (105) is a conspicuous tree of the open savanna.!

Outp FieLp GROWTH.

The old field type is an incidental and temporary one, in many
places in a formative state. It varies considerably from place to
place, the designation having been selected for all situations where
there is a manifest tendency of land formerly cultivated and now
more or less covered with grass to revert to forest. This tendency
is at present general except on some dry south coast situations. The
palm-studded hills most strikingly display this effort of nature to
restore the balance. Palms, through their ability to grow in dry
situations, are to that extent admirably adapted to assume this
pioneer réle. Their poor reproductive capacity, with the possible
exception of the palma de sierra, renders them less aggressive than
they otherwise might be. Another conspicuous old field pioneer
growth is the poma rosa (133). The “poma rosa’’ type is very con-
spicuously developed on the uplands between Cayey and Guayama
and in the vicinity of Aibonito. Natural reforestation even by this
apparently more aggressive tree is slow. This may be due in part
to a practice of successive clearings rotating this volunteer wood
growth with intermittent cropping to rice, beans, and the like. Cuyt-
ting for charcoal and for other uses also undoubtediy interferes.

CULTURAL FORESTS.

A description of the forests of Porto Rico would be incomplete
without mention of its cultural forests. They not only cover a con-
siderable acreage and are uniformly developed and kept up, but they
are the most conspicuous forest growth on the island taken as a

whole.
COCONUT PALM GROVES.

The palma de coco (4), or simply coco, is of uncertain origin,? but,
however that may be, it has by one means or another been distributed

1 One especially notable tree of this species near Ponce measures, according to Cook and Collins, 36 meters
(118 feet) in circumference 4 feet from the ground, following the sinuosities of the trunk. Herrera says of
the ceiba that it “has so great a shade that a strong man can not throw a stone across it. The tree is so
big that a carpenter whose name was Pantaleo made a chapel of one hollowed out, being so thick that
15 men holding hand in hand can not grasp it.”

2 Cook (“The Origin and Distribution of the Coconut Palm,” by O. F. Cook, Contributions from the
National Herbarium, Vol. VII, No. 2) scouts the currently accepted opinion that this species originated in
the Indian Archipelago and concludes: “The original habitat of the coco palm is to be sought in South
America, the home of all the other species of cocos and of most of the closely related genera.”’ He likewise
controverts the common notion that the coconut originated as a strand plant, that the thick husk is an
adaptation to enable the dispersal of seed by ocean currents, and that even the seeds thus transported have
the ability to germinate and maintain themselves in competition with the other strand vegetation. “The
coco palm,” he says, ‘‘is unable to maintain an existence when subjected to the competition of the wild
vegetation of tropical shores and forests.”” And, finally, “the idea (that they can not thrive in undisturbed
nature) is recognized in the Cingalese proverb, ‘The coconut will not grow out of the sound of the sea or of

human voices,’ and in the belief held among the same people that the trees will not thrive unless ‘you walk

and talk amongst them,’ ”’

—

FORESTS OF PORTO RICO. 355)

widely throughout the maritime regions of the Tropics. How long
it has been cultivated can only be surmised, but sufficiently long at
any rate for the development of many varieties. These varietal
forms are mostly found in the islands of the Indian Ocean and the
Malay region, little attention having been given to improvement by
selection in tropical America.

These groves line the shore in many places and, when well cared for,
are a profitable source of income. As yet the nut is the only product
exported from the island! There were, according to the 1912 tax
assessment list, 6,556 acres of land under coconuts, having a total
value of $663,710, and an average value per acre of $101.24 (maxi-
mum $269.45 in Anasco and minimum $24 in Comerio).

THE COFFEE FORESTS.

Coffee will grow without difficulty at sea level, but it thrives best
in the upland district above 2,000 feet elevation. Because of this
adaptability to soil and climatic conditions more or less unfavorable
to crops requiring clean cultivation, its extension throughout the
uplands of the interior was readily accomplished. Whether or not
the coffee bush was ever cultivated in the open here, as in Brazil, it
is now considered necessary to grow it under shade. While areas
of virgin forest were available these were used for coffee culture, the
overwood being thinned and the underwood cleaned out and replaced
by the coffee tree. In the absence of a natural forest growth the
leguminous trees guava (36) and guama (37), and to a less extent
bucare (59), are planted instead. The shade trees and coffee bush
are planted at the same time, the former by their naturally rapid
growth reaching a size to afford the requisite protection by the time
the coffee tree comes into bearing.

The coffee forests are of interest from the forestry standpoint
chiefly because of the protection which they afford to the steep
mountain slopes, although, on account of the relatively thin cover
and the small amount of cultivation they get, a certain amount of
soil erosion necessarily occurs.

CACAO PLANTATIONS.

Practically no cacao is now cultivated commercially, although
formerly it was to a limited extent. It is a semiforest crop growing

1 The coconut yields in addition ‘‘coir,”’ a fiber obtained from the husks and used in the manufacture of
cordage and for many other purposes; “‘copra,’”’ the dried meat of the nut, which when pressed yields
coconut oil and a “‘cake’’; besides the various uses of the wood. (See Appendix 1, under ‘‘Coco.’’)

2The advantages which may be attributable to the shading of the coffee, particularly when leguminous
trees are used for this purpose, are as follows: The trees hold the soil in place, at the same time protecting
the superficial roots of the coffee tree, require little care or replanting, discourage by their shade the growth
of weeds, diminish the cost of cultivation, and lessen the bad effects of drought, act beneficially in breaking
the force of the strong trade winds and of the pelting of the torrential rain, and enrich the soil. The actual
shade itself, however, is said to be unnecessary and even prejudicial. The use of leguminous shade trees
issaid to be aremnant ofa prehistoric agricultural practice employed in the cultivation of both cacao (choco-
late) and coca (cocaine) by the natives of Central and South America before the advent of Europeans and
is still in favor among.them.

36 BULLETIN 354, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

under a forest-trée shade, like coffee, but, unlike coffee, it does best
in the low country at elevations below 500 feet. It is chiefly of
interest here as offering a suitable means of restoring a forest cover
and providing an agricultural crop on some of the less fertile cane
lands, where a forest cover is particularly desirable because of its
influence on bird life so necessary to the control of insect pests.

FOREST INFLUENCES.2

Forests make their presence felt through their influence on climate,
on stream flow, and on soil erosion. In a country as abundantly
watered as is Porto Rico whether the forests cause slightly more rain
in the aggregate matters little. Within the forests, particularly those
in the mountainous interior, the temperature of the air is appreciably
milder and the humidity relatively higher than in the open. One
effect of this may be observed in the formation during the dry season
of clouds above the forests of El Yunque and vicinity, when none
exist elsewhere. These rapidly disappear as they pass on to the
westward and come in contact with the columns of heated air rising
from the open slopes and cultivated valleys toward Juncos and
Caguas. The modifying influence is likewise manifested in the cool
air which descends after sundown into the open cultivated valleys
from the wooded slopes of the coffee district.

The most important influence of the forests is in the checking of
floods and erosion, though the conditions in Porto Rico are such as
to make control of floods by forestation alone impossible. Through-

out a greater part of the year the forest soils, except those of the

limestone hills, are nearly, if not quite, saturated with moisture.
Steep slopes and rain in the form of brief but torrential downpours
are the rule and complete a combination favorable to most rapid
run-off. These make it necessary to supplement forestation by a

1 Cacao undoubtedly could be grown as profitably in Porto Rico as in Granada (British West Indies),
where conditions of configuration, rainfall, soil, trade winds, etc., are very similar and where an even greater
density of population prevails. According to a “ Report on the Economic Resources of the West Indies”
(by Daniel Morris, assistant director Royal Gardens Kew, in Kew Bulletin of Miscellaneous Information,
Additional Series 1, 1898) cacao was first planted in Granada on mountain lands as it formerly was in Porto
Rico, the lowlands being entirely in sugar estates. But later it was tried on the lowlands and found to
rival sugar in productiveness. In 1895 Granada was said to be the only West Indian colony of Great Britain
that was independent of sugar. An especial feature of the cultivation of cacao is that it can be raised to
advantage on small holdings.

2 Of more than passing interest in this connection are the following observations by Col. Flinter (see
Bibliography), written in 1834: ‘‘The government has most wisely ordered that three trees should be
planted for every one cut down. It is to be hoped that this order may be rigorously enforced; for, in the
first place, wood is the great and principal agent in the atmosphere for the attraction of the clouds, * * *
If these laws on this head are carried into force by the local magistrates the island will always have on it an
inexhaustible source of timber; but if, on the contrary, these useful precepts are not followed, water will
become scarce; the rivers will dry up; the fields will become scorched savannas for want of moisture; the
cattle will find neither food nor shade from the noonday sun; and this beautiful and fertile island will at
once be deprived ofits enchanting verdure, its fertility, and itsriches. Thisis not the dream ofimagination
or the ridiculous prognostication of idealills. I am aware that this can not happen before the expiration
ofa century; but it is the duty of governments and individuals to look forward to posterity. It is their duty, by
wise and prudent measures, to foresee and prevent at the present day the ills which may be inflicted on future
generations by undue considerations or concessions of temporary interests.”’ (Italicizing is the author’s.)

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Bul. 354, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture.

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FORESTS OF PORTO RICO. 37

succession of reservoirs and a cleaning up of the channels if any
noticeable reduction of the eroding effects of floods is to be had.

Forests aid in conserving the water in the soil. The trees both aid
the water in getting into the soil and then help the soil to hold on to
it. In the first place, the trees break the beating force of the rain,
which in the Tropics is considerable, and thus help to keep the surface
layers of the forest soil from being beaten down and rendered compact
and impervious like the soil in the open.. Then the roots of the trees
make the soil more open and accessible to percolating water. The
roots and such ground cover and litter as there are impede the progress
of surface run-off and afford the soil more time to absorb the water.
With more water getting into the forest soil than in grassland soil,
both being of a retentive character, there will be more water to find
its way to springs and be gradually poured out into the rivers to
sustain them during the periods of little rain.

The forest influences erosion in two ways: By reducing the force
and interrupting the passage of the surface run-off in the catchment
areas around the headwaters of the streams it slows up the washing
away of the surface layers of the soil and greatly impedes gullying.
At the same time the ability of the run-off to transport eroded ma-
terial is very considerably lessened. A grass cover, if it forms a firm,
well-knit sod, is also quite effective in resisting the erosive action of
surface run-off. When, however, the grass grows in bunches and is
interspersed with patches of bare ground or with tender, succulent
herbage that dies out im dry weather, leaving the soil exposed, erosion
and run-off is little affected. This is often the condition on the
upper and drier slopes on the south side of the island. That these
open slopes are not scored more deeply than they are is undoubtedly
due in large measure to the tenacity of the soil.

"It is when the run-off is gathered into the streams of the island
and reaches the foothills country, where the character of the soil
changes from the heavy clays of the interior to the lighter and more
readily eroded coast soils, that the greatest damage is done. The
rivers are generally too short to choke up and overflow, as would
otherwise more frequently happen. Yet they are continually
widening and shifting their channels, cutting off islands from adjoin-
ing fields, and undermining their banks. Frequently it is not so
much the water that creates the havoc as the material which it picks
up and transports. Besides the finer soil particles and gravel, large
bowlders are dislodged and rolled along with great destructive force.
Thus the volume of water which comes from the hills may in the
course of its passage to the sea be doubled by the material trans-
ported by it or dumped into it from caving banks.

A fringe of forest growth along the banks will materially lessen the
liability to this kind of erosion. Certain of the bamboos are par-

38 BULLETIN 354, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

ticularly suitable for this purpose and formerly were plentiful along
the water courses in Porto Rico. But since sugar cane has become
the all-important crop in the lowlands, the bamboo has been sacrificed
to secure afew more feet of land or because it shaded the cane planted
near the edge of the field. The folly of this procedure can be seen
in places where the extra feet of cane rows thus secured at the sacrifice
of bamboo and several more with them have been subsequently
undermined by flood and dumped into the river.'

The close relation of forests to stream flow and erosion is’ not
difficult to observe in Porto Rico. Compare, for instance, the lower
reaches of the north coast rivers, particularly those rising in the coffee
district or the Luquillo, with the south coast rivers, as, for instance,
the Portugues. The former have relatively few abandoned channel
beds and less spreading stream bottoms, are obstructed only by sandy
or gravelly bars and relatively small bowlders, and show a reasonable
flow of water even in the dry months. The Portugues and other south-
side rivers, which are largely fed by the rains falling on the steep
grass slopes of the Cordillera Central, have wide, dry bottoms showing
often no less than six different channels separated by low islands, and
many shoals, remnants of a former river bank. The bowlders, which
are everywhere strewn about, are several times the size of those in
the north coast rivers, the banks are often steep and undermined, and
the stream is of almost inconceivable insignificance on the midst of
surroundings indicative of such destructive power. The many
streams and waterfalls in the heart of the interior flow from the wooded
slopes (even when swollen by heavy rains) practically clear, carrying
but little sediment; on the other hand, the waters of the south coast
embayments at the mouths of the rivers are red-brown in the flood
season with the soil brought down by the rushing torrents.

Many examples might be found in the Tropics of serious injury resulting from
destruction of the forest or of benefits following its restoration. Owing to reforestations
effected on a large scale, the rainfall on the island of St. Helena has actually been
doubled since the time of Napoleon I; and in Lower Egypt, where in the eighteenth cen-

tury rain only fell on from 10 to 12 days in the year, the number of rainy days nowadays
reaches from 30 to 40. On the other hand, in Syria and Palestine there are numerous

regions which were formerly in a flourishing condition but have become arid and waste —

in consequence of the destruction of forests.2. In the West Indies themselves, the
experiences of Martinique are particularly instructive. Here as early as 1843 the man-

1 The following, which bears closely on this situation, is quoted from the 1907 report of Lorrin A.
Thurston, chairman of the committee on forestry of the Hawaiian Sugar Planters’ Association:

“Tn the past the subject of forestry has been largely treated by this association as an interesting incident,
but not as one of direct concern or of possible immediate benefit or profit to its members. Within twe
years I have heard of trees bounding fields being cut out because the shade injured the adjoining cane.

“Tn all earnestness I urge upon the association that the time for this view of forestry and its possibilities
in Hawaii has passed, and that the preservation, propagation, and utilizing of forests and forest products
should from this time forth be made one of the leading features of the efforts of the planters’ association,
both by it as an organization and through the individuals and corporations which give it its strength.”
(Italicizing is the author’s.)

2 General report by C. Capolletti, of the proceedings of the Navigation Congress at Milan in 1905.

FORESTS OF PORTO RICO. 89

ufacture of charcoal was recognized as the most serious single cause of the forest de-
struction which resulted in timber shortage, interruption and impairment of stream
flow, soil wastage, damage to valuable agricultural lands through erosion, and shortage
in the supply of water for power and other purposes. To remedy this situation the ex-
portation of charcoal was prohibited, and stringent measures were adopted to regulate
its manufacture, sale, and distribution. Most important of all, however, a forestry
association ! was formed which issupported by the Government. It has not only made
a beginning in experimental reforestation, but is working through the schools, the
celebration of Arbor Day, and the distribution of forest-planting stock at cost to
arouse public interest in forestry.

The subject of conserving the forests for their influence on the
water supply has not been without consideration in Porto Rico,
since there appears in the ‘‘law of waters”? this very significant
language: ‘‘The colonial secretary shall also direct that a study be
made of the portions of the basins and watersheds which it is advisable
to keep wooded in the interest of a control of the water supply.” ”
Like many another good piece of Spanish legislation, it remained legis-
lation to the end. It is still, however, a part of the laws of the realm
to-day and awaits as formerly official action. So much and more
should be undertaken without delay.

COMMERCIAL ASPECTS.

In the larger commercial sense the forests of Porto Rico are
insignificant. Leaving out of consideration coconuts and coffee, there
is not a single article of export which is in any sense a forest product.
The forests are, however, of tremendous importance as a source of
domestic wood supply.

Loca TIMBER AND Woop SUPPLY.

The estimated present resources of those forest lands capable of
yielding saw logs are placed at 96,442,500 cubic feet (1,155,000 cords).
Of this amount, however, there are only 4,592,500 cubic feet (27,-
500,000 feet, or 55,000 cords) of saw-log size, the great bulk being
chiefly suitable for fuel, small house logs, and piling, posts, and the
like. There are about 110,000 acres of such.lands on which it is
believed the average yield will not exceed 876.7 cubic feet (10.5
cords) per acre, of which 41.7 cubic feet (0.5 cord) will be found suit-
able for saw logs. On another 333,000 acres, comprising small wood
and brush lands, including mangrove, the produce consists largely
of fuel, house piling, and other small materials, averaging scarcely
334 cubic feet (4 cords) per acre. This will add another 111,222,000
cubic feet (1,332,000 cords) to the general resources. The total
present supply is, therefore, 207,664,500 cubic feet (2,487,000 cords).

1 “La Societe Martiniquaise des Amios des Arbres’”’ was founded in November, 1909.
2 Art. 59 of the Spanish law of June 13, 1879, which was extended over Porto Rico by Royal decree of
Feb. 5, 1886, and reenacted and amended by the Legislative Assembly of Porto Rico, Mar. 12, 1903.

40 BULLETIN 354, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

Stated in one lump sum it seems considerable, yet it is equivalent to
scarcely 185 cubic feet per capita—less than the annual per capita
consumption of the United States or Canada.

The value of this resource is $6,780,000, on the basis of 3 cents a
cubic foot for all material except timban, which is estimated at 15
cents. The value of any by-products and the far more important
soil protective value are, of course, left entirely out of account.
The wood value alone, however, if invested at 5 per cent, would
yield in interest approximately $340,000. The expenditure through
an appropriation from the insular treasury of less than 6 per cent of
this latter amount, or about $20,000, for a forest service to protect
and improve the principal, would seem, therefore, to be a fully war-
ranted, sound, and businesslike policy.

LUMBER AND TIMBER IMPORTS.

Commercial expansion during the last few years has created a
heavy demand for building lumber, timbers, and the like, which,
because of the scarcity of suitable native woods, have been imported.
Naturally most of this material has come from the United States,
the Gulf ports more particularly.

Imports of forest products from the United States for the fiscal
year 1911 totaled $1,308,579, an increase of 225 per cent over those
of 1909. Besides this the United States supplied furniture and other
manufactures of wood amounting to $684,560. Foreign lumber,
timber, and manufactures to the amount of $131,623 were imported,
of which material worth $14,616 came through the United States.
The gross value from all sources was thus $2,124,762, of which lum-
ber, timber, etc., exclusive of naval stores or manufactures of wood,
amounted to $1,382,506.

The quantity of wood imported, exclusive of such products as
shingles, box shooks, etc., amounts to 9,120,872 cubic feet (54,616,000
feet b. m.), including 8,382,064 cubic feet (50,192,000 feet b. m.) in
lumber, scantling, and sawed timber from the United States, and
738,808 cubic feet (4,424,000 feet b. m.) from abroad. In addition,
there was imported from the United States 26,717 cubic feet in
hewed timber. Thus the grand total of wood imports amounted to
9,147,589 cubic feet, or about 8.2 cubic feet per capita.

DEMANDS FOR Woop.

The demands for wood products are about half for commercial
and half for domestic uses. Most of the commercial demands are
supplied by imports. The commercial demands supplied by native-
grown wood come chiefly from power development, which takes
3,633,336 cubic feet (43,513 cords) each year, equivalent to 3.25

FORESTS OF PORTO RICO. 41

cubic feet per capita! The raw materials for the manufacture of
furniture and novelties, native carts, ox yokes, and the like, also
railroad ties, for narrow-gauge roads principally, posts and heavy
structural timbers, in the aggregate probably amount to less than
1 cubic foot per capita.

Probably not less than 11,180,000 cubic feet (133,892 cords),
equivalent to 10 cubic feet per capita, is consumed for domestic
purposes. This means that an average family of five persons con-
sumes only a little more than half a cord of wood each year. The
demand for house piling, rafters, flooring, and the like is at the
present time inconsiderable—not more than 2 cubic feet per capita
(2,236,000 cubic feet)—because of the great scarcity of wood over
most of the island and the prevailing low standard of living, especially
among the rural population.

The various present demands for wood, aside from the manufac-
tures of wood, may thus be summarized:

Character of de-

Hoa ey Source of supply and uses. Per capita. Total.
Lo ; Cubic feet. | Cubic feet.

Commercial.........| Imports, building material, etc....................---.---: 8.2 9, 147, 589
otal tel only. - too. cgo- ee ese coos 3. 25 3, 633, 336

Domestic.......--.. IGE EG Sn Se ome ce oneee eb eens 10.00 | 11,180,000
House pilings, and poles, posts, ete... - 2. 00 2, 236, 000

Total...... Bag oe asepoebr CaSe es Jee ctebancenebosbace 23.45 | 26,196, 925

Net total excluding impoftss. os. 24sec bee. oes oe ake 15.25 | 17,049,336

Note.—The domestic demand is entirely an estimate; the commercial demand is based on the census
and customs reports for 1910 and 1911, respectively.

The present status of the supply and demand is graphically repre-
sented in figure 7, which shows that the present per capita supply,
at the rate it is now being consumed, will be exhausted in about 12
years. Yet at the present rate of production it will require more
than 45 years to produce a similar supply, or nearly four times as

1Manufactures, Porto Rico; Bulletin of the Thirteenth Census, 1910: “Closely related to the question
of kind of power employed is that of the fuel used in generating this power. * * * Porto Rico has no
mineral fuel, and its wood supply is being depleted as manufactures increase. The following table shows
the quantity of each kind of fuel used in 1909.”’

Oil,
Anthra- | Bitumi- ¥ : includ-
Industry. cite coal. nous coal. Coke. Wood. ing gaso- Others.
line.
Tons. Tons. Cords. | Barrels. Tons.

Multindustriestle Loess. 2k etek 946 | 41, 988 43, 513 1,036 520
Bread and other bakery products......... boa] Bet eet de 13, 444 MDM RES ook ost
Coffee, cleaning and polishing 128 1, 293 2, 846 C3) | Ree ee
Paguorsy distilled 25.6 f2 5. See. 28 Se 200 PEL Ai 5 Pea Ny (cll ee ees ea
DUPAL BNE INGIASSCS,... 4 3% <b ain/s so nfo seks onder |eciee sess = BL SUSh | ea cedeeen|() 19656 365 275
Pohactosanulactures=-/j2. 4.2 ose s|avecoe-s- LUD eee EY ees oe? 5 Y fl an oer,
All OUNERATIGUSUDICS o0.- ces co cessscee ae 613 5,385 |" 6, 830 546 245

42 BULLETIN 354, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

long to produce as to consume it. New growth, however, during
the period will extend the supply to slightly more than 16 years.
It is, however, not to be expected that the island will be denuded of
all woods at the end of this period. Experience teaches us that what
actually happens in such cases is that consumption decreases as more

ee

Aes es sehen ce a #

Shee Year | omnYear ; Ps

"in 30 Years — ~ pete
/ emf j ‘
“IN 40 YEARS

'

Fic. 7.—Per capita supply, production, and consumption of wood in Porto Rico, showing the rate at which
present merchantable wood supply is being drawn on each year to meet domestic need, and the rate of
its replenishment through new growth. The large circle represents the present per capita wood supply
(185 cubic feet) exclusive of imports. The small circle represents:per capita of wood production in one
year (4 cubic feet), and the dot and dash circles the corresponding production per decade. (Based ona
present annual growth of 10 cubic feet per acre per annum, equivalent to 4 cubic feet per capita.)

and more people are unable to pay the advancing prices. In the
present instance it simply means a progressively increasing privation.

TREND OF FUTURE DEMANDS.

Education and the establishment of a more permanent form of
agriculture will inevitably raise the standard of living among the
lower classes and increase correspondingly the demands on the forests
for both building materials and fuel, and besides these is the
normally increasing demand occasioned by increased population.
Kerosene and denatured alcohol can not, at least for a long time,

FORESTS OF PORTO RICO. 43

take the place of wood. The change would necessitate not only the
displacing of the customs of centuries, but an investment in stoves
and burners, which the average person can not afford. The domestic
per capita consumption of fuel can therefore be expected to rise from
year to year. .

The sugar mills are now the largest commercial users of native
wood. Under present improved methods the refuse cane fiber, known
as ‘‘bagasse,”’ is burned under the boilers, which effects a considerable
wood saving. Some wood is still required to sustain this “‘bagasse’”’
fuel, but as one ‘‘central’’ has already substituted crude oil for this
purpose with satisfactory results, it is possible that in time all the
larger mills at least may likewise adopt that fuel. It is thus probable
that the maximum demands on the native wood supply have been
reached by this industry. A gradual decline may consequently be
expected.

The bakeries are the second largest commercial consumers of
wood, and they demand cordwood of regulation size. The possi-
bility of their changing to oil or other substitute fuel seems remote at
the present time. The business is conducted on a small scale, with
too limited a capital to justify such an outlay. The Army bakeries
also consume a relatively large amount of cordwood. Any imme-
diate decrease in demand¢ of these or other industries where wood is
largely used in the generation of power is thus hardly to be looked for.

BALANCING SUPPLY AND DEMAND.

Everything points to a sustained or an increased demand for wood.
Commercial expansion can and will be taken care of by an increased
volume of imports. But local and domestic needs accommodate
themselves less readily and less promptly to new sources of supply.
With production falling behind consumption, hardship and depriva-
tion must be the inevitable consequences. This condition promises
to grow more serious unless relief can be had through increased pro-
duction. Two ways are open to effect this —planting new forests and
improving the existing woodlands.

The restoration of a reasonable balance between cleared lands and
forests is necessary. One-half million acres under prime forest
growth will scarcely more than meet the situation. At present a
large part of the 443,000 acres of timber and brush land yields not
more than 10 cubic feet per acre a year, worth, at 3 cents per cubic
foot, about $135,000. The improvement of these and the planting
to new forest growth of 100,000 acres besides would provide approxi-
mately one-half acre of productive forest per capita, which is about
the minimum required by a people to meet their own needs. A con-
servative estimate of the average annual growth to be expected on
such area under forest management would be 30 cubic feet per acre,

44 BULLETIN 354, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

worth in the aggregate approximately $490,000. Accordingly, to
neglect to adopt a constructive forest policy for the future will mean
the loss of a possible income from wood products of $355,000 per

annum.
FOREST INDUSTRIES.

CHARCOALING.

One could hardly expect that with depleted forests there would be
many or very flourishing industries.1_ The charcoal industry is prob-
ably the leading forest industry of Porto Rico, as of many other of
the West Indies. Charcoal is the fuel most generally used, particu-
larly for domestic purposes. It is the only fuel of the poorer classes
in the cities and is still in use to a great extent among the better
classes also. Generally speaking, the charcoal is of exceedingly poor
quality and small size. Some is scarcely larger than pea coal. Such
stuff, the good and the bad indiscriminately, sells in San Juan for
as high as 25 cents a can.? A sack holding about 2 bushels sells for
from $1 to $1.25.3

The manufacturing part of the industry is carried on in a crude
and haphazard way. All sizes of material, even to brushwood and
small limbs scarcely one-half inch thick, and all kinds of wood are
fired in the same heap. Because of its crookedness the wood is cut
into short lengths—4 to 6 inches. The kilns are of poor and crude
construction, and the fire control consequently is ineffective. Too
rapid combustion is thus apt to occur and great waste results through
the complete consumption of part of the wood, or incomplete com-
bustion may leave some of the wood only partially carbonized, which
renders the product very variable in burning and heating qualities.

The sources of supply are numerous. Most of the material comes
from the clearing of land for agricultural use, but the mangrove
swamps and the south coast hills furnish considerable. In some
instances the charcoaling is done by contract with the bona-fide
owners of the land, especially of land being cleared for the cultivation
of sugar cane. In this case the large material is frequently cut and
sold at from $1.50 to $2 a ton ‘ to the ‘‘central.’’ The charcoal opera-

1 The census (1910) reports 8 establishments classed as “lumber and timber products” industries, having
a totalpersonnel of 171—26 proprietors, 22 clerks, and 123 laborers. These industries represent a combined
capital of $113,392 and handle a product valued at $268,719, of which $90,301 is the value added by manu-
facture.

2 Since the advent of the automobile the 5-gallon gasoline containers have become very plentiful and
have been adapted to a variety of uses, one of which is as a unit of measure for the retailing of charcoal.

3 A small amount of charcoal is brought in from Santo Domingo, but only one instance is known to the
writer of any being brought from the mainland. The sale of this, however, under adverse market condi-
tions yielded a slight profit and shows not only the high price of the native product but the possibility of
developing a successful and profitable competition with it.

4The wood is thrown loosely into the car and is of varying lengths and frequently crooked. Under these
conditions a car having a capacity of 1,000 cubic feet weighed 22,548 pounds, or about 224 pounds per cubie
foot. Making an allowance for the condition of the wood in the car, 150 cubic feet seems a fair equivalent
ofa properly cut and stacked cord. On this basis a cord would weigh about 3,400 pounds.

=

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“LSAYO4 SHL NI GAMVS ANV1d LNO ONIdGINS—'S? “lJ "1SHYO4 SHL 4O LYVSH SHL NI Lid-MvVS—"| “DI

PLATE IX.

Bul. 354, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture.

PLATE X,

Bul. 354, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture.

sp6éle—-3

‘GYVA YSEWN7] GNV TIINMVS ZAILVN—'S “DIS

*SSIYLSNANI

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“N1Vd IVWAOY SHL JO NOILYOd

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>ONINVIA) GYVOSdVIO—"|} “DI4

FORESTS OF PORTO RICO. 45

tor may be given the material for clearing up the land or he may pay
the owner a stipulated amount per sack of charcoal yielded.

Often the charcoaling is not even done ‘“‘ by your leave,” since it is
an adjunct to “‘conuco”’ farming. When the squatter finds a piece
of woodland which he wants to cultivate he may first cut such mate-
rial as is suitable and make charcoal from it, or a charcoal burner
may cut over a piece of land for charcoal without having an intention
of subsequent cultivation. The public lands have by this process —
been largely despoiled of their forest growth.

LUMBERING.

As an organized business lumbering hardly exists at all. Probably
the nearest approach to it is in the Sierra de Luquillo, where a few
lumbermen or woodcutters are to be found. They own their own
implements and log on contract; that is to say, if any one wants a
piece of ausubo for an ox yoke or bull cart or any other special mate-
rial these men will go in and get it out for him. Their method of
lumbering is a very gradual process of culling. Having found a suit-
able tree, they fell it and cut it into logs of the desired Iength. The
log is squared with an adz, then a knob is fashioned at one end, to
which a rope may later be made fast to drag it out by. Finally the
log is placed on a rudely constructed scaffolding of poles erected on a
hillside and sawed by the world-old pit-saw method. If they may be
skidded directly from the pit, the planks are not sawed through the
whole length of the log, but the log is left intact for a short distance
back from the knob end to facilitate handling. Otherwise each
plank is entirely severed from the log and carried out by hand to a
place accessible to oxen. There the separate planks are assembled
as they were in the log, a rope is made fast to the knob, and they are
skidded the rest of the way to their destination or to where they can
be loaded on a cart. The smaller logs and pole and post timbers are
skidded singly or sometimes several at a time.

Skidding is accomplished by oxen on slopes where such work seems
impossible. Grade appears to receive scant consideration, the skid-
ding trails in places descending straight down the slope. Frequently
these are hollowed out, whether intentionally or by the wearing of
the logs is not evident, and stakes are driven at the side, where they
turn sharply around a shoulder or follow obliquely down the hillside.
After a time erosion supplements the wearing of the logs and the
trails become so deep in places that they have to be abandoned.

Woop-workKInG INDUSTRIES.

With this system of lumbering there is, of course, no need for
sawmills." What few mills there are—located principally in the

1 Flinter (see Bibliography) reported one water sawmill on the island in 1830 near Camuy.

.

46 BULLETIN 354, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

-

seaport cities, San Juan, Mayaguez, and Ponce—resaw American
lumber. Some of these carry a small stock of native logs which they
saw on order for special work.

One of the largest manufactories on the island, located near San
Juan, is devoted to the making of cigar boxes. The stock, cedro (71),
for this factory is entirely imported, in large measure if not wholly,
from Cuba. It comes in strips already cut to the proper thickness,
namely, } inch and ;3; inch. The annual consumption amounts to
about 2,000,000 superficial feet, or something less than 1,000,000 feet
b. m. <A box of the size to hold 50 cigars contains about 14 square
feet of material.

The trunk and match industries use considerable wood, but it is
all imported. Furniture and other cabinet work and novelties, of
which very little is produced, are to a large extent the product of
hand labor. Native woods are. almost exclusively used. The
furniture is very excellently made, and, though of a style some-
what different and considerably more ornate than our furniture, is
very attractive and pleasing. It especially brings out the beauties
of the native woods, which, though practically unknown to com-
merce, possess very desirable qualities of both grain and color.
The native furniture trade is unfortunately doomed to extinction,
because of its inability to meet the competition of cheap machine-made
furniture from the mainland.

FOREST PRODUCTS.

The forests of Porto Rico yield a large variety of gums, resins,
fibers, coloring and dyeing materials, edible fruits, and the like, hav-
ing a decided commercial value if systematically developed. Some
of these are well-known articles of commerce, as anatto, fustic, and
other coloring and dyeing materials. Although none are produced in
sufficient quantity for export, most of them are to be found on sale
in the public markets. It is doubtful if the various products and
their still more varied uses have ever been completely catalogued.
Many of the more important uses are given in Appendix 1, where,
however, the wood uses are the ones chiefly considered.

FOREST PROBLEMS.

Every acre of land best suited, either temporarily or for all time,
to forest production should be devoted to that use. Every acre of
land around the headwaters and along the banks of the rivers on
which a forest cover would offer a protection superior to the present
cover against erosion and soil wastage should be forested. All for-
ested lands and those to be forested should be so managed as to yield

a maximum of the products most needed by the local communities |

and industries. The forestry program should also provide suitable

ve

FORESTS OF PORTO RICO. 47

protection to the birds, live stock, and even man himself in the form,
respectively, of small groves at intervals throughout the cane and
tobacco districts, open cover in the pastures, and shade trees along
the roadsides. Of scarcely less importance than these phases of the
practice of forestry are painstaking investigations and a thorough
campaign of educational propaganda.

PLANTING.

The planting of new forests is by far the most important, in point
of magnitude at least, of the forestry work to be done in Porto Rico.
Tree planting figured rather conspicuously in the early Spanish laws.
‘Law First’’! of ‘‘Laws of the Indies,’’ which concerned the allot-
ment of lands to settlers, provided ‘‘two ‘huebras’ of land for
orchard, and eight for planting other trees,” while ‘‘Law Eleventh”
promulgated by Emperor Charles in 1536, provided even more explic-
itly for the planting of ‘‘ willows and trees,”’ so that in addition to other
purposes ‘‘it be possible to use the timber (wood) which might be
necessary.” As the Indies were generally well wooded, these laws,
it may reasonably be inferred, were merely Spanish laws devised to
meet conditions in Spain and more or less perfunctorily extended over
the new possessions. Certain it is that they were never given force or
effect in Porto Rico.

The need for reforesting the headwaters of the streams has already
been mentioned. In most cases, however, protection can be as well
supplied by the forests managed from the standpoint of wood pro-
duction. It will not often be necessary to refrain from any cutting
whatever. A system of harvesting the wood crop which will expose
the soil on the steep slopes as little as possible to the unbroken force
of the sun, wind, and rain, will usually be sufficient. For planting
work along the streams to prevent the banks from washing, it may be
necessary to adopt special material, such as bamboo. But with
propercare even this could be harvested without impairing its useful-
ness as a soil binder.

In planting for the production of a wood crop the first consideration
is, what products are most needed. Many would plant mahogany,
ebony, rosewood, and all the other valuable cabinet and dye woods
solely because they are valuable. Some time in the future it may be
good forestry to try producing these woods for export, but that time
will not come until the virgin supply of Santo Domingo and other
countries is much nearer exhaustion and the growth qualities of these
woods is much better known than now. In the meantime the home
market is urgently in need of attention; its requirements are known,
and it can be profitably supplied. Those trees which will produce
fuel wood in the greatest abundance, the shortest time, and the most

1 See p. 9.

48 BULLETIN 354, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

suitable quality should unquestionably be the ones most extensively
planted. What the species are that will best fulfill those require-
ments is now unknown and must be determined by experiment and
investigation. The discovery of the best varieties of woods for the
manufacture of charcoal is also of the utmost importance.

Second ‘only to the need for fuel is that for an increased supply of
suitable woods for various native uses. At present the demand is
more or less irregular and specialized. Particular kinds of wood have
particular uses and there is practically no demand for wood for native
house construction except for underpinning, sills, and the like. The
advancement of civilization on the island will necessitate the improve-
ment of housing conditions in the interest of public health, sanitation,
and morality; and universal education through the public schools
will inevitably set up a standard and a demand which will not tolerate
present conditions. To meet this demand the properties of the vari-
ous woods will have to be closely studied and very likely the intro-
duction of some such species as the pine will be found desirable.

There is at least one native industry of large proportions that might
possibly produce its own box material through the practice of for-
estry—the cigar industry. At present the cedro used by the Porto
Rican trade comes almost exclusively from the virgin forests of Cuba.
This wood is particularly prized for its lightness, clearness of grain,
and strong yet pleasant aromatic odor. It is, of course, largely
conjectural how far these properties would inhere in the wood of a
planted growth. The cedro (71) is a rapid grower under favorable
conditions of soil and climate.

Undoubtedly many trees could be planted which would yield
products of bark, leaf, or sap for use as the basis of new industries.?
The achiote might be set out on a steep hillside, several acres of it
together. The gathering of the seed coats and the extraction of their
coloring matter would furnish light labor for a number of persons at
certain seasons of the year, if not the year round. Then there is the

1 One such species undoubtedly is the Acacia palida (41), stands of which, according to investigations of
the Philippine Bureau of Forestry, will yield over 13 cords per acre in 2to3 years. Itissplendidly adapted
for the reforestation of grasslands wastes either as a permanent crop or as a pioneer and nurse crop for subse-
quent plantations of more valuable but less hardy and aggressive species. It may also be planted to advan-
tage on worn-out agricultural lands and, after one crop of firewood is harvested, the twigs and tops plowed
into the soil asa green manure. (The author is indebted to Mr. H. M. Curran, formerly of the Philippine
Bureau of Forestry, for calling his attention to the work done by that bureau and its published report
concerning this tree, entitled “Ipil-Ipil—A Firewood and Reforestation Crop,”’ by D. A. Matthews, Bulletin
No. 13, Philippine Bureau of Forestry.)

2 Dr. Seaman A. Knapp, in his “Report on Investigations of the Agricultural Resources and Capabilities
of Porto Rico” (Senate Doc. 171, 56th Cong., 2d sess.), emphasizes the need of new industries. He says:
“Tho early establishment of a number of minor industries closely related to agriculture is of vital importance
to future prosperity. The object of such industries is to give profitable employment to the wives and
children of farm laborers, so that the earning ability of the home may be doubled, and in some cases quad-
rupled. * * * Manv philanthropic Porto Ricans suggested that the farm laborers on the coffee and
tobacco plantations scattered upon the mountains * * * could never derive the full advantage of free
education * * * until they were gathered into small villages and became amenable to society.”

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PLATE XI.

Bul. 354, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture.

Bul. 354, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. PLATE XII.

F—I9764A

Fia. 1.—A SECTION OF THE COMERIO-BARRANQUITAS ROAD, ENTIRELY DEVOID OF SHADE
OF ANY KIND.

F—27954A

Fic. 2.—THE Famous MILITARY ROAD.

This stretch of roadway just outside of Caguas is attractively shaded
by overarching flamboyan.

IMPROVED ROADS.

FORESTS OF PORTO RICO. 49

emajagua, which might be planted as a soil protector and yet be so
managed as to yield a regular amount of fiber and fagots each year.
The poma rosa could be made to furnish a continuous supply of hoop
material for baling tobacco, fruit boxes, and the like, as well as fagots.
The growing and tapping of tabanuco for its resinous sap likewise has
possibilities. These-and many others, the bamboos especially, are
worthy of careful study and consideration

While recognizing the larger and more purely economic aspects of
tree planting, it will not do to neglect esthetic and utilitarian con-
siderations. No country can afford to be ugly or to neglect the
comfort, both physical and mental, of its own or a visiting people.
The roads of the island, particularly those through the lowland
country, are usually hot and unattractive for lack of proper shade.
There are some notable exceptions to this, but their occurrence serves
rather to heighten the discomfort after they are passed. Such a one
is the avenue of flamboyan bordering the military road between
Caguas and Cayey. The kind of tree is of nearly as much importance
as the fact that there are trees at all. Thus the almacigo and jobo,
to mention two of the most common, have little to recommend them
for roadside planting, except their ease of propagation and rapidity
of growth. In the open country, trees that are tall and carry their
branches high on a straight, clean trunk offer little obstruction to the
view or to the circulation of air, yet they protect the roadway during
the midday hours from the fonts sun, and relieve the monotony of
cultivated fields and pastures.

There is much concern about the scarcity of bird life in the cane
country and the consequent prevalence of destructive insects. An
occasional grove of trees would help this situation by furnishing the
birds a refuge and nesting place; yet what few patches of woodland
there are are constantly being cleaned up to get a few more square
feet in cane.

Systematic tree planting could be carried on in the pastures, even
those which are actually utilized for grazing. There are several of
the leguminous trees the pods of which are very nutritious and very

1 Tn this connection the following from a letter of the U.S. Biological Survey to the Board of Commis
sioners of Agriculture published in its second annual report is of interest:

“Tn connection with the increase of island birds Mr. Wetmore suggests the great desirability of providing
them with more shelter than they now have. The grackles and yellow-shouldered blackbirds, for instance-
nest and roost in the palms. Can not the individual owners of plantations be sufficiently interested in
the matter to plant royal palms along the roads leading through the cane fields? The island kingbirds
appear to be very useful, and they need small perches from which to watch for insects. Bamboo planted
along the streams and the drainage ditches would not only favor the three species mentioned above, but
would also provide shelter from the sun for the green heron and the anis. For mocking birds, small brushy
areas are essential, but these need not be of any great size, and if hilltops unfit for cane or other crops be
left and not denuded of brush they will answer well the purpose.

“Mr. Wetmore further suggests that along the coast restrictions should be placed upon the total clearing

of areas of mangroves by the charcoal burners, and special care should be taken not to disturb the rookeries
of herons—the snowy, little blue, and little green species,”’

21871°—Bull. 354—16——4

50 BULLETIN 354, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

much sought after by stock. These trees, besides affording food and
shade for the cattle and naturally enriching the soil and improving
the grass crop, could be cut at intervals for fuel.

MANAGEMENT.

The problems in forest management are those first of all which
concern the protection of the present forests, such as the regulation
of ‘‘conuco”’ farming, charcoal burning, and wood trespass in gen-
eral, which alone will undoubtedly yield ample returns. Yet these
little more than open the way to the real problems. The need for
the improvement and conservative management of the mangrove
has already been referred to. The insular lands, too, and to a large
extent the privately owned lands which still remain forested, should
not only be kept so but should be improved under systematic man-
agement. The nature of such management will depend on a variety
of circumstances. Its fundamental purpose, however, will be to
favor the growth and reproduction of those trees best suited to the
needs which the particular forest is intended to serve. If the most
suitable species do not occur in the original growth, it will be neces-
sary to introduce one or more of them by planting; but careful inves-
tigation will usually discover among even those commonly thought
to be useless qualities of excellence undreamed of. —

INVESTIGATION.

In a country like Porto Rico, where so little is known about the
native trees, their habits and requirements, it would be folly to
ignore the needs for scientific study and research. The forest crop
grows and matures comparatively slowly, and it accordingly takes
several years for a mistake to become fully manifest. It thus will
not do to go ahead blindly and plant large areas with little-known
species, to find later that they are not suitable. Provision for inves-
tigative work is therefore indispensable to the practice of forestry.

EDUCATION.

One can not expect those who all their lives have been engaged in
wasting and destroying what has come to them without exertion to
see unaided the advantages of turning about and putting exertion
into its production. Educational work of a very thorough and
earnest sort is necessary to induce a people to support a tree-planting
or other forestry campaign because usually the benefits are either
obscure and indirect or are obtainable only by a future generation.

There are many educational means by which forestry can be car-
ried to the people. The public-school system is, of course, one of the
first and most effective means to be considered. Then the more ad-
vanced thinkers may be formed into forestry associations for dis-
cussion and propaganda, and others may be reached through popular
publications, lectures, and the press,

FORESTS OF PORTO RICO. 51

Already a considerable interest is manifested by different branches
of the insular government in improving forest conditions. Several of
the sugar companies are also interested in planting up waste lands
and in the open planting of leguminous trees in their bull pastures to
provide green forage, improve the grass crop, and furnish shade for
the stock. They are also planting for ornament about their grounds,
along the roads, and bordering the cane fields.

INSULAR FOREST POLICY.

It must be evident that a program which has for its fundamental
purpose the improvement of conditions affecting both directly and
indirectly the interests of a whole people can not be left to private
initiative. It must be undertaken and directed by the insular gov-
ernment itself. An efficient and well-equipped insular forest admin-
istration ' should, therefore, be provided, and a forest policy be estab-
lished which would make effective the following work: A campaign of
education, investigative work in forestry, the care and management
of the most suitable parts of the insular domain as insular forests,
and cooperation with private individuals, municipalities, and others
interested in the practice of forestry. The practice of forestry and
forest experimentation is a distinctly long-time operation. In
scarcely less than 10 years are any practical results forthcoming,
unless an experiment results in conclusive and disastrous failure.
Only when fuel wood or other small-sized material is the object of
production can any conclusive results be obtained even in 10 years.
For larger products 30 or more years will ordinarily be required.
The necessity for taking a long look in advance and the desirability
of fixing by permanent legislation the organization and scope of the
work are thus apparent, stability, permanence, and continuity being
indispensable conditions.

In weighing the advisability of taking such a step, the conditions
and tendencies of the world supply of forest products can not be
overlooked. The time is not far distant when the countries which
produce the great bulk of the world’s supply of the common economic
woods will cease to have any considerable amount of timber. to
export. In anticipation of these conditions many of the producing
countries have seriously set about making definite provisions for
the future. If countries like the United States find it necessary to
undertake the organized practice of forestry as a measure of self-
protection, how much more necessary is it for Porto Rico to do so?
The Philippines, too, maintain a technical forest organization, which

1 Previous attempts to provide a forest administration were made in the Regulations for the Payment
of Fees to the Technical Personnel of Public Works, Mines, Forests, and Telegraphs of the Island of
Porto Rico, issued 1879, which provided, among other things, for the “inspection of forests for the forma-
tion of plans for their use.” The Political Code for Porto Rico of 1902 (sec. 134) provides for ‘‘a chief of
lands and forests which shall have charge of all matters relating to lands and forests.” Neither of these
laws, however, yielded any tangible results,

52 BULLETIN 354, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

not only cares for their vast resources, but is undertaking the reforest-
ing of the grassy wastes which have resulted from the same destruc-
tive agricultural practices that have devastated the Porto Rican
forests, ‘‘conuco”’ cultivation. Hawaii for the last 10 years has
maintained an active forest organization which has given special
attention to watershed protection, and, although one-fourth of the
total land area is still forested and largely permanently reserved
and carefully protected, has done much forest planting besides. In
fact, forest planting has been carried on by private enterprise in
Hawaii for nearly a generation.

There is no country of all of these more favorably situated than
Porto Rico to undertake the practice of forestry. Local market
conditions can hardly be equaled anywhere. The forest soils are
generally well isolated, and well and centrally located, and are thus
admirably adapted to serve easily and at a minimum of expense
the general needs of the surrounding population, at the same time
affording protection to the headwaters of the more than a thousand
streams of the island.

NEEDED LEGISLATION.!

Laws concerning the forests and trees are no new thing to Porto
Rico. Mention has previously been made of the early land laws,
which required tree planting as a condition of the grant; of the
‘‘Law of Waters,” providing for the study of the watersheds which
it was advisable to keep wooded; of the ‘‘regulations’” of 1879
concerning public works, which provided an apparently elaborate
forest administration intrusted with ‘‘the mspection of forests for
the formation of plans for their use’’; and lastly to the provision in
the Political Code of 1902 for a ‘‘chief of lands and forests.” It is
not known that these various works and officials ever existed except
on paper, but certainly no tangible results from them have come
down to the present day.

More recently, by the act of March 9, 1911, the legislative assem-
bly created a Board of Commissioners of Agriculture? which has
interested itself in forestry. The supervisory machinery is thus
already in existence and its interest in the work already aroused.

1 A forestry law was drafted along the lines discussed in these pages for inclusion herein as an appendix.
It was, however, omitted as the bulletin was going to press and referred instead to the committee recently
created by joint resolution [J. R. No. 3, approved April 3, 1916] of the legislative assembly ‘‘for the study
of the forestry needs of Porto Rico.’”? This committee is composed of the President of the Board of Com-
missioners of Agriculture, the Commissioner of the Interior, the Commissioner of Education, and the
Special Agent in Charge of the Porto Rico Agricultural Experiment Station at Mayaguez.

2 The president ex officio is a head of department designated by the governor. Ofthe other six members
one must be a member of the House of Delegates and be designated by the speaker, while each of the
commercial associations—Associacion de Puerto Rico, Associacion de Productores de Azucar, Associacion

de Productores de Cafe, Associacion de Productores de Tabaco, and Associacion de Productores de Frutas—
nominate one of the five remaining commissioners,

—

———

dl

FORESTS OF PORTO RICO. 53

It is now only necessary to have the designation and powers of the
board! extended to include the subject of forestry.

The law giving the board charge and direction of forestry work
should also provide the technical machinery for carrying it into
effect. A provision of first importance is one creating the position
of insular forester and defining the qualifications for this office so as
to insure the work being developed under a forester not only of
liberal technical training but of practical experience as well. It is
also essential to make the office strictly nonpolitical.. This.can best
be done by setting a high standard of technical qualifications and
making the incumbent subject to removal only upon his failure to
measure up to the standard set or because of improper conduct.
_ The position would thus come virtually under the classified civil
service, as is the case in the Federal Forest Service. The insular for-
ester would have immediate charge, direction, and control of all for-
estry matters, subject to the supervision and approval of the board.

Much requires to be done in a scientific way to learn the distribu-
tion, properties, and habits of the various trees suitable for forest
planting and management. It would therefore be advisable to pro-
vide for the establishment of a forest experiment station. Here, in
addition to other work, forest tree nurseries could be maintained
and experimental tree planting done. In connection with such a
station an arboretum might be developed where all the different
trees of the island could be set out. Such an experimental garden
would be of immense educational value. The data and experience
of the station staff should be made available to the public through
publications and lectures and cooperation with landowners in
carrying on forestry work.

The insular government has at different-places scattered over the
island tracts of vacant land, much of which is now idle and unproduc-
tive, and generally located in out-of-the-way places. Some of it
will always be most profitably utilized for growing timber. It would
accordingly be extremely desirable to have all of these tracts carefully
examined with the. view to determining their adaptability to forest
or agricultural use. As much as is unquestionably best suited to the
growth of a forest cover or is not now available for other uses could
very profitably be reserved for demonstration and experiment,
permanently or otherwise as circumstances might warrant. Lands
so reserved might very properly be constituted Insular Forests, and
the power to set them aside by proclamation be reposed in the
governor. After their creation they ought to be subject to the
exclusive control of the insular forest service, which would have

1 An amendment would also be desirable providing for a longer term for each of the five commissioners
nominated by the different associations, the terms to be so arranged that not more than two would expire
in any one year. This would insure a greater stability and continuity in the controlling policy and pro-
vide a long enough term to make it worth while for a member to familiarize himself with the work of the
board.

54 BULLETIN 354, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

the right to make and enforce all necessary rules and regulations
for their protection and management, and to sell or lease under
limited permit any products or uses.

In justice to a municipality in which an insular forest might be
located, provision ought to be made that it receive a certain per-
centage of any revenue of such forest as recompense for loss in
taxable income caused by the presence of tax-free government land.
‘This method has been adopted by the Federal Government in
reimbursing States on account of National Forests. A second method
which aims to accomplish the same purpose and is now in effect in
some of the States is for the State to pay to the county or town in
which a State forest may be located a fixed sum annually, generally
from 1 to 4 cents an acre, in place of taxes exempted from these lands,

During the first few years the work of the insular forest service |
would yield only such revenue as could be realized from the sale of
seeds or seedlings which it seemed desirable to the board to dispose of.
After the organization of the insular forests there would be some
revenue from leases and other special uses, and later on a regular
income from the mature timber. During the formative period, at
least, it would be extremely desirable to cover into the insular
treasury all revenues from forestry sources, to be constituted a
special fund available for expenditure for any forestry purpose.

It is desirable to make the law as comprehensive as possible at
the outset in order to outline in advance the full scope and significance
of the work. The initial annual appropriations need, however,
_ provide for only the few essentials required to get the work under way.

An appropriation of $5,000 should be sufficient to cover the salary
of the forester, his necessary field and office expenses, and the hire of
any assistants he may need for nursery and investigative work.
When it comes to establishing the experiment station, a special
building and equipment fund of $10,000 will be necessary and an
additional maintenance fund of $3,000 annually.

There are other considerations than those concerned strictly
with forestry which merit legislative attention. The regulation of
the indiscriminate and nomadic cropping of ground provisions and
the equally indiscriminate practice of charcoal burning are of first
importance. The most permanent and logical means are education
and the definite establishment of land titles. A cadastral survey
of the island has been repeatedly urged by the principal government
officials, both present and past, who have come in contact with the
land situation in any of its phases. The difficulties in levying taxes
and in knowing what are and what are not government lands have
already been mentioned. The further difficulty, and the one with
which we are particularly concerned here, is the enforcing of the
police powers against unlawful trespass on both public and private
property. It is obvious that it must be known with certainty who

FORESTS OF PORTO RICO. 55 -

-owns land before it becomes possible to enforce trespass laws with
any degree of assurance. The establishment of the bounds of each
man’s lawful property by survey would remove this present difficulty
and many others.

A temporary expedient to meet the “conuco”’ and the charcoal
situation is to require a license. In the case of the “conuco’’ it
would only be possible to carry out a definite plan of licenses or
permits with respect to the public lands. In the case of charcoal
burning the method of regulation employed in Martinique offers a
favorable means of control. This law! provides in brief that before
a man can manufacture any charcoal he shall declare his intention
at the mayor’s office and state also where he is to make it and in what
quantity. The vendor of charcoal other than the manufacturer
must also have a license. To secure such license the vendor must
present a certificate from the mayor showing that the manufacturer
has complied with the requirements of manufacture. Parties trans-
porting charcoal for their own use or that of another must have a
certificate from the police or mayor giving the residence of the person
from whom it was bought, his license number, and the number and
residence of the buyer. Retailers are prohibited from buying their
supplies in other than the regular markets of the island, and appro-
priate penalties are provided for violating any of these provisions.
Such a law as this properly enforced in Porto Rico would go a long
way toward preventing indiscriminate charcoal burning.

THE LUQUILLO NATIONAL FOREST.

Upon the transfer of the island to American sovereignty the Span-
ish Crown lands in the Sierra de Luquillo ? became the property of
‘the Federal Government. Originally supposed to aggregate some
40,000 acres * and to embrace a considerable amount of practically
virgin forest land which was rapidly being cut and destroyed, these
lands were constituted the Luquillo Forest Reserve (Mow National
Forest), by presidential proclamation January 17, 1903.4 Recently
completed surveys covering all but a small part of the central moun-
tain area, however, indicate a reduction in acreage to not over 15,000
acres, including probably the entire ‘‘hurricane hardwood”’ type.
Thus the timber producing possibilities of a considerable portion of
the area are not very promising, judging from present knowledge of
conditions. Nevertheless, for the present at least, these lands will
be retained in public ownership and whatever forest growth there
may be on them will be protected.

nee ————-

1 A digest of this law has been referred to the committee mentioned in the note, p. 52.

2 For forest description of this region see p. 31.

3 Based on official records in the archives of the Division of Public Lands, Department of the Interior,
Porto Rico.

4 The recommendation that this be done was made by Dr. Walter H. Evans, Chief of Division of Insular
Stations, States Relations Service, U. S. Department of Agriculture, while the exploratory survey upon
which the boundary proclamation was based was made by Mr. O. W. Barrett, at that time Botanist of the
Porto Rico Agricultural Experiment Station. sh

APPENDIX I.

TREES OF PORTO RICO.

By W. D. Brusu, Scientific Assistant, and Louis 8. Murpny, Forest Examiner, Forest
Service; and C. D. Metu, formerly Assistant Dendrologist, Forest Service.

INTRODUCTORY NOTE.

Much has been published concerning the flora of Porto Rico, yet little of it is avail-
able for general use, particularly concerning the trees. Hill in his bulletin on the For-
ests of Porto Rico (Bul. 25, Forest Service) listed some 60 different kinds of trees, and
the woods of 15 of these were described by Sudworth. The work of Gifford and Bar-
rett (Bul. 54, Forest Service, ‘‘The Luquillo Forest Reserve, Porto Rico’’) has already
been referred to.

Astoarrangement and nomenclature particularly, the principal reliance in preparing
this present compilation has been Ignatius Urban’s Symbole Antillanze Seu Funda-
menta Flore Indiz Occidentalis. Scientific equivalents have been given only in
cases where they appear to be in well-established popular usage, as, for example, Roy-
stonia borinquena for Oreodoxa caribaea.

Acknowledgment is also due to the authors of the above-mentioned Forest Service
bulletins, Cook and Collins (Economic Plants of Porto Rico), W. Harris (The Timbers
of Jamaica), John T. Rae (West Indian Timbers), and numerous other authorities for
descriptive data concerning the uses of the wood and other products of the trees listed.
Special acknowledgment is due to Miss J. S. Peyton for painstaking work in the prepa-
ration of the index and comparing the spelling of both common and scientific names
in the final copy of the manuscript with the original authorities.

The microscopic descriptions of wood structure of the species marked with an
asterisk, thus (*8. Chlorophora tinctoria) are based on examination by Messrs. Mell and
Brush of wood samples in the Forest Service wood collection.

It has been the intention of the authors to include all erect woody plants which
attain a height of 15 feet or over, including the tree cactuses and opuntias. The
heights and diameters, it should be remembered, represent the extreme sizes which
the species have been reported to attain, and are thus often considerably larger than
those commonly met with. For convenience in reading, the technical wood
descriptions, the less important species, and all but the most common exotic spe-
cies have been subordinated to the general text. Little-known species and species
and genera of very minor importance have been combined where possible and sub-
ordinated into notes, yet for completeness have been included.

Following is a synopsis showing the families represented, 57 in all, and the number
of genera and species in each family. The genera total 172 and the species 292:

Family. Genera. Ispecies. Family. Gonaedte pints Family. Genera.|Species.
Balin ace saci- 4 5 || Malpighiacez... . 1 2 || Thymelaeacez. 1 2
Juglandacee... 1 1 || Euphorbiacez.. . 9 11 || Rhizophoracee.. 2 2
Ulmacee.....-.- 1 1 || Anacardiacee. . . 4 5 || Combretacee... - 5 5
Moracee....---- 6 9 || Aquifoliacer. . . - 1 2 || Myrtacez....-.. 5 13
Polygonace®. -. - 1 8 || Celastracez. ...-- 1 1 || Melastomataceze. 4 10
Nyctaginacee. . . 1 1 || Staphyleacez.... 1 1 |} Araliacese..-..-. 2 3
Magnoliacee -..- 1 2 || Sapindacese....- 5 6 || Myrsinacez.. - -. 1 2
Anonace®...-.-- 4 9 || Sabiacez......--. 1 2 || Sapotacez......- 7 17
Lauracee........ 6 17 || Rhamnacee...-- if 2 || Ebenacee.....-. 2 2
Hernandacez.... 1 1 || Elaeocarpacez... 1 1 || Symplocacee... - 1 5
Cappardiacee... 1 2 || Malvacez....... 2 3 || Styracacez....-. 1 1
Brunelliaces.... 1 1 || Bombacacez...- 4 ® || Oleacee.....-.. = 1 1
Rosacee..-..-.-- 2 3 || Sterculiacez.... - 1 2 || Apocynacez. ..- 2 2
Leguminosee . . - 22 30 || Ternstroemiacese 3 5 || Barraginacee... . 1 6
Zygophyllacez .. 1 2 || Guttiferse........ 4 5 || Verbenacez. - -.. 5 6
Rutaceez.......- 4 14 || Bixacee.....--..- 1 1 || Bignoniacez..... 3 6
Simarubacee.... 2 2 || Winteracee....- 2 2 || Rubiaces......- il 16
Burseracee...-.. 3 3 || Flacourtiaceee. .- 3 8 || Caprifoliacee ... . 1 1
Meliacesx......-.- 5 9 || Cactaceze........ 4 8 || Graminez......- 1 1

56

EE ee eS le

TREES OF PORTO RICO.

INDEX TO TREES OF PORTO RICO.

DOTUCIG* pa mew an sees Se Sa. 2h!=: yO
Hake WT Cae Ne Sie a a 100
CACIAAIMORI ay. 2 S522 22,4 39
A CHOU ARRS 5 22s = = Ss es 5 40
PCH CIAMMULOLORA 2 <6 ata\s si- wie 2 os dp 40
Gaia ANOS once 2 ie oe oe 41
bo UR ah i a a 40 tapte)
ooo 22 50 eee a wo

Paes Sts 2k berg om 2 36
Acana.... PS Bara . 139, 145
Aceite, Bale det fee se

Beritgae eo kee ear 66
RE Te ne a a een egies Me 148
Weemuna Blanca. >... .-.-.-- ii" 148
mceisuna Cimarroua.—. 2... a. ~3 148
mewn, Palo de. <.. 2. 2-<-. 80 Grote)
RR ia oh SR AE cas Shahi ctase 115
PORNO. oon w= - fewer vintners mia’ 81, 100
REPRE AE Sa or ance ara ainda Sarin | RD
Achras zapota......--.-+-+-++++--+ 138
PASIISIE MOVMCOIG... = 32 -- s)he 3
Acrodiclidium salicifolium.......-- 30
Adenanthera pavonina.......------ 42
MOAUACHLG: <2 <5: -2- Std itt NS ey 25
Aguacate Cimarron. ...-:-.-.-.-- 29°
2 ETE GEA aT fo ee etre 99, 100
BU OEE iors = cogs wie las 100
Albizzia lebbeck............-.--+-- 39
Alchornea latifolia........-..-.---- 81

Alchorneopsis a eee eee 81

OL ie LR ape nee ee (cl
ELT i 151
Aleurites moluccana..........-..- 82
Aleurites triloba (see 82).
JU aa ee 45
LLL ERS Ge Sa meee 73, 73 crete)
Alligator poeple age gt MRR S SS ae
Alligator Pear... SP: BERET 9 ce
RPI cos a2 ge ainiBt 5 70
MMPRERAILEFE 2) 33,5, 5,.5 5) 4,5 Syacfo sme As 123
(a6; ee ee ae 34
Pe eMGODe se a fs wis wo 2 34, 123, 142
PAIR PIRGIONN: 5. 2 5 = a veick aya wi» 123
LAE SNES Ea ae anne 153 (note)
Amomis caryophyllata........----- 129
Amomis caryophyllata var. grisea. - 109
(note)
MumOr E latOnico. =. 5-222... 2-452 -5- 39
ST 78
Amyris balsamifera Rh oa dith Sia pate 64 (note)
ATA MOSUL. «a2 22 an = = = 2a sas
ANACARDIACEH, XXIT.......-- (85-89)
Anacardium oceidentale........... 8
ATIARARIO, Pale Oe = <2 omchas <3. 45; 15
RN are sy Sate als So Ragunias's 82 115
ATMAITE JQINAWCENSIS. 2-22. os 8 58
BOSON 2 oman sp = a Ra citi As
1D 2 Re ee 22, 23, 24
Anona montana. .....-.-.-.-- 23 (note)
Anona muricata..........---------
Anona palustris...........-.-+- 22
Anona reticulata. .........-.-- 23 ante)
ANONG SGUAMOGIs ole 6: 2-2 e255 2

ANONACES, VIII...........004. 8-24)

No.
PAN OFUTS HSCAMAS o 25286 2 Sein min sn 23
ARTF ROO, COPURCEG . 5. 2h erates se 167
Antirrhoea obtusifolia.......- 166
Antirrhoea sintenisti....-.--- 167 ( note-1)
BPOCY NACH AG. dolls se jee (151, 152)
AQUIFOLTAGEAD, XXITTT 3... (90, 91)
Aralia arborea (see 135).
ABALIACHAG XO UPY oo. 2. sip. (135, 1%)
Rehaliiadtess Vie eee,
WArdisia Glauctflara. 3542 5-2 Serene 2 37
Ardisia guadalupensis. - . 137 (note)
PAUET UD baie a eicfe che oe Sects ee 115
SAELOVON 23h o> 2 ociesm oie cies ES 99
Artocarpus communis (see 9).
APRICOT TUB OUTUCE RR i Io gc age 9
"1 SUT isp EEE ae Ges Nn eth 130
Aust Guayavita. BA es cae a SU 129
PUMAUO Miata) oe c.¢ 262 Acts oe 141, 145
ETD eel Sea RR eae Ue A Tee 129
PE WICENG U ain )=, «se ye be aaiey 157
AN ISPULLD =o = «)- = 26, 26 (note), 28, 78, 93
FE MOGCAU e425) 202 ae n'a: - oan aN
TNO PE Se ee ee aoe eS eee ai RD 25
JAS FATIC NS cee pa, ae eee eee nn et 61
PSST ae eas So NG oe a aie Fae 53
L715 NUS ar Ta ae op 137 a)
LSC SUE ee UEC Nea SL my = 8 145
alsa Wood's. 62:5... 282). 22 a ee 107
Epemi oe eo oc i ee 114
Balsam Tree: ..--.---- oe Sach are 114
FAISAL On eres oe. ee eet Ronte 154
panei es Noe er yar Gere oy 172
I OMLONSN, VULGGTIS: fo. 2 baie aa a 2 172
FAI OO eyes Sete oS. open eset 172
IDaTHASCOm asa jd4ee ee 2-5. 2s 116
Bartaballi. . ate nore)
Bastard Cabbage-bark. . PPR ese
Rastard Cedar: ian. oc. o= oes See 110
Bauhinia: PAP Plerta.<s422-- 2.2 acs 47
Bay Berryy Lreees sia oe fame ita 129
Ban eum. Trees! 3... - ptm ate a ach 129
ISPTOAMOUA cic ce cans sateen 65 (note(
Bertero.|..2..<. Sie eee bere 160 ra
BIGNONIACEH, LIV.....-.--- (158-161
USOT Rea Se ee eee 115
Bich, NES) ABS 170 TE 7 a pane 70
TROLS ee ee ae 115
WRI OP CUOMED = soars cine se cca eS 115
IRERAGEAE, OKO ie ws ee cn sip <peiacer (115)
Black Lancewood...-.....------- 18
bck, Manorove..ss tact 5 kus ce as 157
WM WEANO GE 25a cey here aati 3 oa 102
piside Barta. i ie aoe au terns 151
TRATES” GDS fc 12 te a Sage 126
Bois Immortelle. . +. - . 2244-2 59
PROS MM os oo 3,8 ooo ohcfs arsrsleve S ayate 107
L375 Te 2 amen CRI CAE 7 Seat area 167
EN i ag ee ge A 167
BomMBACAcEH, XXXI...-...- (105-108)
BorRAGINAcEm, LIT... .......:../@153)
Boxwood, West Indian............ 159
Boyo, | ICE ai eee Maee 59
PRCA RUE Gs cp ecciniad's wow een aa ee 9

58 BULLETIN 354, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

No No.
BreaO Ns nos aes eect es 9 | Cafiafistula Cimarrona.......-.--- 49
Brigueta Naranjo................ 20°] ‘Candela, Palo de. 2205054) scicwes 118
Brunellia comocladifolia.......-... oo | Candle Woods... .:.2500225.4 2088 69
BRUNELLIACEE, XIT.......-.... (33) | Candleberry Tree................- 82
| ea MA AA ST A a a 69 | Candlennt: <7 52: sg. 22. apenas 82
Bieter 72 idence oe ee eae 59 |) Canela. 2M ee ee 25 (note), 27, 30
IBUCAROs*: ob) et cho Gs age yume sae 136 4. Canolillos 550222982 s2 eee
Buchenavia capitata........-...--- 174 1 Canelon:: .. 5. 2e. ised eee 27
BU DUCTUS | ete 8 a ete etree TAG Cab as oactu- 2 ova oes eee 72
Bullet'Tree.: 2.2.2... PPh Ly 198 | Oape.2 52: -<.pncu step cee eee 153, 155
ullock’s'Meart= <2 fareer2 one 23 (note) | Cap& Amarillo.....:...22.220.202. 155
Burra oP areal Tete desi tes 35 | Cap’ Blanea: /:. 2:22. 3250. ae 155
porta; Neta:de:.<. f75. shoe ey 35, 144 | Cap& Cimarron.............. 153 (note)
SUIT Se sce oF Ae 17 (note), 32, 32 (note) Cap4 de'Sab4nai sic 3.02222 5aoee 155
DUrvO BIANCO. > F225! 5= 2 ee oe kee Capa de Sabana, Palo de.......... 158
Burro Prieta, Palo de......... 32 canes Capé Prieta: «.-: =.:-~ 222 eee eee 153
Bursera gummifera (see 70). Capa, Rosa: : 155225 es0 eee 154 (note)
mirsera simaruba ss. {F252 5.222525 70 || Capa Sabanero..... 2. 72223: ee 155
BursERACES, XVIII... chee CAPPARDIACEH, XI........... so 2 ee
Pero GAL foo t= 22 5 eke ee See ae Capparis jamaicensis........--- 32 (note)
Byrsonima lucrda: 23 52ccs4 gA24042% , 7 7 Capparis portoricensis.........--- 2
Bursonima epwota- > 2-22 e Ls ee 76 | CaPRIFOLIACEH, LVI ............. (171)

Caracolillo.. 2 35222 se cee 75, 117, 119

Capbape Trees: fess Sis r3 2 See 56 1) Carubio?.. 2222232. eee 62 (note)
Cabbage-bark, Bastard............ 58 | Cascari@arborea.: 12 22a 119
CabodeHacha...52 42.22 orssserck 75: | Casearia bicolor... .. 2220. eee 119
Cabra, Palo de........ fe She 6\| Casearia decandra....- 22a 119
Pacallos sn naiis kore aes 27,99,101 | Casearia guianensis.............-- 119
CRCHN IGT cso REt eens bee a Ae oe 108 | Casearia sylvestris. ............--- 119
@acao-Bone.2 22! o22 eee 99 | Cashew Tree: . 2. (22525, 2 eee 86
@acao' Motillae sso... .sssce clo TOL | ‘Cassa fistula: > 2222-2282 eee i.
Cacao Otillo...22. 225.555.6232... S201) Cassia: grandis a2 Se
acre Toneta 2: 74rste es) seein Se 101 | Cassipourea alba. ...........- 122 (not)
Cachimibo\s; i: 2 Age: syne as eee Lo? | Castanea... .22..22.2s 4. ee
GXCTACE A, “XX XVII: Scot (180): | -Cayur: so. 52 b:<h2s ee ee 29
Wate et a Pe tae > (een e ty een 168 | Cayures....:---2G520ese ooo eee 22
Gate Macho... 522252232555 168 |‘Ceboruquillo 2... 5: 225222 2/2 94
Cafeillo............ 80,80(note), 119,170 | Cecropia peltata...............---- 12
Cafeillo Cimarron..............-- 119. | Cedar, Bastard:..:; .= 2.352 110
Warotillog 722 ><. 2': rea eee aera 119 "| Cedar; Cigar-box..124 3.6. eee 71
PAR MARES 02S 5s cs Sens eke ee 141 || Cedar, Spanish 24.22: es2223.seeee 71
Gpmmngiily 233 22 ee 140, 144 (note) | Cedar, West Indian.............- 71
G7 TL Cane ae ear armar a as Erg teh ALS 143 | "Cedrela odorata. .<22..- 2225222. 71
Caimito de Perro. ........... 144(note) || Wedro: ise it ii2sssesee23 dee 71
Carmito Morado:2: 222422. .eee er 143 | Gedro Hembra. 2.2.20). . seeee 71, 93
Caimito Verde............-.. 144 er Gedro Macho: ..)::22s.:2c<eeeeeean 29, 81
OAMUD RE. oe a Pose 143 | Cedro Prieto. --....222 SS. oo eee 89
OAs ee yo s os esr ahs hehe oes sees 86 || Cetbas: 22022 1 ee 105
RIAA ARDS S222 2S 2e Sete? 161 || Cetba pentandra...° 2.243. Jace 105
@alambrefiags 22 <2 ss225 25275: 15 (note) | CELASTRACEH, XXIV............- (92)
Callicarpa ampla......---.--- 154(note) |'\Cenizo: .2:9:<s22728a2ehs2et Cea 61
Calocarpum mammosum.....-. 138 (note) | Central American Oak............ 91
Calophylium calaba............-.--- 113\| Cereus perumianus:.....-2........2 120
Calycogonium biflorum. . - 134 (note 2) | Cereus quadricostatus.......------ 120
Calycogonium squamulosum.. 134 (note 2) | Cereus swarizti (see 120).
Calypthranthes sintenisii ........-. 131 | Cereus triangularis.........--++++- 120
OAMGSOY cs 2scocecude ete 134, 134 (note) | Cereus trigonus.......-..-------- 120
Camasey Blanco. .......... 134(note’D) | ‘Cereza......-2212:2:.) eee 119
Camasey Colorado.......... 134 (note 2) | Cereza Amarilla.............-.--. 78
Camasey de Costilla........ 134 (note 1) | Cereza Cimarrona............. 153 (note)
Camasey de Oro.........-..- 134 (note 2) "| ‘Ceregass. =s 2202. Dak ieee 78, 153 (note)
Camasey de Paloma.......- 134 (note 4 Cerez0-<- <2 22224) 2p asa 117
CAMEDTOO 5.2.2 Ji eae. lest teres 163 | Wherimolia.y-i 25s-ccess 07. ee 23
Campeche... AALS See ee 90} ‘Chifle' de Vaca. 5.2. .2=.02 2 y222 oe 157
Campeche, Palodecss:21:0b ee SO tOhingd: $f ade hess s sce oe

65
Cahahstula 22 Hoc gares aL 48 | China Berry: 22.32. 5<0seee 73, 73 (note)

TREES OF PORTO RICO.

No.
Shira Dalep- 5-2. cae /6is 65
Site NATAM IA tO hn Srrasia's wae 65
Chione venosa......-.------+ 167 (note 2
Chirimoya....- BEER oc ke mrvunn Be
Chlorophora tinctoria.....---..--- 3
Chrysophyllum argenteum. . - - - 144 ae
Chrysophyllum bicolor. ..--..-- 144 (note)
Chrysophyllum cainito.....-..----- 148
Chrysophyllum oliviforme....-.--- 144
Chrysophyllum pauciflorum... 144 (note)
PMEROCANG 85 S502 ot onic me Gags Sele 116
MnpaiGallo... 2... .------.2-.- 2/1 PL66
@ichimbo, Palo de. ..:s2- 55.522 170
RRR a wcla am ocr 2c\a ee 65 (note)
MroneoilOgs. oc <5 sie ose eyelet = 121, 130
Miear-pox.edar. s.;. .-..- - + /stities 71
a macranthum (see

116).

(DEST) ae 99
TES es eee ee 88
Samuels, del. Pais. <4... 0ies is. 88
BEE ee ee an Sain ain'g RA 65 (note)
Curuvaurantiwm.. =... .- =< Jas. 65
Citrus bigaradia............---- 65 (note)
Crrusidecwmand........ 2.55 65 (note)
Citrus hystrix subsp. acida..... 65 (note)
Citrus Limetta..............-. 65 (note)
Citrus limonum............-.-- 65 (note)
SNOT 65 (note)
Citharexylum caudatum........ 154 (note)
Citharexylum fruticosum. . I 154
Citharexzylum quadrangulare (see
Clammy RELEY occ. - = 5-5-5 153 (note)
Cleyera albopunctata.......----.-- 111
Clusia acuminata ie 114 nel):
Clusia krugiana.......-- - 114 (note)
OS i ee ee 114
REESE fetataic po ain .</- 455 wa cheeses 44
SeaOaAns, NGPTA.. . .---=----- sit ats 44
oS a ae oe 44
Coccoloba diversifolia......-.-- 15 (note)
Coccoloba grandifolia P......-.-.-.-- 15
Coccoloba laurifolia....-.-...-- 15 (note)
Gapemlond niWweme. «25% ae)2%; sce. 15 (note)
Coccoloba obtustfolia..........- 15 tnoie)
Ciecoloba TUGOEG.-. . - =4=,5 2.206 dais
Coccoloba urbaniana......----- 15 (nate)
Careoloba.wuierd.....-.---- ess
Dera a claka teens se nce ee Bays 4
ES See 4
Chieais TEST Ys (a rR sy
TT ee ee 4
ET eee ee eoreeeer 92
LUM TETICN (2 | i re a 4
DEG cence tec ei sa. «sd oe 4
SUS OT a Mane aie 168
10-2 eee fae Se 168
Lt) ee ae 38 (note), 40, 43
Coj6bana..........----- 38 (note), 40, 43
BECIRMOM SAE oars ears Ss ha ee. wow 43
0 ee eee eae ee eae 43
Colubrina ferruginosa. . sen eR
Colubrina reclinata........-... - 100 (note)
CoMBRETACER, XLI......... (123-127)

CON OCET UB CCE nao vin 5 mine 60,0 125

No.

Wonirevent. 2..2.05.<055 32 IS! 139
A os ais eines Sets Ae ol 68
SbGTAL WOGG 506. s oo Kugoe sce ook 59
Ronmitias 10. cn LS 42
BOMAZON Soc 445-2 ee 23 Sie
Corazon Cimarron ean
@orGnow ns Lok o. See “16, 22, re
Cordiaiathodora..-2 5... ee . 153
Cordia borinquensis.....-...--- 153 (note)
Corda eallocoect: \-i2i).00365810% 153 (note)
Cordia gerascanthoides (see 153).
Cordia gerascanthus (see 153).
Condiainitidas.) -secaaaeoe eee 153 (note)
Cordia sebestena...........-. 153 (note)
COndtaiSUCatOs a eee 153 (note)
Cork Woods: hes a= ees t 22,105, 107
Coscarroniec tee canes heer ees 92
ChimMererillgs. sks) seNew ss hoe) oe 119
CotorrowPaloides=s=2 2) se" ene 163
COON EN PEG mak a2 c kere Nl Rea A 105
UGurbabiies oes r sooe ee es 45
Crescentia cujete 235250 Se 161
Cresta GeiGallo...) 22573 53
Cucubann= snes eet hk See 15 (note)
Cucubano, Palo de. - 3 165
Guero de Sapor.- 2652 238222 7.250% 90
Ciupania- americana: 222.123." 96
Cupania triquetra. .........-.-.-- 96
Wibiere. tones (Aes habe 114 (note)
@uipetiy,s ee ck Yo 2 Pe Pee a2 3! 114 (note)
WUNMEV Seer esac L scale oe 114, 114 (note)
Gupeye Palorde:s 274205 {oer cee 114
Gustard -Apple: <<: .4..2. 514227 23 (note)
Daerjodesercelsae so... 2 52 oss. 69
SEO ee eis le ee 2 a re 169
Diao. Chalo Ge. i 2% <2 ake l eee 169
Daphnopsis caribaea ........-.-+-- 131
Daphnopsis philippiana.....-....- 121
Didymopanaz morototoni......-..- 136
DOS DYFOSIEDCRUBLET. = 2 80. oe ae 147
DP GROUS SEMICON... a t= seat 142
Dipholis sintenisiana........-. 142 (note)
Doncella........ | ole ae ate 4 97, 97 note)
iDoncella sPalordess=.5:0.0.2 osm oee
Doncella, Sangre de.............. i
WawinefeOs! tc. 5.5 sat. o cc eee 107
We RECS MID cea oe ene ot ot ees 80
Dryperes giauen oS 80 ot)
Drypetes Uitertflora ls... 2.0L... 2a:
East Indian Walnuj.............-
EBENACES, XLVII-...-.:-.... (146, 147)
ELAEOCARPACES, XXIX......... (101)
Elaeodendron xylocarpum var. co-

BURORLM pane a> auch aiatne aot 3's 92
inn Wrest (udm: 2.2 o. oc e 109
GHAI BAUD on. <= anisn a= dace seme hn 102
Emajagua Brava........-.-..:-.. 121
Emajagua de Sierra...............- I21
Bamaysountat tort cee eee 103
Eriodendron anfractuosum (see 105).
Erythrina corallodendron.........- 59
Erythrina glauca....--:-.-.-------- 59
Erythrina micropteriz........------ 59
BRCAMDPON secscdsceas dsas- fs oncen gt Aa

60 BULLETIN 354, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.
No. No.
SOD Se ncaa Deira he Sige eee 142 feed Grayume Macho........5:.-06s0ss~ 136
—— PAWS cic noe anne 163 5 GYSVORIO 226s. 2 oon See Eee 136
spino ae - 61, 62 ee Greenheart, West Indian.......... 100
Espino es ina ie 61, 62:(note) | Grosella.-. 20>. . 2.5.2... 78
Bapuynep, Pition >. 20 peceeeese oe 59 | Grosella Blanca. ....-....5.00... 78
Eugenia aeruginead......-.-------- 132 } Guabate!. 2 2.Rsius 3 ee 36
Eugenia floribunda.....-...-- 132. (note) | Guacaran. 22.22 ueeck. cle 9
Eugenia jambos.......-.-.-----+.-. 183 | Gudcima. ._ 2.25. ets South 109, 110
Eugenia sintenisii.......-... . 132 cote) Gudcima del Norte............... 109
ia adhes 1) | ers 132 (note) | Gudcima del Sur...............-. 110
MISONO. alice Mood iab aes 9S | Guacimilla-._.... 0 -csecsbeskuees 6
EUPHORBIACES, XXI............. 78-84 | Gualtast.. +. - 2-0. .peeken see 75
Exothea panniculata.............-- 98 | Guajacum officinale............--- 60
Fagara caribaea 62 nets) eg bag siete ane ene: te a
TE COMO . 2202-2 = 222-5 mams,. 2.2
Wagare flava. .s..2 3. 262-5. <-eoe Oe iGeeananann oe ee
Fagara martinigensis..-<0 00 6 a eee 35 os
Fagara monophylla.......--...- 62 (note) Guayige-:oni2. <2... yee
Magara trifouatea:....2. 6c tewcla 62. (note) (| nang. ee ae
Faramea occidentalis............-- LO 408s siag 3: coh pais ae 94. 96
a helo aeies 2 2 eats pee ‘
Ficus laevigata var. lentiginosa sub- Guara Blanca 96
pate: eioekeeeta archaea 11 | Guaraguaillo.................. 74 (note)
? a ? Guaraguao. «2 sek. 22. ee
Ficus nitida.......-------+--+-- 11 (note) Guaraguao Macho. ..........-- 74 (ikea
Ficus sintenisit....----+--+---- 11 (note) | Gwarea ramiflora 74 es
Ficus stahlu.........-..-.---- 11 (note) Guarea frichilioides tt: aagham eae
PAGS WoGdst =. ey ote seme 165, 1i6 i G@ijceayahe tS. er
Fig, Balsam iat es rope no er
Fracounmaces, XXXVIT."\” (i719) | Guasivers ae
Flawbooan Se waren a anoee 39, repeat blainti..25 22
SS Sap oleae sO ree UAVO...- 55 222250 SR ee
Flamboyan Colorado.......-.--.- 51! Gua ;
yaba...02¢ seek 2 ee 128
Flame Tree......-...-----------++ 51 | Guayabacoa............------ 114 (note)
Florida Plum.........-.-------+-- 79 | Guayabacén 130, 132
Borte Ventura eo. serene oobe . 56 ea ae ,
enenmne Blane 151 Guayabota............. 132 (note), 147
BTOMAGET.--..---vvvvescsencsooe 105 | Gueyecdt 2s i
Pustic....-..-.----+---+---++-+++- 8 | Guayacin Blanco ..0-et 20 60 (note)
A Se Glee CM Lon eB AB 75, 98 Guayacancillos:.1...22st« 2 28ae 60 an
CRITE font so TS Sa 59°] Guayarote: : :. 2-22.72 eke eee
allo trests es ee eg ee oe 53 | Guayava..-......---------++--++- 128
Gangulin, Palo dé... 2)... 3: 135 (note) Guayava Pera........-.-------:--__ 128
eae. nah Poe ee te 106.) Guayavacén: -..... 22-5 2-3aes 75, 130
Garrocha, Palo de... .-....... 106 | Guayrote............--....-..--.. 99
artoclio’ 0 aes Dt Sie Se 106 | Guazwma guazuma (see 109).
GUTGAC Obes teen ee st Cag 15 (note) Guazuma Plum.........-.-------- 109
Geiser ree 2. ter ce 153 (note) Guazuma tomentosa.........------- 110
Geurpiltee. 2 oo. Mie 95 | Guazuma ulmifolia.......-.-+----- 109
Genipa americang..........------- 164 | Guazymillo.........-.-.----++++--- 6
eninge. sachets. ine epee g5 | Guenepa...... Dette are a 95
Sy oa Mo aad ns aN aR 56 | Guettarda krugii.....-----+---- 165 (note)
Gmipsidib. hl Li tener: Sabet 56 | Guettarda laevis.......-------- 165 (note)
Cad Marian tt I ee 119 | Guettarda ovalifolia..........-- 165 (note)
Cig Verde. ce ee EEE 119 | Guettarda scabra.....-.....-------- 165
Gilibertia arborea ........:..------ 135 | Guiana Plum.......------------- 79
punane urifolia: |e 135 Ce) Pe ae Ga. a ve
TILLY) a efits ae epee edhe, Poke pelt ng tdi ks ate ies a
We Bpentlise 5 cee nts one ese 15 (note) | Gumbo Limbo.....-...-..-------- 70
Gongoli, Palo Geter 2 eee sae 122 = GUTTIFERZ, DEXA TY (112-114)
Gongolin Pea ey Wa Snag tithe
GRaminEat LVI. ceo: agian es a7) Piscean, ho. -aceenes fe ceo see 139
Grana, Baling deco eee PAB ei Val CG) 16 [08 3: nema ay ames 75
Granadilla Cimarrona......- 134 eats =) Hachuelo Fae ore ee ae
MSFaONAMEOT. Ce cat coreg eee eee BOKIR 2 eee cc ob on kee one
Gfape PTO. - ceccemeans lve cham 65 (note) Haematoxylum campechianum .....
GEAYUING. ci iveece aun ar serene .-. 186 | Haemocharis portoricensis........- 111

esi Rati Digna ia lal tna ey

TREES OF PORTO RICO.

No.

LUE etter See ee sd 2 64
Hagiie ee ee a Se fs LE (eat
er inns as sere on Sota
Hat Palm, Porto Rican.......-..- i
LER eo SS eh 102
(EYRE 2 a re ae 84
| gL Se A SS ae 84
eee ee... Geode yed 20
Maca... 's Lees w a. ase 19
Mya Manga. .- 22 522. ~s 20
__ EL Eh 7) ce 18
0 eee 41
Henrietiella fascicularis...-. 134 (note 2)
Henriettella macfadyenii.... - 134 (note 2)
Henriettella membranifolia. . 134 (note Fe
MEF ET ONAL, SONOTO= sa= oo < one SCR
PPEMOANDIACEAS, Xo... 5s 6- cn:

- Heterotrichum cymosum....-. 134 (note >)
Hibiscus elatus (see 102).
irpmscus GMaCeUS.: 4.2.22 de 102
Hieronymia clusioides.....-..------ 81
Ebronrow be al0 dCs 225--. cack. sem se 169
Hipuerillo:....... 78, 154, 154 (note, 156
[ALON S 11 (note), 161
oul Te ee eS 78
Pewilia Preto... -....-se5.36 11 inte)
Emehs-hievoa. ...-..--.--------
Hippomane mancinella.......----- 83
IMTPIG TOGO8G < o 2... = alowed ee 35
Tericlia Hondgra. <2... is). 2 35
AMET Soe soe Sica son ee sb ee 5 =. 87, 89
re Menidan!) 45.2 -+5-- 4. 150,131
Homalium racemosum.......----- 117
ear lances 55 =. eure dd 126
TE! a See ee eee 150
3 LE ep 67, 80
minedos lane... -- 2... o..<:rdeyensais- 150
Hueso, Palo de.... 67, 90, 122 ene): 150
EIMGHG BrICHO 2-5 225.2015 sachs 5 oe ds 67, 90
Hufelandia pendula.............. 29
WAC TRIONS os. Se ees a 84
Hymanaea courbaril. ...........-. 45
Hypelata paniculata (see 98).
LUE 0 oo ee 35
Ilex dioica (see 90).
AER RMES Cede!) ono sR 90

Ilex sideroxyloides var. occidentalis. . 91

Hadian Almond... -....22: 60.2.2 123
Sadian Walnut.--.....2..2.05.2.. 82
MMOMHIGUTING +... 2 oo oe ee ls 37
2 a Se ee 36
Ooo oe an ee 163.
WOGCEMAUSOPUM ene oes so ee: 1
eee eee Ns ats 1
MEMINOGU 2 AS a aHes Vaso kina a 100
Tronwood, West Indian or Mar-
TEAS Ie ot 5 2 gS U so ceo id's 169
TERS H5.0 25 5 n-~ 2 SSL 169
MEO thos Saas - one aise se ELE 6
Cita ee Ae ee =e ee ae 139
BES PRE ot 164
tats en ot Ae is Lb We ne
Jamaican Walnut............. as

No.

Jambosa jambos (see 133).
yaquecs)\Paloide. > 2. sneseh 2. 103
JET aD Si aa oc eee ae eee 45
UY ee S50 nts eR 84
1 EE TTS Se aN pe oct a ne a 161
Semeriilnee es 6 Jes 2 sie Rass 11
MRIs Meyer tk a oh 5 ahh eae 75, 88
SObOs Sse on ot egesidus oh es 87
dito Uraneess 5.2.3 A. 2 tees 88
PEGUANDA CAG OED |< 55 Ths decir cine (5)
Juglans jamaicensis........-..---- 5
RopukyPreg. ees. ea tes ee 105
Laguncularia racemosa......------ 127
Maneewood se-- 2232.25.44 24954628 24
Mancewoods, Black.\4s4554sua025 <2 18
Maneewoods| Trne: 2... -25.-2 ee 18
Lancewood, White............... 19
Wane aX oo 332 Soe iss (25-30)
apres rae os hein ones 11 (note),

17, 26, 26 (note), 27, 28, 29
Denrelimanrillo. 2122.02. = wslsen 28
MapecPAvispilo. 2-2-2555. -25.eas iF
Baueel Blancos . 2o5.: agsuiws seg 28
Eaurel Bahoses../5. = 322 - ats +See 26, 27
Baurel. Canelon® <2 2... Sascha. Hee 28
Baureli.de India: )..2~.-%.-~.-.. 11 (note)
atwebsnpadiy. 2 222 2.) e eee tee 119
WRONG OG oi ooo cis nin ES 27, 28
Laurel Geo-geo. ..-...--.----- 26, 27, 28
Panrel Macho: . .:..\:\:-<itasgsaat 28
Laurel oseta.::.--....-ssbesake 2. 28
Pete Naber. o...//.. een 17
Haurel Sassafras. =~ = 25s 27
Panrel Sayino.- 22... ..<08 Saxe 17
UTM O tao a5 5s, 2, ean ore Sous the oye 28
Merle Reh 22.9.6... ee cose 140
Lechesillo...-..-.. 11, 81, 144, 144 (note)
LEGUMINOS&, XIV.......-.-.-. (36-59)
Bement see ome cack ak 65 kasi)
Levetena.glauet...... = isan: he.
EARN V ROBE 6 ata = ining in Se 60
igen Fe sc, Seda ie, 31055 apd none ts
LZ ESD LT ee 2 ee Oe A eee ae 93
WME AAs ot ate eee lok 65 (note)
AICTE eee eats Oo 65 (note)
RGGI oe AO ee lean cninis 65 (note)
Eamon, Duleess: os... n..--.- 65 (mote)
Temmanenilo: 52055! sean Hes busses 129

129 (note), 131, 132 (note)
Limoncillo de Monte.......-.-...
Linociera domingensis....---.---- 180
Bigard. Woodiei5: (25. .i..asbbessd 156
Bispeames 2h5e clk yo. se has 15h 136
Tdgerume Macho.........- 2.2... 136
Eiparimers4io 2s cane eed te 12
oeust Rapes sat 2 veces text 45
DN OGU 528 5s a ace. eseeees 50
Lonchocarpus domingensis......-.- 56
Lonchocarpus glaucifolius.....-.... 56
Lonchocarpus latifolius......--..--- 56
Gra NCR e sic ean ee Se EM Sd 10, 20
Lucuma multiflora......- 200.2000: 139

62

No,

Mabe sintenistt.s 25/2222. Pee 146
Mabi. . eae - 100, 100 mraen
Weichinoels ¢ci--s ac les sdk eon.
Madre de Cacao: visas cc. toxeses 59
MGS cto Ain hdd id outa aie ete os 104
ga OL 5) a chines tin dacs ee dy, Meee 104
WHOA so otednter reese ns tab koe x 104
Magnolia portoricensis...------ 17 (note)
Magnolia splendens......--------- 17
Maenouiaces, VIT......-..-.... (17)
REG. Sie oaina onl= ane ee Steno 31
MAAR. tae ne ome clotaee Pech ane 102
Mahoe, Blue or Mountain. 102
Mahogany Beeite cae wae a eee 72
USGL yccsie cars hte 3c sete mete 102
Mahot-franc...<.4.= -te0ceeot Jeet 102:
MBING UR aso <a tarde qn id cla nid gS 102
Majagua Quemadora.....-......-- 121
Malacietaecdsagieea-s 2 129, 129 (note)
MaLPighHtAGEm, XX... 222 5)-025) (76,79)
MALVACE, 5 GR CORRS & 7) (102-104)
WU RRAOY I Sho otiala er oh = alot ied dws ew tm 112
Mamey Sapote.|....2..5.--.. 138 (note)
Mameyuelo.....--- 137, 137 (note), 145.
Mammedsecc.. 22252555 -4suekeeee: 112
Mammea americana.....---------- 112
Mammee Apple......---.-.------ 112
Mangifera mica... - 25.26 5S SOs: 85
Manpless 22s. tcupeckecceicatn 122, 125
Manele: Blanco.< <<... .<..5. 2226 127, 157
Mangle Boboun2-<2 222.444 2 74.< 22 127, 157
Mangle Botén.-..02. <i 12a eeest 125
Mangle Botoncillo.......-.-..-.-.- 125
Mangle Colorado......-...---.-- 122, 125
Manele Sapatero....2.0- 20h eet 122
MAAS cis hence cc te <2 een 85
Manprove,, Black 2... ,'5i4, 02 see 157
Mangrove, Red... ..-- 3.606 22204! 122
Mangrove, White. Jc: saseate & 127
Mandantlloti. S414 5 ee. ae 81, 83
MERINO Ses S00 3S ce oer 62 (note)
Marini). £6 s2 Sst tcl oc. p eee 86
Maria Palo de... ..25-.. 3n_6s 113
Miirias 524. ocokck a... cee 0a ee 143
MRNCAAs ben <> nee eee ca~ sees Voit
DRAPE A NUS. cece tee ceennt 167 oe 2
Martinique Ironwood. eee 169
MRE MOMS i 2 we one es eee ons ig e 68
Masa Colorado. .....----------++- 68
INVA C Hee cece Hatecrron carte 141
Mastichodendron (see 141).

Matayaba apetala.....-.------ 97 oe
Matayaba domingensis bod Age tiie

ME GOMG ER conic a SUES sees 42, :
Mato Coloradoe. cise ce cenecute.

Mato vPaloidesss-cuceenaceen teers 42, 59
WMidaricioc =<. 40-12-22 Mee 17 (note)
Mayepea domingensis (see | as
MELASTOMATACEH, XLIII. tg
Melia Gzedaraclis a -ncin-minlanie- waa

Melia azedarach umbraculifera.. 73 ( fe,
Metracem, XIX sects a ayes (71-75)
Melicoces. bijuga... 12. 6 es 95
Meliosma herbertti.........-------- 99

Meliosma obtusifolia.....-+-+++-- 99

BULLETIN 354, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

No.
Melon,’ alo do... 25 )..<eeecsseeem 161
RIGA TRC s ia ~~ s-)s aes = oe epee 161
Metopium taxiferum........------- 89

Miconia guianensis-

. 134 (note 1)
Miconia impetiolaris. .

pee: (note 1)

Biconia pragina. ..5..--<-+~ 134 (note 1)
Miconia tetrandra.........--....--- 134
Micropholis curvata.......-..----- 140
Micropholis garcinifolia..........-. 140
MIO? hoo a's oc od no eee 78
Millo, Palo de...:. 2. --2.e ene 78
Mimusops duplicata........------ 145
Mimusops globosa (see 145).

Mimtsops nitida. 3:22.22 298-thee 145
Mocdoe: Jit. 2. 2eo re ee 58
Moca Blane... .....-.. Se 58
Mobinillo. . 22.2203 75, 84
Monkey’s Dinner Bell...-.....--- 8
Morgen. oe54: a {02 8) eee 8
Mora; Palo de.: 2... +225 2 8
Moracra, IV... : 3-2 ae 7-12)
Morale cuss 22 +6 Ses mee 153 (note)
MorabdePar’ .i0i 27 Wer nae 153 ae
Moralonu: 2.2. 2. \-<.c2s- eee eee
Motillo. .:.:225 st. ck ee eee eee 0
Mountain Mahoe. ...-. .....07fEs 102
Multa. os. ts0caa0 dese 122 (note)
Muneca..2 022.25 5.caee eee 135, 153 (note)
Maufieca,. Palo de... 24.220 153 (nae)
Mufieco, Palo de. - 2 ee » 162
Migr ta: » 22s. « jaa ees aes _ 132 (i
Musk Wood... .222:.4.. 52. ee
Mycropholis chrysophylloides...-- - - 140
Myrcia deflena..<....<0~ eee 130
Myrcia leptoclada.......-.-------- 130
Myrcia ? pagan... . ..-'--~--<-<sa0 130
Myrcia eplendens.: ....2.-~-b ieee 130
Myroxylon buxifolium (see 118).
Myroxylon schwaneckeanum (see 118).
MyYrsINACEm, XLV..-----.----2- (137)
MyYRTACES, XI... bten (128-133)
Naceberry: «2.625 2.<!.0-.a.58eeee 138
Waratija..- os. soi. 2. ie 65 oe
Naranja China REE teas. -
Nectandra, coriacea......32 Sees
Nectandra krugits . oo... 20.2 eeeee 28
Nectandra membranacea.....------- 28
Nectandra patens....-------------- 28
Nectandra sintenisti....---------- 28
NeeraLorac:.<.--4-25) =-=.-)4.
Nomuoci. S46 ie nase sec 5 see 27
Nifio'de Cota: i 2-.-..-.-..-- <a 111
Nispero. $. 2i22:....2.-- 2 2eeee 138
Nispero Cimarron, Palode.....-.- 148
Noval: << sacn<di peek eee 5
Nopalea coccinellifera......-.------ 120
Nilez: 1.282254 ee eee 82
Nuez de India. » 2-44-2450 2eeee 82
Nuez' Moscads,.-...cs--2 seas a5-8 27
Nuez Moscada Cimarrona. . - - ---- 27
Nuez Moscada del Pays. .......-- 27
Natez. Palo'de: «22 ..-2.~.. «sen 5
Nutmeg Ff SR 27
NycraGinacea, VI....---- ait -taee (16)

TREES OF PORTO RICO.

No.
Oak? Central American2::-::-- -- - - 91
Ochroma lagopus.) -=22 722... 2-<-- 107
Otolcalcunedinnt = sense 8 = = = 27
Ocotea floribunda... .-'.=2---:---< 27
Menten leucaenone.. - "02's." = 27
Ocoica Meschalas 2222220252202... 27
Ocotea portoricensis........------- 27
Oearapuirightiy .\!. -- «2 ea 27
SS ee eee (150)
Olive Wood of Jamaica, Wild..... 126
Opuntia catacantha.......-..----- 120
Opuntia guanicana.....---------- 120
Oreja, Palo de....--.-.- . 122 fein
Oreodoza caribaea... --....--- --%
Oreodoxa regia (see 2).
rman Amengue.... =o 52.% 110
MORMNOSULKTUGIT 2. 4.-02%s ec esee os 52
Rittefon-.--------- SAGES SS 13, 15 Ge)
Otaheite Gooseberry. ..----------
Oxandra lanceolata........------+- 8
Grandra laupifolia...1..'-=.'.'-'.- <= 19
Le DTS OS a geal ae gS 86
PAPICOIENCH GILPIN. .2---=--2-=- ++ 170
ce Oe eee 4
See RRtL 2. cet aoe 1
Pein, Forte Rican Hat... ...-> 222. if
7 SO ee 2
LO UETES) OC) oS ae 2
Meee COCO. 22. 2° 2). S532 4
ems @e Grand: 2. -.'5-'5----.-- 2
Peminide lt sierra. - 2... =.) ---% 3
mite Serra. so. 32s. S22 3
Palma de Sombrero......--.----- 1
Palme Vargas... . 2.222... 53 2
Palitiaphveales sc ete ete J 2
EGE te cen alot OS 2
2 Sed Is ae (1-4)
MAOENNANO: 22.52.58 sees eats 152
PeLGENANCO 1. 2 ee 80 (note)
119, 150, 167 (note 2)
Palo Blanco de la Costa. ....-. 122 (note)
POE, 2 5222 sass 15 (note), 16,33
Palo Cachumba. . ------- 185, 135 (note)
PaloWolorado-s... 322222525 29, 111, 118
ade Aceile: 7. 22.2. st kee 68
Palo de Aceituna.... 222222... 80 ce)
ia OderANastaslOan a .220-4 2-2 se
PGE TOYO. os. oto oecdi's SS 59
Palo de Burro Prieta...-....... 32 (note)
PeeCapra. oo. 222-22 bese e- lt 6, 148
Palo de Campeche. ..........---- 50
feta de Candela.) 22... 2... = 22)... 118
Palo de Cap4 de Sabana.......-..- 155
Palo. de Cichimbo. 2.9.22... 22.2... 170
PRaloyde:Cotorra: = 2822992 228% 22: 81, 163
Palo de Cucubano...2. 2 9.2.2. 52: 165
fee deCupey:: 2. =. 222052202: 114
EAN. 22 25. 2a ek. 2. oe 169
pede Doneella.:: 2255 22.2.. 20. C7
Palode Hspinillo..2.. 2.0009). .52 163
Palome Gelana: 209/52 5.852222). 81
Palo de Gangulin..........--. 135 ore)
Walo‘de Gartocha. >. $=. 22.2 2's 106.
Palo:de Gonpolit.(j92+2<2222< 122 eee,
Palo de Guitarras: - 2425423 0..%5 <5 154

63

No.
Palo.de Hierro: .2 2-252 s sacle “169
Palo de Hueso...- - - 67, 90, 122 (note, 150
Puio. de Jaqueca: oi2)\.122 24 esse oe. 103
Palo de:Maria.s. 022422 2.222enses 113
Palo dewMissas 2. es BSE Se Da 68
Peace Maton. St so... esate Jee 42, 52
Palo demielones: <5 ec. tee Do 161
Palode Mille io yeh ee 2
Palorde Morte 2s oe ee es
Palo de Mufieca......-.------ 153 ea
Palo de Muneco:).22-5- 22 2228 S- 152
Palo de Nispero Cimarron . 5 are
Palo de Nuez-.24s2 2 Se Ie
Palo de'Orejgs ce. scce = = ees 122 note)
Palordenbaies = 25 acer. sees eeeraate
Palode Pendulae.. 2-2 ssc6 ce onan 156
RalorderRollostee aceon = act 55
Palo de. Quinay.--nse 2 ees fesee: 167
hare Ger beassns.- e's. =o oe ase 64
aloe oros=eeeoe eae 122 (note), 170
Palo de) Vaere.s-62 252 o2e hee 135 Sade
Palo deVaca: Blanco: : 22.27 i.
Elo Hediondp 2... -.-t 1-4 eee
OMI le 3 fa hei aa occa cae 100 note
PalorPbolloe.c ssesoeeneeit Ree tes
LL TEED SEES See ae mea S| 9 138
Paya Cimarronas ) 5-0.) st POS 136
aa VGA ee DPA as teen oe ee 89
Paritium tiliaceum (see 102).
Pestlte 8 reas oh 02 Ao ever eee ett 73
eric abet ate ed sos ee Pe 15
Péndola Cimarron. .......--- 154 (note)
eMGitby sr neti ee 154, 156
Rendulayolancoss-s3- sens eee 156
Pend ulz Colorado... s2<2 J 2 154
Péndula, Palo de. 156
PPCTOMI a oo ate erie tela eee ee 52
PerOnlins 5G. do. see oe eek ee 42
CPSCD) OTVETUCONM se eri ae ie erate 25
Persea gratissima ( see 25).
(PCPREQRTILOAY. = 23% = = ieee 3 oe 25 (note)
Petitia domingensis....---------- 7 HGESS
Phoebe elongata: -< 233 =e 26
Phoebe montana. pat She 26 (note)
Phyllanthus distichus........-- ++
Phyllanthus nobilis var. antillanus. 78
Picramnia pentandra.....-.------- 67
PV ebelua CULO Lee = a= oe ee se ole 54
Pictetia aristata (see 54).
PROCETENS TOYENG 2s so 73s = 52s SSS 120
PAPNLCM GAs ee cos sre ER eter 129 (cok)
Pimienta Malagueta....-...------ 129
Pinon spimeso 2.2: Sra. 223 59
Piptadenia peregrina...----------- 43
Paseidia- pisaypula 42-2232. hee 57
Pisonia subcordata var. typica. - 16
ETT A ey Se ea ge ar) 120
Pithecolobium arboreum. . - --- - 38 ote)
Pithicolobium saman......--------
Pleodendron macranthum....------ 116
Plum, Florida, or Guiana........- 79
Pram) (Guazumae ooh se 52a se 109
NII, “EROS ictora tei cicrsran lj. L 87, 89
PAT GIDE: 25 BT en ke 151
POUCA RE TOMI e 2 3 558 ee Se 51

Poisow Wood -/o esveseseeesavelees 89

64

BeWsanero. os <o¢-cs~ ++ pe ee dt
POLYGONACEA, V..........-...-- (13-15)
Pons, 088. ~ =. ee on wees 133
ROMO sce sees an ten Soe 65 au)
Porcupine Wood... ----- .<-\san"s

Porto Rican Hat Palm. .......... i
Prickly ASM. : 2%.’ 22 a5. ete eee 61
Prince Woaotlied.pste.---- shee eee 153
Prunus oceidentalis.....---------- 34
Pseudolmedia spurta....---------- 10
PSidvuim: GUajavG= 202 4 =.+ t-eie Bie 128
Psychotria brachiata. ...---------- 170
Pterocarpus officinalis. ..---------- 55
NE PCRs eis ot aoa aire epee e 2
1 Th eS Ree eet ia ALS Bek A. P= 19
Quapinole Jutahy........--....-. 45
Quararibea turbinata...-.. Bae ree 106
Shichepas-). -.25-: => ---e 7 ee 95
Quiebra igh. 3. uc cant 94
Quina..... = nw ai =v Lig A OR MOLE)
Quina, Pald des.) acta cee 167
I TRPAN soos so5- aie mee aren ee 100
RaboRatoe scores sees oor ete 119
Mabe URCO sme an a= = cece 119
Rain Tree...---.- Re ee eee 38
able Mengde sce .c 2c oo). 32 aes Ae
Ramon? ace 3 Heh eee bt ret ete ae 7
Ramoncillos ses tse be ee cise 7,75
PAE GCULCREG 3. o 1 te ope a ae 163
IRSEON 2 et tae ern. o easier ees . 97, 100
Reewolfia nitdi-se 6.2.5 owe 152
Ravenia urbani....-------- mre 63
Ried. Bean ‘Prec. fo. . - --Senchht bee 59
dead. Manprove. 22... ..-.- bison 122
OPAINO Se oth setts occ oon S eerie 75
RaAMNACES, XXVIII..........-- (100)
Rheedia portoricensis.....------ 114 (note)
Rhizophora mangle. .....--------- 122
RHIZOPHORACEZ, pave =a ohhBe)
Robles. <.. - 158, 159, 160, 160 (note
Boble Ilanco: 0.4. sas aekeee 159
Roble Colorado. -:..-.- 2. /2<3-ee ene 158
Rohle Prieto... 2.25.28 s scence 160
BollinigimiUcosa «,-, 5m s aatjs- 0 kehee 24
Rondeletia portoricensis. - 162
Posacna, Delt os. s ge el (34)
Rose Apple... Bi PR CET tye t alec ve 133
Rose Wood.. so . 64 (note)
[oe a ee 118
Royal Palm. i... --- ote nedd ght ot 3
Roystonea borinquena (see 2).

HYUN... 3-2-2 <o- sc ewemeeene 4 62 (note)
Bupracra. LV: o. -W.- 3eCepes (162-170)
Bouraces, SVie. oc pisverchars (61)
Saniacem, DCX VL cwtid:. 5 the (99)
SADINOs5 dns deen cue-<-aees aac 17
BaMan 36 Fo. -. ye tee it eee 38
Sambucus intermedia var. insularis. 171
San Bartolome... |. .-.: --se<-< 153 ieote)
Santi-box Tree: a> --- = =.s op deoke
Sangre de Doncella.......-.----- 4:
Sanpuinayia oe. (<)2- 2 --- se reviehee 100
Gartta Maris... ss=sc0> sep ebincs 103, 113

BULLETIN 354, U. 8S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

No.

Santa Olalla..........------ 167 (note 2
SAPINDACEH, XXVI........... Os 08s
Sapium laurocerasus...........---- 81
Sapo, Guero de... ... ~~» nneaeeehe 90
Repodtlan ge... rie + - <- oe cee 13
Sapotacem, XLVI........... (138-145)

DOUG. te oinereieeg e <item ee 145
Sapote de Cosia.....°..-..-teccnen 145
Sarne de Perro. .js it. -c+ seh aa 119
Sarma. .+25%,-.~.5: nat een eee 12
DassafTasi:: 6... 20s. a 0 Aes 27
San WOO: 2.0 fens ole i ee 62
Satinwood, West Indian 66

BUCO «2 = hope bins oe Oem =n eee 171
Sauco Cimarron... 56 2a ev cape oe 93
Gea Grape, . o-oo -..0 oe
Bebucan, v2... 5 sne~4 es 114 (note), 120
Seburequilly. 22. os Spon ee
Sepling... :2r--.--..- cake eee 47
BCT OB cite wn oa Os oc oe 99
Serrasuela..-..)...-- + --s nese 165
Sesbania grandiflora........-.----- 53
Sideroxylon foetidissimum.....---- - 141
eae mastichodendron (see

4]

Sideroxylon portoricense...--- 141 ae
Siete-cueros: ..--. 4: -.sctee eee
Silk-cotton. =< .2-....-....teaaeee 108
Simaruba tulae. 2222 7222... oe 66
SIMARUBACEH, XVII........... (66, 67)
STIs TLC... 22-05 d= =o ge 39
Stoanea berteriana.. -. 2s .crt at ae 101
Siake wood... 3.2. 2c sete 100
Sour Orange...) - -< -2cetemee 65 inate
BOUTSOD. - fo.-1- <-> ec cee eee
Spanish Cedar.............-.=-s5—ee 7
Spanish Elm....--..-2..-+-.<.22 153
Spanish Plum. <--> 5--.- sana 88
Reid lutea (see 87).
Spondias mombin.....-.-.-------- 87
Spondias purpurea......----- f=s== 88
Stahlia monosperma..-.----------- 44
STAPHYLEACE, XXV..........- (93)
Star-Apple.=..... --.-s<- = see 143
STERCULIACES, XXXIT.....- (109, 110)
STYRACACEA, xLIX. 5. eee (149)
Styrax portoricensis. . Pere
Sugar Apple... :.:: «<2. 21steoeeee 23
Sweet Lemon. ........ 20. outer 65 fear
Sweet Orange. ..< 0. s¢.. 2 eceeta ae
Sweetsop.--....------------------ 3
Swietenia mahagoni....---------- 72
SympPitocace#, XLVIII...-..-.-... (148)
Symplocos linata..<..¢.J-i%. eee 148
Symplocos latifolia.......--------- 148
Symplocos martinicensis....------ 148
Symplocos micrantha....--.------- 148
Symplocos polyantha....---------- 148
Tabanueo. 1. -:.-=ocs=pheeewees om 69
Tabebuia sigida. ©. 2% sci bys w oe os 158
Tabebuia schumanniana....------- 158
pf fcr oe a SR eae Pee 81, 146, 151
Tablongiullo-. is... 6 ps 141 (note), 142
abopuece.<c.-..--o-...- eo peoe 69

Wachuelo. :...<<..0sccoceeeeneees 54

TREES OF PORTO RICO.

MMalamtvOnieks sel slemueee ec <<< 119
Ian) 5. SoS eRe eae 5 oe. 46
PEaIMATINGO: 6 Peet ees 0 46
Tamarindo Cimarron! 02... 2% -. 22 40
Tamarindus indica....------------ 46
(SF See cl a eee 64, 64 note)
Tea Cimarrona...------ oe Ree
MGA REUOEO neg ooh eae aint a BL
Tecoma haemantha........--- 160 (note)
figeomacleuconylon< 22)... =-\2/5-8 160
Tecoma pentaphylla......-.------- 159
PRGRAAIIUOR shee es See 161
PeTmIelO - 32. hake STORE. 134 note >
Terminalia catappa......-.------+-
Ternstroemia heptasepala....------ re
Ternstroemia luquillensis....------ lil
Ternstroemia peduncularis.......-. to.
TERNSTROEMIACES, XXXII. (111)
Mate Burra steve ola see se cies “35, 144
Teta de Burra Cimarron........-.- 35
Teta Prieta.. Baek bd oe lil
Tetragastris balsam’ ifera- Rae eS 68
REOGTOMO CACKO Pane ee ae: 108
Thespesia ees 2a iene tes 104
Thespesia populnea. - Sea 103
Thowinia striata. . ee sre 94
THYMELAEACES, So O58 (121)
Tigulate. . ee Sp Ue Nie Whe (5)
apie eae 163
Moreh wOodhen ses ed: 64 (note)
Toronja. . 65 (note)
STEED. Se eee eee ee ee 141
RorasoeAmarilo 22... 2.2... 2 141
@orico Erieto:.....-.---- ++... 63, 141
PTPPOTIO i a5 Sn teh es aw ate 166
VAD U0. ey tel Aye sia Aeeiaiaaees 117
Tovomita elliptica (see 114, note).
Trema micranthum..........-.+---
MAUEERUT 2c gots 2 3. o- Sei -/Se 0 75
MimeriiaAauiog.o.: 2.222222 28 75
Draniiue tiacontha. ~..+.----->--- 75
ROA TRCCTUOSIE.. v0. ------%'-- 2 - 7
‘mic bancewood .....:..2.--.-.:+- 18
PMINeb Pree: Jac de ete les Spa... 12
enawie Bapamne too ls. 25. 120
ita Mena. =. + sass sls. 120
Turpinia panniculata...........-- 93
EOE a ea 126
MEtEMaIBNCO.:. .o6 2-82-65 S sek) (26

JEG aa 8 a res (6)

Umbrella China Tree.......... 73 aeay
{UNG cet re 2 Sn
1 Oar cl a ee 15 ee
21871°—Bull. 354—16——5
Y

65

No.
MUWOLOL Seas es cama sss be eeute 14
LI Lag ee PS gy na _15 (note)
Wig a) | tk eM NL ea lea MS
cartier Pe SPS eet 79, 80 (note)
Vie rutin se eee Ste Age se =
Ventre ANoriee sGa8. 2 too goes 36
VERBENACHAD. LITT... 2-222. Gas
Wiha ssa ee ie 2 135, 135 (note
Mateo ivan catiste: S22 oss Ses 156
Vomitel Colorado............. 153 (note)
Walnut; Hast Indians. 2 o500. S255 39
Walrint India Aes 2. Cees te 82
Walnut, Jamaican. od 13-2) cye2ch-re 5
Waltiut. Westman oi oc. 5
West, bnctanuBtrel an. Ge. oo et ar 70
West Indian Boxwood.....-..--. 159

West Indian Cedar....-.......-.-- 71

West.Indian Blatsc4i5-).- seed - 109
West Indian Greenheart........... 100
West Indian Ironwood. .....-...- 169
West Indian Satinwood.........-.. 66
West Indian Walnut...........-.. 5
White Lancewood......-.-.-.--..:. 19
White Mangrove... Se Seek ee eo AEM (2/6
White woodi-g aca0 ee eee sus 79, 160
Willela Gino navy wee es.) es 116, 129
Wild: Olive*Wood= £2.55. 252.092... 126
Wariterana*canella vse. SO 116
WINTERANACEH, XXXVI......... (116)
Woman’sTonsues: 2260... 39
Xylosma buxifolium ......-.------ 118
Xylosma schwaneckeanum...-..--- eles
corm eee ripeem scree = ase ee 136
VacrumeHemibra_t. 222252223228 12
Wacrome: Machats-s 5.20 ae5s. 3 kee 136
WONG Es Set ea pote anes hae z
Nacua del Monte. -). 2226 arte sean 2 a
AYA yore peters ete ee Sst 1
BVA als toon d See nnen ek ooerarat Aen, Oe 19
Vaya Blancag’s: A jecec0 oe ugtade 19
Mellowamanders..,..35 20-22 sis Seo 124
BYE llowaViOO Ger Seba s 5 8 te te laa 62
PGi Cees 6 SL, Mae 81
peniquallorte. o.05 2 OSs. Sees 78
Zanthoxrylum (see 61, footnote).

Zapote Negro 6 Prieto............ 147
PEROT oa. oe Seatac Aas eke ae fists Se 40 (note)
PIAA yan cic an wis iniaid care once 145
ZYGOPHYLLACEH, XV......-.----- (60)

66 BULLETIN 354, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

DESCRIPTION OF SPECIES.
I. . Parma.

1. Inodes causiarum Cook. Yaray; Porto Rican hat palm (Br. W. I.).

Inodes glauca Urb. Damm. Palma de sombrero; Hat palm (Br. W. I.).

Two palms more or less common on the western end of the island, usually along
the shore on the coral sand. The leaves are held in high repute in Porto Rico for
making hats, immense quantities of which are manufactured every year. The center
of this industry is at Joyua, just south of Mayaguez.

2. Oreodoxa caribaea (Spreng.) Damm. & Urb. (=Roystonea borinquena Cook?=O.
regia Bello?), Palma real, Yagua, Palma de yaguas, Palma costa, Palma
de grana; Palmacte, Pumu (Sp. W. I.); Royal palm (Br. W. I.). .

Tree from 40 to more than 80 feet high and sometimes 2 feet in diameter, found
throughout the island, the West Indies, and southern Florida. One of the most con-
spicuous objects in the Porto Rican landscape. The most useful part is the sheathing
base of the leaf called ‘‘yagua,’’ which is used for roofing and siding of huts, and fora
great variety of other purposes, especially by the poorer classes. The outer portion
of the trunk is used for boards, posts, poles, piles, etc. The leaves are used for thatch-
ing roofs. The royal palm has more economic uses than any other tree in the West
Indies.

3. Acrista monticola Cook. Palma de la Sierra, Palma de Sierra, Yagua del Monte.

Tree from 30 to 80 feet high and from 12 to 18 inches in diameter, closely allied
to the royal palm (Oreodoxa caribaea). The Porto Rican species is confined chiefly
to the mountain regions. The outer portion of the trunk, split into boards, is used
for making huts, and the leaves for thatching roofs.

4. Cocos nucifera L. Palma de coco, Coco, Cocotero (Sp. W. I.); Coconut, Porcupine
wood, Coco palm (Br. W. I.).

Tree usually from 40 to 50 feet tall and from 12 to 15 inches in diameter, found
everywhere along the coast in Porto Rico, the West Indies, and the Tropics generally.
Extensively planted and of great economic importance. The ‘‘milk” of green fruit
is in great demand locally. It is drunk directly from the nut, which is then thrown
away. The ripe fruit is exported in large quantities. The wood is used for walking
sticks, umbrella handles, posts, piles, and for other purposes requiring strong and
durable material. The fiber of the husk, known as coir, and the dried meat of the
nut, known as copra, both important articles of export from the East Indies to
Europe, have no commercial value in Porto Roco.

The wood is somewhat similar to that of the royal palm, very hard, heavy (about
50 pounds per cubic foot), strong, tough, and very durable in contact with the soil.

II. JUGLANDACES.

5. Juglans jamaicensis C. DC. Nogal, Palo de nuez; Jamaican or West Indian
walnut (Br. W. I.).

Tree from 40 to 80 feet high and from 18 to 24 inches in diameter, occurring only
at high altitudes on the island. The wood is similar to that of our native Butternut
(Juglans cinerea L.) but is seldom used except occasionally for furniture. \

III. Utmacez.

6. Trema micranthum (L.) Bl. Palo de cabra, Guacimilla, Guazymillo; Ixpgpe
(Mexico).

Tree from 15 to 60 feet high, occurring here and there throughout the island. Wood
little used. Wood light brown, moderately fing grained, capable of a good polish,
but rather soft, light, and weak. Pores small, isolated, or in groups of two to five or
more, and evenly distributed. Pith rays minute, inconspicuous.

TREES OF PORTO RICO. 67

LV: Moracesx.

> \

%. Trophis racemosa (L.) Urb. Ramon,' Ramoncillo.

Tree from 30 to 50 feet high, occurring in the northwestern part of the island, chiefly
of importance on account of the leaves, which are used as fodder for cattle and horses.
Its wood is good for all purposes except in exposed situations.

_ *8. Chlorophora tinctoria (L.) Gaudich. Mora, Palo de mora, Fustic.

Tree from 45 to 65 feet high and from 18 to 24 inches in diameter, occurring mostly
in the southwestern part of the island. The wood is used locally for shelving in
country houses and for spokes of wheels; also for furniture and wherever great strength
and durability are required. This tree, which occurs throughout the West Indies
and Central America, furnishes one of the most important dyewoods of commerce.

Wood 2 a handsome brownish-yellow, very fine-grained. Pores small, isolated or
in groups of two to four, more or less connected by short wavy tangential lines of wood
parenchyma, which are conspicuous on a transverse surface. Pith rays very narrow
and inconspicuous. Wood takes a fine polish, hard, heavy (about 44 pounds per
cubic foot), strong, tough, and durable.

*9. Artocarpus incisa L. (= Artocarpug communis Forst.). Pana, Palo de pan, Castana;
Bread fruit, Bread nut (Br. W. I.).

Tree from 40 to 60 feet high, introduced from the East Indies, now growing spon-
taneously in many parts of the island, particularly the north side. The fruit is very
large with numerous large seeds resembling the Spanish chestnut, whence the common
name “‘castafia.’’ These seeds are an important article of native food. Wood, though
little used, is said to be highly appreciated for furniture and for building houses. .

Wood is yellowish-gray in color; rather light and soft, but strong, resistant, and
elastic. Its specific gravity is given as 0.495 (C. & C.). :

10. Pseudolmedia spuria (Sw.) Griseb. Negra lora.

_ Tree from 25 to 50 feet high with a limited distribution on the island. Itis of very
little use except for fuel and charcoal.

*41. Ficus lxvigata var. lentiginosa subvar. subcordata (Warb.) Urb. (=F. lentiginosa
Vahl.). Jagtiey, Jiguerillo, Lechesillo.

Tree from 30 to 60 feet high and from 4 to 5 feet in diameter, occurring quite gen-
erally in the mountainous regions. It is at first semiepiphytic and often destroys,
trees on which it grows. It is used in making fishing canoes.

Wood light gray with narrow brown lines of softer tissue, fine, and straight-grai ned
moderately soft and light (about 30 pounds per cubic foot). Pores small, solitary or
in groups of two to four, evenly distributed. Tangential lines of wood-parenchyma
fibers visible on a smooth transverse surface. Pith rays very narrow and indistinct.

_Norr.—Similar to the above in the uses and properties of their wood are Ficus
sintenisii Warb. (Jagiiey, Higuillo preto) and Ficus stahlii Warb. (Hagiiey,
Jagtiey ) trees, 15 to 60 feet high, which occur in the mountainous regions. Several
other species of Ficus known locally as “Higuero” are reported as being generally
distributed throughout the island. These are small trees averaging from 10 to
20 feet high and from 4 to 6 inches in diameter. The wood, which is very little
used, is white, soft, light (about 43 pounds per cubic foot), and not strong nor
durable in the soil.

Another species Ficus nitida Thumb. (Laurel de India, Laurel), introduced
from Asia, is a beautiful tree from 45 to 65 feet high and has been planted on the
island for ornamental purposes. The wood is not used.

1 This tree must not be confused with the bread-nut tree (Brosimum alicastrum Sw.), which is also called

“Ramon” throughout the West Indies and Yucatan. The latter is a native of Jamaica but has not
been reported from Porto Rico.

2 See pp. 12-14, Forest Service Circular 184.

68 BULLETIN 354, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

12. Cecropia peltata L. Yagrume hembra, Llagrumo, Trumpet tree; Guarumbo,
saruma (Mexico).

Tree from 20 to 60 feet high and from 10 to 12 inches in diameter, occurring in moun-
tainous regions. It is common throughout the West Indies. The trunks and branches
are hollow and are often made into carrying poles and floats for fishing nets. Wood
white, light, soft, moderately weak, and not durable in contaet with the soil.

V. PoLYGONACES.

*13. Coccoloba rugosa Desf. Ortegon.

Tree from 40 to 100 feet high, occurring from sea level to 2,000 feet elevation, abun-
dant along the coast. Wood useful for construction timber. Wood purplish, fine-
grained, hard, heavy, strong, and tough. Pores very small, isolated or in groups of

two or three, evenly distributed. Pith rays narrow, inconspicuous.

*14. Coccoloba wvifera (L.) Jacq. Uvero, Uva del mar, Sea grape.

Tree from 15 to 30 feet high and from 3 to 4 feet in diameter, growing along the coast.
The trees are reproduced by cuttings. The wood is highly esteemed for cabinet work.
Wood dark brown with nearly black linear markings, very fine-grained, taking an
excellent polish, very hard, heavy (65 pounds per cubic foot), strong, and tough.
Pores very few, very small, isolated or in radial rows of two tofour. Pith rays narrow,
inconspicuous.

*15. Coccoloba grandifolia Jacq. Moralon.

Tree from 50 to 60 feet high and from 1 foot to 2 feet in diameter, occurring in moun-
tain forests. Reported formerly very common in the vicinity of Lares and throughout,

the limestone belt from Ciales and Utuado to the west coast. Itis also native to others”

of the West Indies and to Mexico and Guiana. Wood was highly prized ior building
purposes and for furniture and cabinet work, but is now scarce.

Wood reddish, close and sometimes cross-grained, very hard, and heavy. Pores
minute, isolated, or in groups of two or three, evenly distributed. Pith rays minute,
very inconspicuous. ;

Note.—Other species of this genus are *Coccoloba nivea Jacq. (Calambrefias);
Coccoloba laurifolia Jacq. (Uvillo, Cucubano, Gateado, Glateado, Uverillo);
Coccoloba obtustfolia Jacq. (Uvillo); Coccoloba diversifolia Jacq. (Palo bobo);
Coccoloba urbaniana Lindau. (Ortegon). ‘Trees from 15 to 45 feet high, growing
mostly in the mountains, and yielding fine and useful timbers. Wood in general
similar to the above.

VI. NycTAGINACE.

16. Pisonia subcordata var. typica Heimer]. Corcho, Palo bobo.

Tree from 40 to 60 feet high, occurring here and there throughout the island. Wood
of very little use. q
VII. MAGNoLiace®.

*17. Magnolia splendens Urban. Laurel sabino, Laurel savino, Laurel, Sabino.

Tree from 50 to 100 feet high and from 14 to 24 feet in diameter, found in all parts
of the island, though now very scarce. One of the most. valuable timbers on the
island, and used for beams, boards, and furniture.

Wood clear olive-brown, often turning yellowish-green, beautiful, aromatic, straight
and fine-grained, resembling the wood of tulip poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera L.) and
cucumber tree ( Magnolia acuminata L.) with which it is closely allied. It is moder-
ately hard, heavy, strong, tough, and very durable in contact with soil and air. Does
not warp or check during seasoning. Pores very small, solitary or in pairs, and evenly
distributed throughout the annual rings of growth, which are marked by more or less
distinct narrow lines of radially compressed wood fibers. Pith rays very narrow,
scarcely visible on a polished radial surface.

Note.— Magnolia portoricensis Bello (Burro, Mauricio) recognized by Bello as a
separate species is a tree from 45 to 80 feet high. Itis reported only from the west-
ern part of the island. Wood similar to that of M. splendens.

TREES OF PORTO RICO. ; 69

VIII. ANONACEZ.

18. Oxandra lanceolata (Sw.) Baill. Haya prieta; Black lancewood, True lancewood
(Br. W. I.).

Tree from 20 to 30 feet high and from 8 to 12 inches in diameter with a limited
occurrence in the western part of the island. It occurs largely throughout the West
Indies, and in parts of South America where the wood is highly esteemed for lances,
fishing rods, shafts, spars, ramrods, and general turnery.

Wood yellow, very fine-grained, hard, light, strong, and very elastic. Pores are

minute, solitary or in groups of two to five, radially disposed, and evenly distributed.
Pith rays narrow, scarcely visible to the unaided eye. :

19. Oxandra laurifolia (Sw.) A. Rich. Yaya, Yaya blanca, Haya blanca, Purio;

White lancewood (Br. W. I:).

Tree from 30 to 80 feet high and from 10 to 20 inches in diameter. It occurs in the
mountain forests.and is distributed throughout the West Indies.. It is used largely
for the same purposes as the true lancewood (Oxandra lanceolota), but is not so
valuable.

Wood light yellowish and fine-grained, hard, light, and strong. Pores minute,
solitary or in small groups, and evenly distributed. Pith rays inconspicuous.

20. Guatteria blainii (Griseb.) Urb.. Haya, Haya minga, Negra lora.
Tree from 30 to 60 feet high, quite generally distributed throughout the island.

_ *21. Anona muricata L. Guandbana; Soursop (Br. W. I.).

Tree from 10 to 35 feet high and from 6 to 12 inches in diameter, extensively cul-
tivated throughout the island for the sake of its fruit, which has-an agreeable slightly
acid flavor, and is closely allied to the East Indian species (Anona squamosa L.),
Wood of little use except for fuel.

Wood light brown, turning darker with age, fine and straight-grained, resembling
somewhat the wood of our papaw (Asimina triloba Dunal.), which is called ‘‘ Anona”
in Spanish. It is soft, light, not strong, brittle, not durable in contact with the
soil. Pores very small, solitary, or occasionally in pairs, and very evenly distributed
throughout the annual rings of growth, which are scarcely visible to the unaided
eye. Pith rays numerous and indistinct.

22. Anona palustris L. Cayul, Cayur, Anon, Corazon cimarron, Cayures, Corcho;
Alligator apple, Cork wood (Br. W. I.).

Tree from 20 to 30 feet high and from 8 to 12 inches in diameter. It grows usually
in swampy localities and is found along the coasts. Wood used for rafts, floats for
fishing nets, and as stoppers for bottles. Wood gray or light brown, somewhat tinged
with green, lustrous, fine and straight-grained, soft, very light, weak, not durable in
contact with the soil, resembling that of the papaw (Asimina triloba Dunal.). Pores
small, solitary or in small groups, and evenly distributed. Pith rays scarcely visible
to the unaided eye.

23. Anona squamosa L. Anén, Anonde escamas, Chirimoya, Cherimolia; Sweetsop;
Sugar apple (Br. W. I.).

Tree from 10 to 20 feet high. An East Indian species, introduced into all tropical
countries, and now extensively cultivated for its fruit. It is found in most parts
of theisland. The wood is of little use. Wood light brown streaked with yellow, fine-
grained, moderately soft, light, weak, brittle, and not durable in contact with the soil.

Nore.—Oi the other two species found on the island, Anona reticulata L.
(Corazon; Custard apple, Bullock’s heart [Br. W. I.]) is a tree from 15 to 30
feet high and from 6 to 12 inches in diameter, extensively cultivated throughout
the island for the sake of its fruit, Anona montana Macf. (Guan4vana cimarrona),
which attains a height of from 30 to 50 feet, occurs chiefly in mountainous regions.
The wood of both is similar to that of the other species and is of little use except
for firewood.

'

70 BULLETIN 354, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

24. Rollinia mucosa (Jacq.) Baill. Anon; Lancewood (Br. W. I.).

Tree from 30 to 50 feet high and from 8 to 12 inches in diameter, of limited occur-
rence in Porto Rico. Indigenous also to several islands in the Lesser Antilles, to
Trinidad, and to Mexico. The wood is said to be occasionally used as a substitute
for the true lancewood (Oxandra lanceolata), which it resembles. Wood light yellow.
moderately hard, heavy, strong, and tough.

IX. LAURACE.

25. Persea americana Mill (=P. gratissima Gaertn.).° Aguacate, Avocate, Avo-
cado; Alligator pear, Butter pear (Br. W. I.).

Tree from 30 to 40 feet high and from 12 to 18 inches in diameter introduced from
Mexico and now growing spontaneously throughout the island. It is widely planted
throughout tropical and subtropical regions for its edible pear-shaped fruit. The
fruit yields an abundance of oil for burning and for soap making. A deep indelible
black juice used for marking linen is obtained from the seeds. The wood is suggested
for use in cabinetmaking. :

Wood light reddish-brown, beautifully figured and fine grained, soft. light (about
40 pounds per cubic foot), and brittle. Pores small, numerous, isolated or in groups
of two or three, evenly distributed throughout the annual rings of growth, which are
only faintly visible. Pith rays very minute and inconspicuous.

Notre.—Persea krugti Mez. (Canela) is reported as a tree from 30 to 50 feet high,
with a very limited occurrence on the island. Wood similar to that of the above.

*26. Phoebe elongata (Vahl.) Nees. Avispillo, Laurel, Laurel bobo, Laurel geo-geo.

Tree from 30 to 60 feet high and from 1 foot to 2 feet in diameter, from the Luquillo
region. Wood light brown, fine, and cross-grained, taking a good polish; hard, heavy,
strong, and tough. Pores very small, evenly distributed. Pith rays very narrow and
inconspicuous.

Note.—Phoebe montana (Sw.) Griseb. (Laurel, Avispillo), another species of
this genus is of limited occurrence in the interior of the island and is similar in
size and in the character of its wood.

2%. Ocotea.

A genus of limited occurrence and little known uses in Porto Rico, isrepresented by
the six following species: Ocotea wrightii (Meissn.) Mez. (Canela, Canelon); Ocotea
moschata (Meissn.) Mez. (Nemoca, Nuez moscada, Nuez moscada cimarrona, Nuez
moscada del pays, nutmeg); Ocotea cuneata (Griseb.) Urb. (Sassafras, Laurel sassafras) ;
Ocotea floribunda (Sw.) Mez. (Laurel); Ocotea leucorylon (Sw.) Mez. (Cacaillo, Laurel,
Laurel bobo, Laurel geo, Laurel geo-geo); Ocotea portoricensis Mez. (Laurel, Laurel
avispillo, Laurel geo). Trees from 30 to 90 feet high and from 1 foot to 3 feet in diam-
eter, occurring in mountain forests. The wood resembles that of Phebe elongata. ;

28. Nectandra.

The following five species of this genus are reported from Porto Rico: Nectandra
sintenisii Mez. (Laurel, Laurel amarillo, Laurel blanco, Laurel geo, Laurel macho);
Nectandra krugii Mez. (Laurel, Laurel canelon); Nectandra membranacea (Sw.) Griseb.
(Laurel, Laurel geo-geo, Laurelillo); Nectandra patens (Sw.) Griseb. (Laurel, Laurel
roseta); Nectandra coriacea (Sw.) Griseb. (Avispillo, Laurel). Trees from 30 to 70 feet
high, occurring mostly in the mountains of the Luquillo region, and relatively unim-
portant. Wood light brown. Pores small, isolated or in groups of two or three,
evenly distributed. Pith rays minute, inconspicuous.

29. Hufelandia pendula (Sw.) Nees. Aguacate cimarron, Cedro macho, Laurel, Palo
colorado.

Tree from 50 to 60 feet high and irom 1 foot to 14 feet in diameter, occurring in
mountainous regions. Wood yellowing-brown turning darker with exposure to air and
light. Itisfineand straight-grained, hard, moderately heavy, strong,and tough. Pores
numerous, small, and evenly distributed. Pith rays narrow and inconspicuous.

30. Acrodiclidium salicifolium (Sw.) Griseb. Canela, Canelillo.

Tree from 25 to 50 feet high. Common in the mountainous districts, but of slight
economic value.

TREES OF PORTO RICO. vet

X. HERNANDIACES.

31. Hernandia sonora L. Mago.

Tree from 30 to 60 feet high, with a limited occurrence in the mountains of the
Luquillo region. Wood little used. Wood cream colored, fine-grained, rather soft
and light. “Pores visible to the unaided eye, isolated or in groups of two to six, often
more, evenly distributed.

XI. CapPpaRDIACE.

32. Capparis portoricensis Urb. Burro, Burro blanco.

Tree from 45 to 60 feet high, found near the southern coast. Wood white or light
ellow, fine-grained, taking a good polish, moderately hard and heavy. Pores small,
isolated or in groups of two to four, evenly distributed. Pith rays narrow, incon-

spicuous.

Notr.—Capparis jamaicensis Jacq. (Burro, Palo de burro Prieta), is reported
as a shrub or tree from 10 to 50 feet high, occurring along the coast. Wood similar
to the preceding.

XII. BRUNELLIACES.

33. Brunellia comocladifolia H. & B. Palo bobo.
Tree from 45 to 60 feet high, of limited occurrence in the mountainous region of the

island.
XIII. Rosacea.

34. Prunus occidentalis Sw. Almendron, Almendrillo. ®

Tree from 40 to 50 feet high and from 1 foot to 2 feet in diameter, common throughout
the island. Wood employed, like the black cherry (Prunus serotina), for cabinet
work and interior finish of houses.

Wood light brown, fine and straight-grained, taking an excellent polish, and often
difficult to distinguish from light-colored mahogany. It is hard, heavy (about 66

ounds per cubic foot), strong, moderately tough, and very durable under water.
Peres small, numerous, evenly distributed throughout the annual rings of growth,
which are easily seen on a smooth transverse section. Pith rays moderately narrow
and easily visible under the hand lens. ; Z

35. Hirtella.
Two species are reported from Porto Rico: Hirtella tiandra Sw. (Teta de burra) and
Hirtella rugosa Pers. (Teta de burra cimarron, Icacillo).

Described as shrubs or small trees ranging from 20 to 50 feet high and from 6 to 12
inches in diameter, occurring throughout the island, chiefly in mountainous regions.
The wood is used principally for fuel and charcoal. Wood light brown, turning darker
with age, fine and straight-grained, hard, heavy, strong, tough, and moderately dura-
ble in the soil.

XIV. Lecumrosz.

*36. Inga vera Willd. Guava, Gauba.

Tree from 30 to 50 feet high growing in mountainous region and extensively planted
for shade in coffee plantations, for which it is considered the most important tree in
Porto Rico. Wood used only for fuel and charcoal.

Wood light gray, fine grained, moderately hard, heavy (40 pounds per cubic foot),
and strong. Pores small, isolated or in groups of two or three, evenly distributed and
sometimes connected tangentially by the wood-parenchyma ‘fibers surrounding each
pore. Pith rays minute, inconspicuous.

*37. Inga laurina (Sw.) Willd. Guamé.

Tree from 30 to 50 feet high, abundant in the foothills, and very valuable as a shade
free in coffee plantations, being considered only second to oe vera for this purpose.
Wood used for firewood and charcoal.

Wood dark gray, fine-grained, moderately hard, and heavy (44 pounds per cubic
foot). Pores small, isolated or in groups of two or three, evenly distributed, and

often connected by tangential lines of wood-parenchyma fibers. Pith rays minute
very inconspicuous.

72 BULLETIN 354, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

*38. Pithecolobium saman (Jacq.) Benth. Saman, Guango; Rain tree (Br. W. 1),

Cultivated tree from 45 to 60 feet high, occurring sparingly throughout the island.
Native of Central and South America. Excellent for shade in yards and along road-
sides, as well as in pastures where through the property of its roots to accumulate and
store nitrogen in the soil it is also beneficial to the grass crop. It yields pods very suit-
able for food for cattle. It is believed to be superior to the bucare (Erythrina) as a
shade for nutmeg, cacao, coffee, tea, and similar crops because less liable to fall and
injure the plantation. It is especially well adapted for planting in dry arid regions.
In Central America the wood is used to make wheels for oxcarts.

Wood red, fine-grained, taking a good polish, fairly hard and heavy, not durable.
Pores moderately small, isolated or in groups of two to four, evenly distributed sur-

rounded by wood parenchyma which sometimes forms tangential lines. Pith rays
small, inconspicuous.

Nots.—Pithecolobium arboreum (L.) Urb. (Cojoba, Cojobana) is reported as
being a tree from 45 to 60 feet high and about 18 inches in diameter, occurring in
many partsoftheisland. Thestructure of the wood is similar to that of P. saman.

*39. Albizzia lebbeck (L.) Benth. Acacia amarilla, Amor platonico, Flamboy4n;
East Indian walnut, Siris tree, Woman’s tongue (Br. W. I.).

Beautiful cultivated tree from 30 to 40 feet high, drought resisting, and planted in
the southern part of the island. Native of the East Indies. Has no economic uses
in Porto Rico, but elsewhere the wood is used for house and boat building, furniture,
sugar-cane crushers, etc., while the gum, as an adulterant of gum arabic, is used in
calico printing.

Wood dark brown, lustrous, and rather cross-grained, resembling our black walnut
(Juglans nigra L.) in appearance and finish, takes a good polish, seasons and works
well, is hard, heavy (about 48 pounds per cubic foot), moderately strong, and durable.
Pores small, isolated or in groups of two or three, evenly distributed and more or less
surrounded by wood parenchyma. Pith rays small, inconspicuous.

40. Acacia nudiflora Willd. Cojoba, Cojobana, Tamarindo cimarron, Acacia nudosa.

Tree from 25 to 50 feet high and about a foot in diameter, with a limited-distribution
on the east coast. Wood brown, tinged with red, somewhat coarse and straight-
grained, taking a good polish. It is hard, heavy, strong, moderately tough, and
durable. Pores rather large and arranged in more or less irregular tangential rows
visible on smooth transverse surface.

Nore.—Another species, Acacia riparia H. B. K. (Zarza), is reported as quite
generally distributed on the island. It attains at times a height of 45 feet and
has a wood similar to the above.

*41, Leucaena glauca (L.) Benth. Acacia palida, Hediondilla; Ipil-Ipil (Philippine e

Islands).

Tree from 25 to 30 feet high and sometimes a foot in diameter, quite common through-
out the island and tropical America generally. The tree is especially well adapted
for reforestation of grassy wastes because of the ease with which it establishes itself in
competition with the grass sod and its rapid growth. Wood used locally for making
tools, handles, ete.

Wood brownish, tinged with red, rather coarse and straight-grained, taking a good

polish. It is hard, heavy, strong, tough, and very durable. Pores rather large,
solitary, and evenly distributed. Pith rays very narrow and indistinct.

42. Adenanthera pavonina LL. Coralitas, Mato, Mato colorado, Palo de mato, Pero-
nilas,

Tree seldom more than 30 feet high, introduced from the East Indies, and growing
spontaneously in many places, The wood resembles red sandalwood (Pterocarpus)
and is used for making a red dye. The seeds when crushed and mixed with borax
make an adhesive substance. Wood used for house building and cabinetmaking.

-

_

—eeeEOOoOoOoor ee

TREES OF PORTO RICO. |

Wood takes a good polish and is hard, heavy, strong, and durable. Pores moder-
ately large, solitary, and surrounded by abundant wood parenchyma, which occa-
sionally forms tangential lines. Pith rays very numerousand inconspicuous.

*43. Piptadenia peregrina (L.) Benth. Cojobana, Cojoba, Cojobillo, Cojobo.

Tree about 60 feet in height and about a foot in diameter, quite generally distributed
on the island. Incentral and South America it grows to be a very large tree, yielding
valuable timber known as “yoke,”’ but in Porto Rico no uses have been recorded
except for fuel and charcoal.

Wood dark reddish-brown, close-grained, hard, heavy, strong, tough, and very
durable.

44. Stahlia monosperma (Tul.) Urb. Cobana negra, Cébana, Cébano, Polisandro.

Tree from 20 to 30 feet high and about a foot in diameter, found chiefly along the
coast and watercourses. The wood is much used for making furniture, also for rail-
road ties for the cane roads. Wood is black, hard, heavy, strong, and tough.

*45. Hymenzxa courbaril L. Algarrobo, Courbaril, Quapinole jutahy, Jatoba; Locust
tree (Br. W. I.).

Tree from 30 to 90 feet high, with a diameter of from 4 to 6 feet, well distributed
throughout the island. The wood is used largely for the cogwheels of sugar mills,
for wagon wheels, in carpentry, and especially for cabinet work and fine furniture.
A resin, known as American copal, resina copal, and courbaril obtained from this tree
is used as a medicament and for ornaments. The fruit is sometimes used as food.

Wood, red with light and dark streaks; sapwood lighter, beautiful, somewhat
resembling mahogany, very fine grained, capable of a hich polish, hard, heavy (about
64 pounds per cubic foot), tough, durable (except when placed underground), and
seasons well. Pores moderately small, isolated or in groups of two to four, evenly
distributed, surrounded by wood parenchyma, which often connects them tangen-

tially. Annual rings of growth clearly visible. Pith rays small, scarcely visible
to the unaided eye on a smooth transverse surface.

*46. Tamarindus indica L. Tamarindo; Tamarind (Br. W. I.).

Tree from 20 to 60 feet high, very common throughout the island, and widely
cultivated in the Tropics for the acid pulp of its fruit. It is a beautiful ornamental
tree, well adapted for roadside planting. Its leaves, bark, seeds, and flowers all
have medicinal and other useful properties. Probably native to tropical Africa.
The wood is highly esteemed for the handles of tools, as axes and hoes, is sometimes
used for building purposes, and is said to furnish excellent charcoal for the manu-
facture of gunpowder.

Wood light yellow, fine and cross grained, hard, heavy (about 59 pounds per cubic
foot), tough, elastic, and very durable. Pores moderately small, isolated or in groups

of two or “three, evenly distributed, often connected by conspicuous tangential lines
of wood parenchyma, Pith rays minute, very inconspicuous.

4%. Bauhinia kappleri Sagot. Flamboyan blanco, Seplina, Varietal.

Tree from 30 to 50 feet high, introduced from Asia. Grows spontaneously in many
parts of the island. Wood used for fuel and sometimes for making small articles of
furniture. Wood brownish in color and very handsome, fine erained, and takes a
beautiful polish.

*48. Cassia fistula L. Cafiafistula.

Cultivated tree from 20 to 60 feet high and about a foot in diameter, a native of
tropical Asia, and very common over the entire island. Wood is ased for fuel, the
bark for tanning, and the pulp of the pods medicinally. Wood of a reddish color,
hard, heavy (about 60 pounds per cubic foot), strong, tough and durable.

*49. Cassia grandis L. Cafiafistula cimarrona.

Cultivated tree from 40 to 60 feet high and from 1 foot to 14 feet in diameter, occur-
ring mostly in the southwestern part “of the island, found to some extent in a wild

14 BULLETIN 354, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

state. Wood used for carpentry and cabinetwork. Wood reddish-brown, handsome,
fine and straight grained, taking a high polish, hard, heavy (about 51 pounds per
cubic foot), strong, and durable.

*50. H:xmatoxylum campechianum LL, Palo de Campeche, Campeche; Logwood.

Tree from 20 to 40 feet high and 6 or more inches in diameter, occurring in
the western part of the island chiefly along the coast and throughout tropical America.
It is occasionally planted on the island for its wood, the logwood of commerce, which
is used in making dyes.

Wood blood red, very fine and cross grained, taking a very high polish, hard, heavy,
strong, tough, and very durable.

51. Poinciana regia Boj. Flamboy4n, Flamboyan colorado; Flame tree (Br. W. I.).

Cultivated tree from 45 to 60 feet high, found mostly in the western part of the
island. Native of Madagascar. It is a beautiful ornamental shade tree very common
in the West Indies and widely planted throughout the Tropics. Wood little used.

Wood white, moderately fine grained, taking a good polish, but soft, light, and not
strong. Pores small, isolated or in groups of two or three, evenly distributed. Tan-
gential lines of wood-parenchyma fibers very prominent. Pith rays minute, very
inconspicuous.

52. Ormosia krugii Urb. Palo de mato, Mato, Peronia.

Tree from 30 to 80 feet high, with a limited occurrence throughout the island. The
wood is used only for charcoal. Wood very light, soft, and inferior.

53. Sesbania grandiflora (L.) Pers. Gallito, Baculo, Cresta de gallo.

A tall shrub or small cultivated tree from 10 to 30 feet high, quite generally planted
over the island. Probably a native of the East Indies. The wood is used for poles,
posts of native houses, and firewood. Parts of the tree are used medicinally and as
food. Wood white, soft, light, and not durable. Pores of medium size, isolated or
in groups of two to five,-evenly distributed. Pith rays small, indistinct.

*54. Pictetia aculeata (Vahl.) Urb. (=P. aristata P. DC.). Tachuelo, Hachuelo.

Tree from 15 to 30 feet high, found chiefly in the southern and eastern coastal
regions. The wood is often used in native house construction for underpinning,
shingles, and shelving, and for cabinet work. It becomes with age extremely hard,
so that it will turn the edge of almost any woodworking tool. It is somewhat used
for fuel, but the charcoal burner avoids it because of the efféct upon his ax.

Wood dark brown, fine, and straight grained, taking a very high polish, extremely
hard, heavy, strong, tough, lasting almost indefinitely in contact with the soil. Pores
rather small and connected by numerous fine tangential lines, which are visible
only under a hand lens on a smooth transverse surface.

55. Pterocarpus officinalis Jacq. Palo pollo, Palo de pollo.

Tree from 75 to 90 feet high and from 1 foot to 2 feet in diameter, found chiefly in
swampy localities in Porto Rico, but more generally distributed in other parts of the
West Indies and Central America. Wood is used for fuel.

Wood light brown or rusty colored, fine and straight grained. It does not take a
very high polish and is soft, light (about 35 pounds per cubic foot), weak, brittle,
and not durable in contact with the soil.

56. Lonchocarpus.

This genus is represented in Porto Rico by three species which are of but slight
economic importance. Lonchocarpus latifolius (W.) H. B. K. (Palo Hediondo, Forte
Ventura), a tree occasionally 60 feet high found in many parts of the island. The
wood, sometimes used locally for furniture, is reddish with occasional dark or black
streaks. Lonchocarpus domingensis (Pers.) P. DC. (Geno-geno), and Lonchocarpus
glaucifolius Urb. (Geno), tree from 15 to 45 feet high with a limited distribution in
the western part of the island. Wood used for fuel. .

‘

TREES OF PORTO RICO. 75

*57. Piscidia piscipula (L.) Sarg. Ventura.

Tree often 60 feet high and about 2 feet in diameter. It has a very limited occur-
rence along the shores of the island. Wood is light yellow-brown, very fine and
straight grained, taking a very good polish, hard, heavy (about 54 pounds per cubic
foot), strong, tough, and very durable in contact with the ground. Pores rather
large, not numerous, and surrounded by softer tissue which is clearly visible in
transverse surface as numerous tangential bands.

58. Andira jamaicensis (W. Wr.) Urb. Moca, Moca blanca; Cabbage tree (Br. W. I.);
Bastard cabbage-bark, Angelin (Jamaica).

Tree from 30 to 60 feet high and from 12 to 30 inches in diameter, quite generally
distributed in the forests throughout the island. The wood is very suitable for piles,
bridges, boat construction, the hubs of wheels, flooring, and all kinds of carpentry
work. Its most common use in Porto Rico is for the framework of country houses.
The wood is imported into Europe and this country for walking sticks and umbrella
and parasol handles and for the turned parts of cabinetwork.

Wood reddish-yellow with dark streaks, cross and coarse-grained, capable of a high
polish, hard, heavy (from 47 to 55 pounds per cubic foot), strong, tough, and espe-
cially durable in water. Pores moderately large, isolated or sometimes in groups of
two to four, evenly distributed, and connected by tangential branching lines of wood-
parenchyma fibers. Pith rays narrow, indistinct.

59. Hrythrina.

A genus represented in Porto Rico by two native and one introduced species. Of
the native species Hrythrina corallodendron L. (Bucare, Piiion espinoso; Red bean
tree [Jamaica]; Coral wood, Arbol madre [Mexico]) is a shrub or small tree from 10 to
20 feet high, found chiefly on limestone hills, while Erythrina glauca Willd. (Bucago)
is from 30 to 40 feet high, with a limited occurrence, usually along rivers. Both
species occur quite generally throughout tropical America. Their wood is made into
corks, floats for fishing nets, light ladders, etc., and is light in color, coarse-grained,
corky, soft, light, and weak. Pores of medium size, isolated or in groups of two or
three, evenly distributed. Pith rays easily distinguishable on a smooth transverse
surface. Hrythrina micropteryx Poepp. (Bucare, Palo de boyo; Boisimmortelle, Madre
decacao[S. Am.]) isa tree from 45 to 60 feet high, cultivated in many localities on the
island, mostly on coffee plantations, for its shade. Indigenousin Peru. Wood soft,
similar to the other two species.

XV. ZyYGOPHYLLACEA.

*60. Guajacum officinale L. Guayacdn, Lignum-vite.

Tree from 30 to 60 feet high and from 12 to 18 inches in diameter, occurring chiefly
along the southern coast. The wood is highly esteemed for its wearing qualities, and’
is widely used for pulleys, rollers for casters, wooden cogs, mortars, hubs for wheels,
and wherever great strength and hardness are required.

Wood dull yellowish-brown with dark olive-brown streaks, very fine, close and
cross grained, greasy to the touch, takes a fine polish, and is extremely hard and

heavy (about 85 pounds per cubic foot), very tough, and durable. Pores minute,
isolated, and easily distributed. Pith rays minute and very inconspicuous.

Nore.—Another species said formerly to have been abundant by now of only
limited occurrence along the south coast is Guajacum sanctum L. (Guayacdn
blanco, Guayacancillo), a shrub or tree from 30 to 45 feet high, having a wood
similar to that of the preceding.

XVI. Ruracea.
61. Ea Mer gencen ns Lam. Cenizo, Espino, Espino rubial, Ayua; Prickly ash
(Br. W. I.).
Tree from 40 to 80 feet high and from 1 foot to 3 feet in diameter, found in the moun-
tain forests throughout the island. The wood is used for furniture and cabinetwork
and also for house building. The bark contains a dye.

1 Fagara=Zanthorylum.

76 BULLETIN 354, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

Wood! light yellow, fine and straight grained, taking a very beautiful polish, hard,
heavy (60 pounds per cubic foot), strong, somewhat brittle, and not considered dura-
ble for outside work. Pores small, solitary or sometimes grouped in twos and threes.
Pith rays very narrow and scarcely visible under the hand lens.

*62. Fagara flava (Vahl.) Kr. et Urb. Satinwood, Yellow wood (Br. W. I.).

Tree from 10 to 30 feet high and from 10 to 12 inches in diameter with a limited
distribution in the southwestern part of the island. The wood is used for veneering,
cabinetwork, and furniture. It is too valuable for structural purposes. It was for-
merly exported as a substitute for the true satinwood (Chloroxylon swietenia DC.) of
India.

Wood light yellow, but darkening withage. It hasa satiny luster on a longitudinal
surface, where it shows when polished a beautiful rippled pattern. It is hard, heavy

(about 60 pounds per cubic foot), strong, and moderately tough. Structure of wood
similar to the preceding.

Norr.—Other species of this genus in Porto Rico are Fagara caribea Krug et
Urb. (Espino Rubial), a tree from 30 to 60 feet high; Fagara monophylla Lam.
(Carubio, Mapurito, Rubia, Espino, Espino Rubial); and Fagara trifoliata Sw.
(Espino Rubial), trees from 10 to 30 feet high, each commonly occurring in the
foothills and south coast regions.

63. Ravenia urbani Engl. Tortugo Prieto. .
Tree from 30 to 50 feet high, of rare occurrence, reported only from the high forest
region of the Sierra de Luquillo.
64. Amyris maritima Jacq. Tea, Palo de tea.
Tree from 15 to 30 feet high and from 4 to 8 inches in diameter, growing in thickets
near the sea. It is very suitable for turniture, and splinters are used as torches by
the natives. It is especially useful in exposed situations.

Wood light yellow, with a spicy odor, very fine-grained, and oily to the touch. It
takes a fine polish and is hard, heavy, strong, and durable. Pores minute, isolated
or in groups of two to twelve,sometimes more, evenly distributed. Pith rays very
small and inconspicuous. ~

*Norr.—Another species of but slight importance in Porto Rico is Amyris bal-

samifera L. (Tea; rosewood or torchwood [Jamaica]), a tree from 15 to 20 feet high,
with whitish wood very similar in properties and uses to A. maritima.

*65. Citrus aurantium L. China dulce, Naranja China; Sweet orange (Br. W. I.)

A cultivated tree from 15 to 40 feet hich and occasionally nearly a foot in diameter.
A native of southern Asia, it has been widely introduced throughout the Tropics. It
is planted everywhere on the island and to some extent grows spontaneously. The
wood is much used for making walking sticks, in cabinetwork, and for knickknacks
of varioussorts. The fruit varies widely in quality and size, but the best of it is heavy
- and juicy and has a fine flavor.

Wood light yellow, close and straight grained, taking a beautiful polish, hard, hea
(about 55 pounds per cubic foot), very strong, tough, and durable. Pores very small,
numerous, and more or less evenly distributed. Numerous fine tangential lines of
soft tissue visible on a smooth transverse surface under the hand lens. Pith rays
very narrow, numerous, and inconspicuous.

Nore.—The principal horticultural varieties also cultivated for their fruit,
some of which are to be found growing in the semiwild state, are: Citrus bigaradia
Loisel (Naranja; Sour orange [Br. W. I.]); Citrus decwmana 1. (Toronja, Pomelo,
Grapefruit); Citrus hystrix, subsp., acida (Roxb.) Bonavia (Lima, Lime); Citrus
limonum Risso (Limén, Lemon); Citrus medica L. (Toronja, Cidra, Citron, Citrus
limetta, Bergamota, Limon dulce, Sweet lemon).

1 See pp. 10 and 11, Forest Service Circular 184, ‘‘ Fustiec Wood: Its Adulterants.”’

EE ————— O _—

TREES OF PORTO RICO. U7

XVII. SrmmARvuBACEs.

*66. Simaruba tule Urb. Aceitillo; West Indian satinwood (Br. W. I.).

Tree from 20 to 50 feet high and from 12 to 18 inches in diameter, occurring in moun-
tain forests from the Luquillos to Maricao. It is reported formerly to have been plen-
tiful on the limestone uplands north of Lares, in association with moralon and capa,
blanca, and to have been cut into lumber for building purposes. Now so scarce as to
be no longer of any importance. Elsewhere in tropical America it is considered one
of the rarest and most expensive ornamental woods for furniture and interior finish,
being so much sought after that the stumps are often dug up and cut into veneer.

Wood light yellow, very fine, and often wavy-grained, taking a high polish, hard,
heavy (about 55 pounds per cubic foot), strong, and durable. Pores small, isolated
or in groups of two or three, evenly distributed. Pith rays narrow, not visible to the
unaided eye.

67. Picramnia pentandra Sw. Guarema, Hueso, Hueso prieto, Palo de hueso.
Tree from 15 to 35 feet. high and from 15 to 25 inches in diameter, occurring quite
generally on theisland. Wood used in house building. oye

Wood dark colored, fine grained, taking a good polish, hard, and very heavy (about
76 pounds per cubic foot). Pores small, isolated or in groups of two or three, evenly
distributed. Pith rays narrow, inconspicuous.

XVIII. Burserace2.

68. Tetragasiris balsamifera (Sw.) O. Kuntze. Masa, Masa colorado, Palo de aceite,
Palo de masa; Copal (Guatemala).

A common forest tree from 20 to 70 feet high and from 16 to 20 inches in diameter,
found in the mountainous parts of theisland. This tree yields a very desirable wood
for interior work of houses.

Wood rose-colored or yellowish. beautiful, fragrant, and fine-grained, moderately

hard, light, strong, and very durable. Pores small, isolated or in groups of two to four,
evenly distributed. Pith rays small, inconspicuous.

69. Dacryodes excelsa Vahl. Tabanuco, Tabonuco; Candle wood (Br. W. IJ.).

A tree from 60 to 75 feet high and from 3 to 5 feet in diameter, found quite generally
in the mountainous regions, especially in the Luquillos, where it often occurs in large
stands. One of the most valuable trees on the island for lumber, because of its large
size, straightness of bole, and occurrence in close, pure stands. A resin obtained
from the gum is used extensively by the natives for candles and torches, as incense,
and medicinally. The wood is used for flooring, ceiling, etc., and is often stained
and sold as mahogany.

Wood brown, sometimes cross and fine grained, often giving a ‘“‘satiny” appearance.
It is similar in physical properties to our yellow poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera L.),
lumber dealers of this country placing them in the same class. Tabanuco is, however,
handsomer and finer grained than yellow poplar and capable of a higher polish. It is
moderately hard, heavy, strong, and not durable when exposed. Pores small, soli-
tary, or in groups of two or two or three, and evenly distributed. Pith rays small,
inconspicuous.

*70. Bursera simaruba (L) Sarg. (=B. gummifera, Jacq.). Almaécigo; Gumbo limbo,
West Indian birch (Br. W. I.).

Tree from 20 to 40 feet high, very common on the island. This is the largest tree
of the chaparral forests on the limestone hills of the south side of the island.- Like the
jobo (Spondias lutea), it is readily propogated from cuttings, even from stakes of large
size. It is therefore used for “live” fence posts and is one of the commonest trees
to be seen along the roadside, where it also serves, though poorly, for the purpose
of shade. The wood is of little value. ;

Wood light brown, often with dark discolorations, fine grained, very soft, spongy,

light, weak, and very liable to decay. Pores numerous, small, isolated or in groups of
two or three, sometimes more. Pith rays very inconspicuous.

78 BULLETIN 354, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

XIX. MELIACES.

*71. Cedrela odorata L. Cedro, Cedro hembra; West Indian cedar; Spanish cedar;
Cigar-box cedar (Br. W. I.).

Tree from 50 to 100 feet high and from 4 to 6 feet in diameter, formerly common
to all parts of the island, but now rare except in the inaccessible places. Spanish
cedar is one of the most highly esteemed woods in the West Indies and is used for
more purposes than any other. Its principal use, however, is for cigar boxes.

The wood is pale reddish-brown, but varies considerably from very light to very
dark, depending upon the age and the kind of soil in which it grows. _ It has a general
appearance similar to that of mahogany and possesses a characteristic fragrant odor.
Tt is moderately soft, light (about 30 pounds per cubic foot), rather strong, somewhat
tough, and very durable in contact with the soil. Pores are rather large, not numerous,
solitary, or often in small groups distributed evenly throughout the wood. Pith rays
few, narrow, and indistinct to the naked eye.

*92. Swietenia mahagoni Jacq. Caoba; Mahogany (Br. W. I.).

Tree from 50 to 100 feet high and from 3 to 5 feet in diameter. This tree has not
been reported from Porto Rico by recent botanical explorers. There is some evidence,
however, that mahogany occurred at one time on the island. It is the most highly
esteemed wood for furniture and interior finish. No other wood has such a wide range
of uses and so many substitutes.

Wood light or dark brown, with a very pleasing appearance when polished. It is
fine and cross grained, works rather easily, hard, heavy (varies from 35 to 67 pounds
per cubic foot), strong, tough, and very durable. Pores are moderately large, often

filled with white or brown substance (tyloses), and arranged singly or in small groups;
pith rays inconspicuous to the unaided eye.

*73. Melia azedarach L. Alilaila, Lilaila, Pasilla; China berry (Br. W. I.)

Tree from 20 to 50 feet high and from 8 to 15 inches in diameter, cultivated and
growing spontaneously in various parts of the island, including the Cordillera Central
and the limestone formation of the western and southwestern coast. This tree has
been introduced from Asia and is now very common throughout tropical and sub-
tropical parts of the world for shade and ornament. The wood is sometimes used by
the country people for tool handles and the like.

Wood mahogany colored, witha coarseand straight grain, moderately soft, light, weak,
and not durable in contact with the soil. Pores rather large in early wood, which ren-

der the boundary of the annual rings of growth usually very conspicuous; the pores
in the late wood are much smaller and inconspicuous.

*Nore.—An umbrella variety of the alilaila, Melia azedarach umbraculifera
Sarg. (Umbrella China tree, China berry (Br. W. I.), which was developed in
Texas in about 1880, is planted in Porto Rico merely for shade and ornament.
The wood has characteristics similar to the one above.

*74,. Guarea trichilioides L. Guaraguao, Acajou; Musk wood (Br. W. I.). ‘

Tree from 40 to 80 feet high and sometimes 6 feet in diameter. It occurs in mountain
forests from the Luquillos to Maricao and is one of the leading woods of the island,
being very highly prized by the natives. Because of the great demand it is now rather
scarce. Its principal uses locally are for strong wagons and carriages, farm imple-
ments, and general carpentry. The wood resembles mahogany and Spanish cedar
and is useful for the same purposes.

Wood light reddish-brown, sometimes streaked with lighter and darker shades,
hard, moderately heavy, strong, tough, and very durable in contact with the soil.
It has in a general way the appearance of dark-colored mahogany and an odor resem-
bling musk. Pores small, very numerous, and connected by fine tangential lines
of softer tissue which are scarcely visible to the unaided eye. Pith rays very narrow,
numerous, and inconspicuous.

*Nore.—Another and little-known species of this genus is G. ramiflora
Vent. (Guaraguaillo, Guaraguao macho), a tree usually under 25 feet and rarely

TREES OF PORTO RICO. 79

60 feet high, occurring in the forests, widely distributed, but not plentiful,
throughout the uplands from the Luquillos to Mayaguez. Wood similar to the one
above.

15. Trichilia.

Three species of this genera occur in Porto Rico: Trichilia pallida Sw. (Caracolillo,
Gaita, Ramoncillo, Cabo de hacha); Trichilia hirta L. (Cabo de hacha, Guaita, Jobillo,
Molinillo, Palo de anastasio, Retamo, Guayavacén); and Trichilia triacantha Urb.,
trees from 15 to 60 feet high, occurring principally in the mountainous regions of the
island and to some extent in the limestone hills of the south coast. Wood, though
very similar to that of G. trichilioides, is seldom used except for fuel.

XX. MALPIGHIACEA.

*76. Byrsonima spicata (Cav.) L. Cl. Rich.- Maricao.

Tree from 20 to 60 feet high and from 18 to 24 inches in diameter, occurring quite
generally in forests throughout the island. The wood is used for furniture aud house
building. The bark is astringent and is used for tanning.

Wood dull reddish brown, moderately fine grained, taking a good polish, moder-
ately hard, heavy, and strong. Pores small, isolated or in groups of two or three,
evenly distributed. Pith rays narrow, inconspicuous.

*77. Byrsonima lucida (Sw.) L. Cl. Rich. Palo de doncella, Sangre de doncella.

Tree from 20 to 30 feet high, quite widely distributed on the island. The wood is
highly esteemed for furniture and interior finish. Wood dark brown, very fine
grained, taking a good polish, moderately hard, heavy, and strong. Pores minute,
isolated, orin groups of two or three, evenly distributed. Pith rays very narrow and
inconspicuous.

XXI. EUPHORBIACES.
78. Phyllanthus.

Two species of this genera are found in Porto Rico, one a native (Phyllanthus nobilis
var. antillanus (Juss.) Mull. (Amortiguado,; Avispillo, Higuerillo, Higuillo, Millo,
Palo de millo, Siete-cueros [mas.], Yaquillo [fem.]) is a tree from 30 to 60 feet high,
widely distributed on the island; the other Phyllanthus distichus (L.) Mill. (Grosella,
Grosella blanca, Cerezas, Cereza amarilla, Otaheite gooseberry), introduced from
India, is a tree from 15 to 30 feet high, cultivated for the sake of its fruit. Wood of
both is but little used, although very beautiful, white, hard, stroag, and tough.

*99. Drypetes lateriflora (Sw.) Kr. et Urb. Varital; Florida or Guiana plum, White-
wood (Br. W. I.).

Tree from 20 to 30 feet high and from 5 to 10 inches in diameter, found principally
near Bayamon. Itis also common in southern Florida and on the islands of the West
Indies. Wood rich dark brown, very fine and cross grained, hard, heavy (about 58
pounds per cubic foot), not strong, brittle, and liable to check indrying. Poressmall,
solitary, or in short radial rows, with numerous very fine tangential lines of softer tissue
present. Pith rays very numerous and inconspicuous.

80. Drypetes alba Poit. Cafeillo, Hueso, Palo de vaca blanco.

Tree from 15 to 60 feet high found in the mountain forests of the Sierra de Luquillo
and Cordillera Central. The wood is often used for hubs of wheels, and also for fuel
and charcoal.

Wood light yellow, with irregular, thin, yellowish-brown streaks, fine and cross
grained, taking a high polish, hard, moderately heavy, strong, tough, and difficult
to split. Pores rather small, solitary or in short interrupted radial rows, evenly dis-
ae Pith rays very narrow, but plainly visible on a smooth surface under the

and lens.

Nore.—Another species of this genera of slight importance, yielding a wood
of inferior quality which is seldom used except for fuel and charcoal, is Drypetes
glauca Vahl. (Palo blanco, Cafeillo, Varital, Palo de aceituna), a tree from 20 to
00 feet high and from 1 to 2 feet in diameter, generally distributed throughout the

- mountain forests and somewhat in the woodlands along the south coast. It is
also common throughout a number of the islands of the West Indies. The wood
is of inferior quality.

80 BULLETIN 354, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

81. A group of unimportant genera of this family, each represented by a single species,
comprises HHieronymia clusioides (Tul.) Mull. (Cedro macho), a tree from 45 to
100 feet high, occurring in the western parts of the island. Native also to other
of the West Indies. There are no recorded uses for the wood nor descriptions
of its characteristics. Alchorneopsis portoricensis Urban. (Palo de gallina), tree
from 30 to 50 feet high, known only from the Luquillo, and central regions of the island.
It yields a soft wood of little use. Alchornea latifolia Sw. (Achiotillo, Palo de cotorra,
Yobillo), a tree from 25 to 60 feet high, quite widely distributed, yielding a wood with
properties similar to that of Palo de gallina. Sapiwm laurocerasus Desf. (Hincha-
huevos, Lechesillo, Manzanillo, Tabeiba), a tree from 15 to 50 feet high, widely dis-
tributed in mountainous regions on the island.

*§2. Aleurites moluccana (L.) Willd. (= A. triloba Forst.). Nuez, Nuez de India;
Candleberry tree, Candlenut, Indian walnut (Br. W. I.).

Tree from 20 to 40 feet high. Introduced from tropical Asia and the South Sea
Islands and planted here and there throughout Porto Rico. It is useful mainly for
shade throughout the Tropics and for the nuts it bears, which are called “‘kukui”
nuts in the Sandwich Islands. Wood little used.

Wood very light yellow, soft, light, weak, and not durable in contact with the soil.

Pores small, isolated or in groups of two to five, radially disposed, and evenly distrib-
uted. Pith rays minute and very inconspicuous.

*83. Hippomane mancinella L. Manzanillo, Machineel.

Tree from 15 to 50 feet in height, occurring in the coastal regions. It has a poisonous
acid sap which necessitates considerable care being taken in felling and in thoroughly
seasoning the wood before working. The wood is suitable for furniture and is used
largely for veranda floors and weatherboarding because of its durability when exposed.

Wood yellowish brown, with darker stripes, beautiful, slightly fragrant, straight
and very fine grained, resembling in general appearance and texture the boxwood of
commerce (Buzxus sempervirens L.). It takes a high polish, is hard, varies from light
to heavy (from 36 to 50 pounds per cubic foot), strong, tough, very durable, and very
easy to work; in all these qualities this wood resembles mahogany. The pores are
minute, numerous, solitary, and evenly distributed. Pith rays minute, scarcely
visible to the unaided eye on a radial surface.

84. Hura crepitans L. Javillo, Molinillo, Havillo, Havarilla; Sand-box tree, Mon-
key’s dinner bell (Br. W. I.).

Tree from 20 to 50 feet high and from 1 foot to 24 feet in diameter, introduced from
South America. It is planted extensively throughout the island for shade, because
of its spreading crown. The acid irritant sap necessitates careful felling and season-
ing of the wood before working. The wood is valued locally for making canoes and
for interior work in houses. In some parts of the West Indies the trunks are often hol-
lowed and used extensively for holding cane sugar.

Wood very light brown, with darker brown stripes, fine and straight grained, taking
a fine polish. It is soft, light (about 31 pounds per cubic foot), extremely brittle,
and is said to resist the action of water. Pores very small and evenly distributed
throughout the annual rings of growth. Pith rays very inconspicuous.

XXII. ANACARDIACES,

*85. Mangifera indica L. Mango.

A cultivated and sparingly naturalized tree from 30 to 50 feet high and from 12 to
18 inches in diameter, native of southern Asia or the Malay Archipelago. It yields
a very common but highly. prized fruit of the Tropics, comparable in quality and
value with the apple or the orange, though entirely different from either in texture
and flavor. The wood is useful for the same purposes as our common ash (Frazinus),
gunstocks, tool handles, window frames, etc. ,

Wood grayish brown, fine grained, hard, heavy (about 50 pounds per cubic foot),

strong, tough, and elastic. Pores small, isolated or in groups of two to four, evenly
distributed. Pith rays narrow, inconspicuous.

- TREES OF PORTO RICO. 81
86. Anacardium occidentale L. Pajuil, Cajuil, Acaju, Marafidn; Cashew tree (Br.
Wer Ls).

A wild and cultivated tree from 20 to 40 feet high and from 9 to 12 inches in
diameter, occurring in all parts of the island. It is used largely in boat building, for
carriage hubs, yokes, and farm utensils. Its principal use in Porto Rico is for char-
coal and fuel. The nuts are edible when roasted, and yield oils which are useful for
many purposes. An acrid irritant substance contained in the soft shell of the nuts
necessitates care in handling them. This is driven off as poisonous fumes in roasting.

Wood pinkish, fine grained, hard, moderately heavy (about 36 pounds per cubic

foot), strong, and durable. Pores small, isolated or in groups of two to four, evenly
distributed. Pith rays small, inconspicuous.

8%. Spondias mombin L. (=S. lutea L.). Jobo; Hog plum (Br. W. I.).

Tree from 30 to 40 feet high and from | foot to 2 feet in diameter. Very common
throughout the island, particularly along roadsides. It is much used for stakes and
fence posts, which are very durable because they take root and live. It is probably
due to this property, as with the almacigo (Bursera simaruba), more than to any
specially favorable quality as a shade tree that they are so commonly found along
roadsides. Itis one of the trees commonly pollarded for fuel wood and bears an edible
fruit which is much esteemed.

Wood yellowish brown, fine grained, soft, light (about 30 pounds per cubic foot),

and moderately strong. Pores small, isolated or in groups of two or three, evenly
distributed. Pith rays minute, very inconspicuous.

88. Spondias purpurea L. Ciruela, Ciruela del pais, Jobillo, Jobo frances; Spanish
plum (Br. W. I.).

A tree or shrub from 20 to 30 feet high, occurring in mountainous regions. It is
often cultivated for its fruit, which is considered superior to 8S. mombin. Wood in
all respects similar to S. mombin.

89. Metopium toxiferum (L.) Krug. et. Urb. Cedro prieto, Papayo; Poison wood,
Hog plum (Br. W. I.).

Tree from 30 to 50 feet high, with a short trunk sometimes 2 feet in diameter. It
has a limited distribution in the southwestern part of the island, and occurs through-
out the West Indies and on the keys of southern Florida.

Wood rich, dark brown streaked with red, fine and straight grained, resembling
the wood of our native sumacs. It takes a fine polish, is easily worked, moderately
hard, heavy (about 50 pounds per cubic foot), not strong, and only moderately tough.
Pores small, very numerous, and evenly distributed throughout the wood. Pith
rays very narrow and inconspicuous.

XXIII. AQUIFOLIACE.

90. Ilex nitida (Vahl.) Maxim. (=J. dioica Griseb.) Cuero de sapo, Brigueta naranjo,
Hueso prieto, Palo de hueso.

Tree from 20 to 60 feet high and from 10 to 15 inches in diameter, occurring in the

mountain forests of the Luquillo region and generally throughout the island. The

wood ig used for fuel and for hut building. Wood light-colored, fine-grained, hard,
and heavy.

91. Ilex sideroxyloides var. occidentalis (Macf.) Loes. Gongolin; Central American oak
(Br. W. I.).
Tree from 30 to 50 feet high, occurring in the mountain forests of the Luquillo
region. Wood of little use. Wood flesh-colored, hard, and heavy.

XXIV. CELASTRACER.
92. Elxodendron xylocarpum var. corymbosum (Vahl.) Urb. Cocorron, Coscorron,
Guayarote. #

Shrub or tree from 10 to 30 feet high, occurring quite generally along the seacoasts
of the island. Wood fine-grained. Pores minute, isolated, or in groups of two or
three, evenly distributed. Pith rays moderately narrow but conspicous.

21871°—Bull. 354—16——6

82 BULLETIN 354, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

XXYV. STAPHYLEACE.

93. Turpinia paniculata Vent. Avispillo, Cedro hembra, Eugenio, Lilaililla, Sauco
cimarron.

Tree from 30 to 60 feet or more high, occurring in the mountains and waste places.
The wood, which is used for fuel and charcoal, is somewhat similar to that of out blad-
der nut (Staphylea trifolia L.).

XXVI. SAPINDACER.

94. Thowinia striata Radlk. Ceboruquillo, Guara, Quiebra hacha, Seburoquillo.

Tree from 25 to 65 feet high, occurring generally throughout the island, usually in
the drier situations. No usesare reported for the wood, doubtless because of its extreme
hardness.

Wood light-colored, very fine-grained, with many fine light lines, giving a pleasing
figure. It takes a fine polish and is extremely hard, heavy, strong, and tough. Pores
minute, isolated, or in groups of two or three, evenly distributed. Pith rays minute,
inconspicuous.

95. Melicocca bijuga L. Guenepa, Quenepas; Genip tree, Genipe; Ginep (Br. W. I.).

A cultivated and semiwild tree from 25 to 60 feet high and up to 3 feet in diameter
reported from the east, south, and west parts of the island. It is native of tropical
America and is found throughout the West Indies. It is cultivated somewhat for its
fruit and is also suitable for ornament and for roadside shade. Wood is said to be
heavy and hard and useful for all purposes except in exposed situations. No local
uses are reported.

*96. Cupania.

There are two species of this genera represented in the tree flora of Porto Rico,
namely, Cupania americana L. (Guara, Guara blanca), and Cupania triquetra A. Rich.
(Guara). :

Trees from 30 to 60 feet high, quite widely distributed locally, and occurring gener-
ally throughout the West Indies. The woods of all are alike and are used largely for
posts.

Wood very light brown, with a conspicuous wavy grain. It takes a high polish, is
soft, moderately light, and brittle. Pores solitary or in groups of two or three, evenly
distributed. Pith rays minute, very inconspicuous.

*97. Matayaba domingensis (DC.) Radlk. Doncella, Tea cimarrona, Raton.

Tree from 30 to 60 feet high and from 8 to 10 inches in diameter, occurring chiefly in
Luquillo and central mountain regions. It is found also in the other Greater Antilles.
No local uses for the wood are reported.

Wood red, fine and straight grained, taking a beautiful polish and resembling dark-
colored mahogany. It is hard, heavy, strong, tough, and very durable. Pores rather
large, solitary, and evenly distributed; pith rays are narrow and more or less indistinct
except under the hand lens.

Norr.—Another species Matayaba apetala (Macf.) Radlk. (Doncella) is also
reported from the same localities. Size and uses are not noted, although in
Jamaica it is reported as attaining a height of from 40 to 60 feet and a diameter of
21 feet and as being a most useful hardwood, suitable for all purposes and especially
for exposed situations.

98. Exothea paniculata (Juss.) Radlk. (=Hypelata paniculata Camb.). Guacaran,
Gaita.
Tree from 20 to 30 feet high and from 12 to 18 inches in diameter, occurring in the
limestone hills of the western part of the island. Wood used occasionally for cabinet
work. Wood white, moderately hard, heavy, and strong.

XXVII. SaBracez.
99. Meliosma.
Two species of this genus occur in Porto Rico: Meliosma obtusifolia Krug. and Urb.
(Guayrote arroyo, Aguacatillo, Cacao bobo, Cacaillo, Ciralillo, Serillos), and Meliosma
herbertii Rolfe. (Aguacatillo, Cacao bobo). Trees from 30 to 60 feet high, generally

TREES OF PORTO RICO. 83

distributed throughout the mountainous interior from the Luquillos to Maricao and
Anasco. Reported also from several other of the West Indies. No local uses for the
wood are reported. Pores of wood small, isolated, or in groups of from two to eight
ormore. Pith rays small, inconspicuous.

XXVIII. RHAMNACES.

100. Colubrina ferruginosa Brongn. Abelluello, Abejuelo, Achiotillo, Aguacatillo,
Aguaytaran, Guitaran, Quitaran, Mabi, Raton, Sanguinaria; Snakewood, Iron-
wood, West Indian greenheart (Br. W. I.):

Tree from 30 to 60 feet high and sometimes 2 feet in diameter, quite generally dis-
tributed throughout the island. The wood is used for building and occasionally for
piling on account of its resistance to decay in water.

Wood light yellowish-brown, very fine and wavy-grained, taking a very good pol-
ish, very durable in contact with the soil, hard, heavy (about 60 pounds per cubic
foot), strong, and tough. Pores very small, somewhat more numerous in the early
wood than in the late wood. Pith rays very narrow and inconspicuous.

*Nore.—Another species of little economic importance is Colubrina reclinata
(V’Hér.) Brongn. (Mabi, Palo mabi), a tree 15. rarely 30, feet high from the south-
western part of the island. Wood similar to the preceding.

XXIX. ELO®CARPACES.

101. Sloanea berteriana Choisy. Cacao motilla, Cacao otillo, Cacao roseta, Cacaillo,
Motillo.

Tree from 25 to 90 feet high and sometimes over 2 feet in diameter, occurring chiefly
in mountain forests. The wood is used locally for fuel and building purposes.
Wood white, taking a high polish, very hard, heavy, strong, tough, and very durable
in exposed situations.
XXX. MALVAcEz.

*102. Hibiscus tiliaceus L. (=Hibiscus elatus Sw.—Paritium tiliaceum A. Juss.)
Emmajaqua, Emajagua, Majagua, Mahagua; Blue or mountain mahoe (Br. W.
I.); Mahot, Mahot franc (Haiti); Hau (Hawaii).
Tree from 10 to 30 feet high, growing in moist situations, widely distributed through-
- out the uplands of the island. Common also in the other West Indies and throughout
the remaining tropical world. The bark furnishes a strong and flexible fiber com-
parable to jute, which is often used in making cordage. Nearly all the ropes in Porto
Rico are made from thistree. It has also been highly recommended as a raw material
for paper making. The wood makes handsome furniture, cabinetwork, and flooring,
and is used largely for shingles and railway sleepers.
* Wood dark bluish green, with dark and light streaks,(about 47 pounds per cubic
foot), straight and fine-grained, taking a fine polish, hard, heavy, beautiful when, pol-

ished, strong, tough, and very durable. Pores small or in groups of two or three,
evenly distributed. Pith rays minute, inconspicuous.

103. Thespesia populnea (L.) Soland. Emajaguilla, Palo de Jaqueca, Santa Maria.

Tree from 30 to 60 feet high, occurring on the north and west coasts in moist situations.
It is a common tree on the seashore of most eastern tropical countries and throughout
the West Indies. The inner bark of the young branches yields a tough fiber which
is used for cordage. The wood is little used locally, but elsewhere in the Tropics is
used for cabinetwork, building, and a variety of other purposes.

Wood dark brown, tinged with red, beautiful, “satiny,”’ fine-grained, resembling
in general appearance our black walnut (Juglans nigra L.). It is hard, heavy, tough,
and very durable, especially in water. Pores small, solitary, or in groups of two or
three, evenly distributed. Pith rays moderately narrow, distinct, clearly visible on
a polished radial surface, where they appear as light flecks and give a pleasing
appearance.

84 BULLETIN 354, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

*104. Thespesia grandiflora P. DC. Maga, Magar, Magas.

Tree from 30 to 45 feet high and from 1 to 3 feet in diameter, occurring quite gen-
erally throughout the island. The wood is highly esteemed for furniture, flutes,
guitar pegs, etc. It is also used largely for shelving and for foundations, house piling,
etc., because of its durability in the ground.

Wood rich chocolate-brown, beautiful, fine-grained, taking a good polish, hard,
heavy (42 pounds per cubic foot), strong, and very durable in contact with the soil.

Pores solitary or occasionally in groups of two or three, evenly distributed. Pith rays
inconspicuous.

XXXI. BoMBACACE.

*105. Ceiba pentandra (L.) Gaertn. “(=Eriodendron anfractuosum DC.). Ceiba;
Silk-cotton, Cotton tree, Kopak tree, Cork wood (Br. W. I.); Fromager
(Haiti).

Tree from 60 to 100 feet high and sometimes from 8 to 10 feet in diameter, most com-
mon in the south and west coast regions, particularly on limestone soils. It is also
widely distributed throughout the Tropics and usually present in open plains and cul-
tivated fields. The wood is used for making boats, dugouts, rafts, tubs, and basins.
Boards and shingles are often made of this wood after treating it by immersing the logs
in limewater. In West Africa its chief commercial value lies in the “ floss’’ or “ko-
pak’’! as it is known to commerce, which is a cottony substance surrounding the seeds.

Wood white or light brown, coarse and straight-grained, very soft, light (about 28
pounds per cubic foot), rather strong, and not durable in contact with the soil. Pores

large, evenly distributed throughout the annual rings of growth; the latter are not
always clearly marked. Pith rays conspicuous.

106. Quararibea turbinata (Sw.) Poir. Garrocha, Garrocho, Palo de Garrocha.
A shrub or tree from 25 to 30 feet high, common in all parts of the island.

*407%. Ochroma lagopus Sw. Guano, Corcho; Bois Liege (Haiti); Cork wood, Down
tree (Jamaica); Balsa wood (of commerce).

Tree from 30 to 60 feet high and 1 foot or more in diameter common on the limestone
soils and along the shore directly behind the mangrove in the north and west coast
regions and generally throughout the south coast and south slopes of the Central
Mountains. Particularly common along the roads. It is a tree of the open country,
like the ceiba. The wood, because of its extreme lightness, is sometimes used as a
substitute for true cork, for stopping bottles, as floats for fish nets, and for other pur-
poses where a light wood is required. The bark yields a chestnut-brown fiber suitable
for rope making, and the seed envelopes yield a soft cotton or down extensively used
for stuffing pillows and mattresses and to a limited extent for making into garments.
The bark is also used locally for the tannin it contains, and both bark and roots are
used medicinally.

The wood is nearly white or slightly tinged with red, showing practically no dis- —
tinction between heartwood and sapwood. It has a silky texture, loose structure,
and soft tissue easily compressible under the thumbnail, and is very fibrous and diffi-
cult to work. It is said to be the lightest of all woods, having a specific gravity varying

ee ——<—<—$—<$<—<—<—<——t

1 This floss of the ceiba is exported in large quantities from the East Indies and West Africa; the variety
from Java is regarded as a fiber of great merit, and is used for stuffing pillows and sofas. Its lightness, soft-
ness, and elasticity render it superior to the best qualities of feathers, wool, or hair. This material has been
employed also as a buoyant material for packing life belts and for making hats and bonnets, and has even
been suggested for the manufacture of paper and guncotton. It is too short in staple and too weak to be
spuninto yarn. Unfortunately the silk cotton from the West Indies is accounted oflittle value at present,
put it only remains for some one to start its collection here and ship it to American markets. It has been
estimated that the average yield of silk cotton from a single tree in the West Indies and Mexico is approxi-
mately 100 pounds. Many thousands of bales of silk cotton might be collected annually in the West Indies
and turned to economic use. In 1907 alittle over 20,000,000 pounds of silk cotton was exported from Java
and Sumatra, and of this quantity about 3,000,000 pounds were consumed in the United States for a great
variety of purposes.

$

TREES OF PORTO RICO. 85

from 0.120 (or about 74 pounds per cubic foot) to 0.240. Pith rays quite conspicuous
on a transverse section; they are also plainly visible on the radial surface and give
figure to the wood, resembling the character of beech or sycamore, only they are
more numerous.

*108. Theobroma cacao L. Cacao.

A cultivated and seminaturalized tree from 12 to 30 feet high occurring locally on
the north and west sides of the island. It is native to tropical America and is grown
commercially in a number of the West Indies. It is said to grow best under thor-
oughly tropical conditions of moisture and warmth at or near sea level (below 500 feet).
It is commonly grown under the shade of some one of the leguminous trees, usually
Erythrina micropteryx (or E. umbosa).

XXXII. STERCULIACES.

*109. Guazuma ulmifolia Lam. (=Guazuma guazuma Cock). Gudcima, Guaécima del
norte; West Indian elm, Guazuma plum (Br. W. 1.).

Tree from 30 to 60 feet high and from 15 to 18 inches in diameter, very common
throughout the island, the Antilles generally, and on the continent. Wood used for
oars, posts, staves, fuel, and charcoal.

Wood light grayish-brown, fine and straight-grained, rather soft, light (35 pounds
per cubic foot), moderately weak but tough. Pores small, solitary or in groups of two

or three, rarely more, evenly distributed. Pith rays distinct, but rather inconspic-
uous, plainly visible on a smooth radially cut surface.

110. Guazuma tomentosa H. B. K. Guacima, Gudcima del sur; Bastard cedar (Br.
W. I.); Orme d’Amerique (Fr. W. I.).

Tree from 45 to 60 feet high and from 1 foot to 2 feet in diameter, very common along
the southern coast of the island and distributed quite generally throughout tropical
America. In Jamaica the wood is said to be used largely for staves of sugar hogsheads,
and the best of the young shoots is used extensively for cordage.

Wood light or grayish-brown, rather fine and straight-grained, fissile, taking a
fairly good polish, moderately soft, light, rather tough and durable in exposed situa-

tions. Pores small, solitary or in radial rows of from two to three. Pith rays narrow
and inconspicuous.

XX XIII. TERNSTROEMIACES.

111. Represented in Porto Rico by three genera and five tree species, none of which
are commercially important.

These are Ternstroemia peduncularis P. DC., from 20 to 30 feet high; Ternstroemia
heptasepala Krug et Urb., from 15 to 25 feet high; Ternstroemia luquillensis Krug et
Urb. (Palo colorado), from 30 to 60 feet high; Cleyera albopunctata (Griseb.) Krug et
Urb. (Teta prieta), from 25 to 30 feet high; and Haemocharis portoricensis Krug et Urb.
(Maricao, Nifio de cota), from 15 to 60 feet high; all common in the Sierra de Luquillo,
the second last extending through the Cordillera Central to Maricao.

XXXIV. GUTTIFERZE.

*112. Mammea americana L. Mamey, Mammea; Mammee apple (Br. W. I.).

Tree from 30 to 60 feet high and from 18 to 24 inches in diameter, common in all
parts of the island. Its fruit ig very highly regarded by the natives and it is very gen-
erally planted on this account here and elsewhere throughout the American Tropics.

~ The tree also produces a medicinal gum. The wood is well adapted for house build-

ing, posts, and piles.

Wood reddish brown, beautiful, wavy, and fine-grained, taking a good polish, hard,
heavy (61 pounds per cubic foot), resinous, and very durable in damp situations.
Pores small, solitary, or occasionally in pairs, evenly distributed. Pith rays narrow,
very inconspicuous.

86 BULLETIN 354, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

*113. Calophyllum calaba- Jacq. Marias, Palo de Maria; Santa Maria (Jamaica).

Tree from 45 to 60 feet high and from 2 to 3 feet in diameter (in Jamaica said to
attain a height of 150 feet and a diameter of 5 feet and over), rather common in the
humid north, east, and northwest sections and occasionally along the banks of the
streams in the semiarid southcoast region. Common also throughout the West Indies.
The wood is said to be greatly prized locally for carpentry work, and for canoes when
the trunk is large enough. Elsewhere it has a variety of uses, such as construction
work, shipbuilding and heavy machine work, posts, furniture, fellies of wheels, and
shingles. Seeds yield an oil said to be used in lamps. ‘Tree is suitable for ornamental
planting.

Wood white or reddish in color, hard and durable. Reported to weigh about 46
pounds per cubic foot.

*114. Clusia rosea Jacq. Cupey, Palo de Cupey; Balsam Fig; Balsam tree (Br. W. I.).

Tree from 20 to 60 feet high and from 18 to 24 inches in diameter; commonly starts
as a parasite on the branches of other trees, although it may start directly on the
ground. It is quite generally distributed on the island and throughout the West
Indies. The wood is used largely for posts and fuel.

Wood reddish-brown with brown and white streaks, very cross and fine grained,
hard, heavy (55 pounds per cubic foot), and durable. Pores small, solitary or in
pairs, evenly distributed. Pith rays moderately narrow, distinct, but not conspic-
uous.

Norre.—Other incidental and unimportant trees in this and a closely related
genus are Clusia krugiana Urb, (Cupey, Cupei, Cupeillo), occurring in the Lu-
quillo region, and Rheedia portoricensis Urb. (=Clusia acuminata Spreng= Tovo-
mita elliptica C. & C.) (Guayabacoa, Sebucdn), growing along the seacoasts,
shrubs or trees from 10 to 60 feet high, with wood resembling that of Clusia rosea.

XXXYV. BIxAcEZz.

115. Bizxa orellana L. Achiote, Achote, Bixa, Biji, Arnatta, Anatto.

Tree from 20 to 30 feet high and about a foot in diameter, occurring in the interior.
It is planted in many parts of the island. The wood is little used. A coloring matter
extracted from the arillus of the seed is much used locally for coloring rice, soup, etc.;
and as the ‘‘anatto” of commerce is widely used for coloring cheese, chocolates, and
butter, also by varnish makers for imparting a rich orange tinge to some grades of their
products.

Wood nearly white in its natural state, but when polished turns slightly yellowish
or reddish. On a radial surface it has narrow lines of slightly darker color, which
correspond with the annual rings of growth clearly visible in transverse sections.
It is very soft, light (about 25 pounds per cubic foot), weak, brittle, and not durable
in contact with the soil. Pores rather conspicuous in the early wood, rendering it
somewhat coarse and open-grained. ,

XXXVI. WINTERANACES.

116. Represented by two genera, each with one tree species, neither one of which is of
importance.

Winterana canella L. (Barbasco, Wild cinnamon), a tree from 25 to 45 feet high,
of rather general distribution along the coast and throughout the West Indies, with a
pale, orange-colored, aromatic bark which is used as a*tonic; and Pleodendron macran-
thum (Baill.) v. Tiegh. (=Cinnamodendron macranthum Baill.) (Chupa gallo, Chupa-
callo), a tree from 20 to 30 feet high, from the Sierra de Luquillo, witha white, hard,
and heavy wood.

XXXVII. FracourtTiacEez&.
117. Homalium racemosum Jacq. Tostado, Caracolillo, Cerezo. ie

Tree from 20 to 60 feet high, quite generally distributed throughout the island.

‘The wood is very useful for building and carpentry.

TREES OF PORTO RICO. 87

Wood light-colored, fine-grained, moderately hard, heavy, and strong. Pores
minute, numerous, isolated or in groups of two or three, evenly distributed. Pith
Tays numerous; minute, inconspicuous.

118. Xylosma.

Two species very similar as to their wood and uses and neither of any greatimpor-
tance are Xylosma schwaneckeanum Krug. & Urb. (= Myroxylon schwaneckeanum
Krug. & Urb.) (Palo de candela, Palo colorado), and Xylosma buxifolium A. Gray
(= Myroxylon buxifolium Krug. & Urb.) (Roseta), trees from 15 to 35 feet high and 1
foot in diameter, the former found chiefly in the Luquillo region and the latter through-
out the southwestern part of the island and the West Indies generally. The wood has
no uses except for fuel and charcoal.

Wood light brown, turning darker with age, straight and fine-grained, hard, heavy,
strong, tough, and very durable in contact with the soil. Pores numerous, very small,
arranged singly or in short radial rows. Pith rays very narrow and inconspicuous.

119. Casearia.

Five species attain tree size, namely, Casearia guianensis (Aubl.) Urb. (Cafeillo,
Cafetillo, Palo blanco), from 15 to 30 feet high; Casearia bicolor Urb. (Talantrén,
Cotorrerillo ?), 45 feet high; Casearia decandra Jacq. (Caracolillo, Cereza, Cotorrerillo,
Gia mansa, Palo blanco), from 18 to 25 feet; Casearia arborea (L. Cl. Rich.) Urb. (Gia
verde, Rabojunco, Rabo ratén), from 15 to 45 feet high; and Casearia sylvestris Sw.
(Cafeillo cimarron, Laurel espada, Sarna de perro), from 25 to 60 feet high.

These trees are most common in the calcareous foothills and along the coast in all
parts of the island, except the last two, which are reported well distributed through-
out the interior mountains from the Sierra de Luquillo to Maricao and Mayaguez.
They are also widely distributed throughout the West Indies, except C. bicolor, which
is reported only from Porto Rico (Utuado).

Wood of C. guianensis reported to be yellow, hard, and heavy (about 65 pounds per
cubic foot), and to be used for lumber, for building native huts, for fences, and for
similar uses.

XXXVIII. Cactacez.

120. Represented in Porto Rico by four genera (one exotic) and eight species (two
exotic).

These have an erect form and attain tree proportions, or at least are designated
‘*Pitajaya’’ (meaning tree-cactus) by the natives, although they do not all have a
true woody structure and are consequently not real trees, namely, Cereus quadrico-
status Bello (Pitajaya, Sebuc4n), from 6 to 30 feet high; Cereus triangularis (L.) Haw.
(Pitajaya); Cereus trigonus Haw. (=C. triangularis Stahl. C. & C.) (Pitajaya), from 3
to 9 feet high; Cereus perwvianus (L.) Mill, a continental species from 15 to 25 feet
high, occasionally cultivated in gardens; Pilocereus royeni (LL.) Riimpl. (=Cereus
swartzi Stahl. C. & C.) (Sebucdn), 9 feet high; Opuntia catacantha Lk. et Otto, 15 feet
high; Opuntia guanicana K. Schum. (Tuna), from 12 to 15 feet high; and Nopalea
coceinellifera (L.) Salm-Dyck (Tuna de Espafia, Tuna mansa), a tropical American
and West Indian species 12 feet high, occasionally cultivated in gardens.

Their natural distribution is limited largely to the semiarid south coast region,
including the small adjacent islands, as Culebra, etc., though they occasionally are
found on the limestone hills along the north side of the island. All, except C. quad-
ricostatus and Opuntia guanicana, which are strictly local in occurrence, are more or
less common to the other islands of the West Indies and tropical America.

XXXIX. THYMELHZACES.
121. Daphnopsis.

Two species attain tree size in Porto Rico: Daphnopsis caribaea Griseb. (Emajagua
de sierra), from 15 to 45 feet high, found chiefly in the Sierra de Cayey and Cordillera
Central and widely distributed throughout the West Indies; and Daphnopsis philip-
tana Krug et Urb. (Cieneguillo, Emajagua brava, Emajagua de sierra, Majagua
quemadora), from 8 to 25 feet high, occurring throughout the mountains from the Sierra
de Luquillo to the Cordillera Central.

88 BULLETIN 354, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

XL. RuHIzOPpHORACES.

*122. Rhizophora mangle L. Mangle, Mangle colorado, Mangle sapatero, Red man-
grove (Jamaica).

Tree from 30 to 50 feet high and from 1 foot to 3 feet through, growing in tidewater
swamps. Wood used for making hogsheads and for knees and.ribs of boats and other
small craft, also for charcoal and fuel. The logs are used for posts and piling and
occasionally cut into boards for flooring and interior finish.

Wood light red or reddish brown with darker, often nearly black, streaks, fine and
cross grained, taking a good polish, very hard and heavy (about 70 pounds per cubic
foot), strong and durable. Pores very small, numerous, isolated or in groups of two
to five or more, evenly distributed. Pith rays visible to the unaided eye on a smooth
transverse surface of the wood.

Norre.—Cassipourea, a closely allied genera, is represented by a single species,
Cassipourea alba Griseb. (Multa, Palo blanco de la costa, Palo de gongoli, Palo
de hueso, Palo de oreja, Palo de toro), a shrub or small tree of from 15 to 30 feet
high, with a rather general distribution in various parts of the central mountain
area, as Well as on the limestone foothills.

XLI. CoMBRETACEZ.

*123. Terminalia catappa L. Almendra, Almendrén; Indian almond (Br. W. T.).

Tree from 30 to 60 feet high and about 2 feet in diameter. This is a species intro-
duced from the East Indies, but naturalized and now a very common tree through-
out the West Indies, especially in the lowlands. The wood is similar to mahogany
and is used for furniture and house building.

Wood is brownish, coarse and straight grained, taking a beautiful polish, moderately
hard and heavy (about 40 pounds per cubic foot), brittle and not strong. Pores of

moderate size, evenly distributed, and connected by numerous tangential lines of
soft tissue. Pith rays narrow and inconspicuous.

*124. Buchenavia capitata (Vahl.) Eichl. Granadillo; Yellow sanders (Br. W.I.). .

Tree from 40 to 80 feet high and from 2 to 3 feet in diameter. Thisisa very common
tree throughout the island. The wood is used for furniture and fancy carpentry
work.

Wood fine and often wavy grained, satiny, taking a beautiful polish, moderately
hard, heavy, strong, and tough. This wood hasa very wavy grain. Pores moderately
large, evenly distributed, solitary or sometimes in small groups. Pith rays narrow
and inconspicuous.

*425. Conocarpus erecta L. Mangle, Mangle botén, Mangle botoncillo, Mangle
colorado.

A shrub or small tree from 6 to 25 feet high, growing in thetidewaterswamps. Wood
used for making charcoal and for fuel.

*426. Bucida buceras L. Ucar, Ucar blanco, Hucar blanco, Bucaro; Wild olive wood
of Jamaica; Bois grisgris (Haiti).

Tree from 30 to 60 feet high and about a foot in diameter. It is found chiefly near
the coast. The wood is used for shelves in houses and for mallets, wooden cogs, and
shingles. It was formerly used for knees in boat building.

Wood white or ashy brown, fine and cross grained, remotely resembling the wood of
American elm. It is hard, heavy, strong, tough, and very durable in water. Pores
very small, numerous, occurring solitary, and evenly distributed. Pith rays narrow
but distinct.

127. Laguncularia racemosa (L.) Gaertn. Mangle blanco, Mangle bobo; White man-
grove (Jamaica).

Tree from 20 to 30 feet high, growing in the tidewater swamps. Wood used for
making charcoal.

TREES OF PORTO RICO. 89

XLII. Myrracez.

*128. Psidiwm guajava L. Guayava, Guayaba, Guayava pera; Guava (Br. W. I.).

Tree from 15 to 25 feet in height and from 6 to 8 inches in diameter. It is culti-
vated throughout the island and in the Tropics generally and is well known on account

of its fruit. The wood is used for making agricultural implements for structures
where strength and elasticity are required, and for posts, fuel, and charcoal.

Wood brownish gray, tinged with red, compact, fine and straight grained, with a
mottled and oiten very beautiful appearance. It is hard, heavy (about 45 pounds
per cubic foot), strong, and tough. Pores very small, not numerous, and distributed
in rather wide inconspicuous zones, visible only under the hand lens. Pith rays very
inconspicuous.

*129. Amomis caryophyllata (Jacq.) Krug et Urb. Auzt, Aust, Guayavita, Limon-
cillo, Malagueta, Pimienta malagueta; Bayberry tree, Bay rum tree, Wild
cinnamon (Br. W. I.).

Tree from 20 to 45 feet high and about 2 feet in diameter, occurring in mountainous
parts of the island and throughout the West Indies. The wood is suitable for car-
pentry, cabinetwork, posts, sills, cogs, rollers, and other millwork, and was formerly
exported. The leaves have the taste and odor of lemon, and an essential oil of bay
or bay oil is obtained by distillation.

Wood dark, mottled, compact, fine and occasionally cross grained, taking.a beautiful
polish. It is very hard, heavy (about 60 pounds per cubic foot), strong, tough, and
very durable. Pores very small, numerous, evenly distributed throughout the wood.
Pith rays very narrow and inconspicuous.

*Nore.—A variety of this species is also recognized, Amomis caryophyllata var.
grisea (Kiaersk.) Krug et Urb. (Limoncillo, Malagueta, Pimienta), a tree some-
times 50 feet high in mountainous regions, the wood of which is very similar to
that of the preceding.

130. Myrcia.

The genus is represented in Porto Rico by the following four species, which attain
tree size: Myrcia leptoclada P. DC. (Guayabacén, Guayavacén); Myrcia splendens
(Sw.) P. DC. (Rama menuda, Hoja menuda); Myrcia? pagani Krug et Urb. (Aust);
and Myrcia deflexa (Poir.) P. DC. (Cieneguillo, Guayavacon).

Trees from 15 to 60 feet high, found in the mountainous regions of the island.
The wood is used very little except for fuel and charcoal. Wood reddish brown,
hard, heavy, and strong.

131. Calyptranthes sinienisii Kiaersk. Hoja menuda, Limoncillo, Limoncillo de
monte.

Tree from 15 to 25 feet high and from 6 to 10 inches in diameter, occurring in the
Luquillo region. The wood is used in carpentry and for fuel and charcoal.

Wood fine and straight grained, hard, heavy, strong, and flexible. Pores small and
numerous. Pith rays inconspicuous.

132. Hugenia aeruginea P. DC. Guasavera, Guayabacén.

Tree from 30 to 60 feet high and from 1 foot to 2 feet in diameter, rather widely
distributed on the island.

Wood light brown or chestnut colored, fine and straight grained, beautiful when
polished, hard, heavy, strong, and flexible. Pores very small and arranged singly or
in radial rows of from two to three between the very narrow inconspicuous pith rays.

Norre.—Other species of this genus very similar to the above but of slight
importance are Eugenia stahlii (Kiaersk.) Krug et Urb. (Guayabota, Limoncillo),
tree from 15 to 60 feet high and from 1 to 2 feet in diameter; Eugenia sintenisii
(Kiaersk.) Krug et Urb., from 45 to 60 feet high; and Hugenia floribunda West
(Murta) 30 feet high. All are common throughout the island and their woods
are similar to the preceding.

90 BULLETIN 354, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

*133. Eugenia jambos L. (=Jambosa jambos Millsp.). Poma rosa; Rose apple (Br,
Work).

Tree from 20 to 50 feet high and from 1 to 2 feet in diameter, introduced from the
East Indies and now largely naturalized throughout the island. The wood is used
for barrel hoops, poles, fuel, and charcoal. It also furnishes material from which
Jarge baskets are made,

Wood grayish brown, fine and straight grained, hard, heavy, strong, and tough.
Pores small and arranged in irregular tangential lines. ’ Pith rays very narrow and
scarcely visible under the hand lens,

XLIII. MELASTOMATACES,

134. Miconia tetrandra (Sw.) D. Don. Camasey.

Tree from 30 to 50 feet high and about a foot in diameter, common in the moun-
tains of Porto Rico and found on all the islands of the West Indies, The wood is used
for poles, fuel, and charcoal.

Wood light brown, fine and straight grained, hard, moderately heavy, strong,
flexible, and durable in the soil. Pores small, numerous, and evenly distributed.
Pith rays very narrow and inconspicuous.

Norte 1.—Three other species in this genus similar in size, distribution, and
uses are Miconia guianensis (Aubl.) Cogn. (Camasey, Camasey blanco, Camasey
de costilla); Miconia impetiolaris (Sw.) its ine (Camasey, Camasey de costilla)
and Miconia prasina (Sw.) P. DC. (Camasey).

Note 2.—Three other genera and six species in this family attain tree size,
though they are of but slight local or general importance, namely, Calycogonium
squamulosum Cogn. (Granadilla cimarrona), from 15 to 30 feet high, from the
Sierra de Luquillo; Calycogonium biflorum Cogn., from 25 to 30 feet high, from
near Barranquitas; Heterotrichum cymosum (Wendl. ) Urb. (Camasey colorado,
Camasey de paloma, Terciopelo), from 25 to 30 feet high, from various parts of
the island; Henriettella macfadyenii (Triana), 60 feet high, from Sierra de Luquillo
and Cordillera Central, found also in Jamaica; Henriettella membranifolia Cogn.,
30 feet high, from Lares; and Henriettella fascicularis (Sw.) Ch. Wright (Camasey
de oro, Camasey de paloma), from 25 to 30 feet high, from various places on the
island, also throughout the Greater Antilles.

XLIV. ARALIACE.

135. Gilibertia arborea (L.) E. March (=Aralia arborea L.). Mufieca, Palo cachumba,
Pana, Vibona.

Tree from 30 to 60 Heet high, quite common throughout the island, and found in all
parts of the West Indies. The wood resembles boxwood (Buxus sempervirens L.) and
should make a suitable substitute.

Wood light or pale yellow, very fine grained, taking a good polish, very hard, heavy,
strong, and tough. Pores very small, numerous, scarcely visible under the hand lens,
and evenly distributed. Pith rays very narrow and inconspicuous.

Note.—Another species in every way similar to the above is Gilibertia lauri-
folia E. March (Palo cachumba, Palo de gangulin, Palo de vaca, Vibona).

*136. Didymopanax morototoni (Aubl.) Dene et Pl. Yagrume macho, Yagrume;
Grayume, Grayume macho, Grayumo, Pana cimarrona, Llagrume, Llagrume-
macho.

Tree from 40 to 60 feet high and about a foot in diameter, very common in the
mountains and distributed quite generally throughout tropical America. The wood
is used for boards and beams in house building, and has been suggested as a good
material for making matches.

_ Wood light olive brown, fine and straight grained, moderately hard, heavy, brittle

and not strong. Pores small, very numerous, and more or less evenly distributed

throughout the annual rings of growth, which can be readily distinguished by means
of the hand lens. Pith rays very conspicuous.

TREES OF PORTO RICO. 91

XLV. MyrsINAcEz,

137. Ardisia glauciflora Urb. Mameyuelo,

Tree from 15 to 25 feet high, occurring in the Luquillo region. The wood is used
for furniture.
Wood white, beautifully marked with fine lines, fine-grained, taking a good polish,

hard, and heavy. Pores minute, isolated or in groups of two or three, evenly dis-
tributed. Pith rays numerous, broad, very conspicuous.

Nore.—Another species, Ardisia guadalupensis Duchass. (Badula, Mameyuelo),
attains a somewhat larger size and wider distribution on the island. Its wood is
similarly used and has the same structural characteristics as the above but is a
light reddish brown instead of white.

XLVI. SaporTaces.

#138. Achras zapota L. Sapodilla, Nispero!; Naceberry, Bullet tree (Br. W. I.).

Tree from 30 to 45 feet high and about a foot in diameter. It is cultivated and
wild on the island, having been originally introduced from Venezuela, and widely
planted for the sake of its fruit. It is said to yield a gum similar to ‘“‘gum chicle,”’
principally obtained from Mimusops globosa and Sapota zapotilla. The wood is
adapted for inside work, cabinetmaking, and furniture.

Wood light red with darker stripes, fine and straight grained, susceptible of a high
polish, difficult to work on account ot its extreme hardness, heavy (about 74 pounds
per cubic foot), strong, tough, and very durable in contact with the soil. Pores

very small, numerous, and arranged in more or less distinct radial rows between the
narrow pith rays.

Notz.—Closely related to the above is Calocarpum mammosum (L.) Pierre
(Mamey Sapote; Bartaballi, [Br. Guiana]), a tree irom 30 to 40 feet high and
of limited occurrence on the island.

139. Lucuma multiflora A. DC. Acana, Hacdna, Jacana; Contrevent (Br. W. I.).

Tree from 40 to 90 feet high and irom 2 to 3 feet in diameter, found quite gener-
ally on the island and throughout tropical America. It yields very excellent timber
which is used for mill rollers, frames, furniture, and house building.

Wood light colored, fine and straight grained, beautiful when polished, hard,
very heavy, strong, tough, and durable. Pores small and arranged in radial rows.
Pith rays narrow and indistinct.

140. Micropholis.

There are three tree species in this genus, Micropholis garcinifolia Pierre (Caimi-
tillo), from 45 to 60 feet high; Micropholis curvata (Pierre) Urb. (Leche prieto), from 30
to 60 feet high; and Micropholis chrysophylloides Pierre (Caimitillo, Leche prieto),”
from 60 to 75 feet high, the former in the Sierra de Luquillo chiefly and the others in
the Sierra de Cayey and Cordillera Central. The wood, particularly of the last named,
is very hard and heavy, similar to that of Achras Zapota and is regarded locally as a
first-class wood.

*141. Siderozylon fetidissimum Jacq. (=S. mastichodendron Jacq.). Ausubo,?
Tortuga, Tortugo amarillo, Tortugo prieto; Caguani (Cuba); Mastic (Fla.).

Tree from 30 to more than 50 feet high and from 2 to 3 feet in diameter, occurring
on the coast. It is common in southern Florida and throughout tropical America

1 This should not be confused with the true medlar, Mespilus germanica L., to which the Spanish ‘‘nis=
pero”? most commonly applies, nor with the Japanese medlar or loquat (Eriobotrya japonica Lindl.), neither
of which are known to the Porto Rican public (C. & C.).

2 Two species, Sideroxylon fetidissimum and Mimusops nitida are both known as “ausubo.” Of the
former Gifford and Barrett say, that it is “probably the most valuable wood per cubic foot in Porto Rico.”
although they admit that “possibly two species are included under this name,” which is more likely.
According to Urban, Siderorylon fetidissimum is not reported from the Sierra de Luquillo or other parts
of the interior, while Mimusops nitida is. Acocrding to Fernow and Taylor, however, this Sideroxylon is
widely distributed in the Sierra Maestra (Cuba).

92 BULLETIN 354, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

and the West Indies, ranking as a very valuable timber. The wood is‘used locally
for all purposes requiring great strength and durability, such as beams and rafters,
also for all parts of wheels, axles and other parts of native bull carts, for ox yokes
and other native uses, and somewhat for furniture.

Wood maroon-red, very fine and straight grained, susceptible of a good polish,
easily worked considering its hardness, and very durable in the Tropics; in the
temperate climate it is less durable. Wood hard, heavy (about 65 pounds per cubic
foot), strong, and tough. Moderately conspicuous ducts in short detached long and
short chains (single lines of cells) evenly diffused; chains usually between two
medullary rays. Medullary rays very numerous, minute, indistinct. Wood fibers
slightly interlaced and appearing straight-grained. Resembles somewhat a fine-
grained teak. (Hill and Sudworth.)

Nors.—Another species of very limited distribution is Sideroxylon portoricense
Urb. (Tabloncillo), a tree from 75 to 90 feet high, reported only from the vicinity
of Utuado and Lares. Wood similar to that of Sideroxylon frtidissimum, and
probably similarly used.

*142. Dipholis salicifolia (L.) A. DC. Almendrén, Tabloncillo.

Tree from 30 to 40 feet high and from 12 to 18 inches in diameter, occurring in dry
limestone soils near the coast. It is common in southern Florida and throughout
the West Indies. The wood is used locally principally for fuel and charcoal.

Wood dark brown-red, fine and straight grained, taking a beautitul polish, hard,.
heavy (about 55 pounds per cubic foot), strong, and tough. ;

Nore.—Another rather incidental species is Dipholis sintenisiana Pierre
(Espejuelo), a tree from 60 to 70 feet high, from the northwestern part of the
island, having a wood similar to that of D. salicifolia.

*143. Chrysophyllum cainito L. Cainito, Caimito, Caimito morado; Star apple (Br.
Wie

Tree from 45 to 60 feet high and from 12 to 18 inchesin diameter. It isa cultivated
and wild tree and found in most parts of the island. The wood is suited to a variety
of uses and particularly in exposed situations.

Wood red or reddish-brown, very fine and curly grained, taking an excellent polish,
hard, heavy, strong, tough, and very durable in contact with the soil. Pores very
small and arranged in short radial rows between the rather inconspicuous pith rays.

*144, Chrysophyllum oliviforme L. Teta de burra, Lechesillo.

Tree from 30 to 40 feet high and about a foot in diameter from the southwestern
part of the island. It is distributed throughout the West Indies and southern Florida,
but is nowhere common.

Wood light brown tinged with red, fine and straight grained, taking a good polish
hard, heavy (about 58 pounds per cubic foot), very strong, and tough. Pores small
and arranged in short radial rows, which are easily seen on a smooth transverse surface
under a hand lens.

Norre.—Other species of this genus are Chrysophyllum bicolor Poir. (Caimitillo,
Lechesillo), from 30 to 50 feet high, occurring very locally and in Porto Rico
only; Chrysophyllum argenteum Jacq. (Caimito verde, Lechesillo), from 25 to
60 feet high, occurring rather widely distributed throughout the island and
others of the West Indies, and Chrysophyllum pauciflorum Lam. (Caimito de
perro), from 40 to 60 feet high, reported only from the southern part of the island.
Wood of each is similar to that of the above.

145. Mimusops. :

Two species of this genus occur in Porto Rico, Mimusops nitida (Sessé et Moc.)
Urb. (Acana, Ausubo 4), a tree from 20 to 50 feet or more high, occurring in moun-
tainous regions; and Mimusops duplicata (Sessé et Moc.) Urb. (= M. globosa Griseb.)
(Mameyuelo, Sapote, Sapote de costa, Zipote, Balata), from 40 to 60 feet high, occur-
ring along the north coast. Both are local species.

1 See footnote under Sideroxylon fetidissimum.

TREES OF PORTO RICO. >» 93

Wood of these two species is dark brown, fine and straight grained, taking a splendid
polish, hard, heavy (about 60 pounds per cubic foot), strong, tough, and very durable
in contact with soiland water. Pores very small, and arranged in more or less oblique
radial rows which are visible under the hand lens.

XLVII. EBENACEA.

146. Maba sintenisii Krug. et Urb. Guayabota-nispero, Tabeiba.

Tree from 25 to 30 feet high, of uncommon occurrence, reported from only two
localities on the island.

Wood very light brown, very fine and straight grained, taking a very good polish,
very hard, heavy, strong, tough, and durable. Pores very minute, numerous, and
arranged in indistinct radial rows. Very fine tangential lines of soft tissue are visible
under a strong hand lens.

*147. Diospyros ebenaster Retz. Guayabota; Zapote negro 6 prieto (Mexico).

Tree about 30 feet high, of infrequent occurrence in the mountains. It is native
of the West Indies, Mexico, and Malay Islands. It hasa black bark and heartwood.
This tree attains much larger size in Mexico than it does in Porto Rico, where it is
used only for fuel and charcoal.

XLVIII. Symprocaces.
148. Symplocos.

Genus represented in Porto Rico by five tree species, namely, Symplocos lanata
Krug et Urb. (Palo de nispero cimarron), from 24 to 30 feet high, from Adjuntas and
Pefiuelas; Symplocos micrantha Krug et Urb. (Palo de cabra), from 20 to 50 feet
high, from the Sierra de Luquillo and Cordillera Central; Symplocos martinicensis
Jacq. (Aceituna, Aceituna blanca, Aceituna cimarrona), from 10 to 30 feet high,
from Bayamon and Afiasco; Symplocos polyantha Krug et Urb. (Palo de cabra), from
the Sierra de Luquillo; and Symplocos latifolia Krug et Urb. (Aceituna), from 25
to 45 feet high, from Sierra de Cayey and Cordillera Central. Except for the third
of these, which occurs generally throughout the West Indies, all are local species.
Their woods, which are alike, are apparently very little used.

The wood of S. martinicensis is white, hard, moderately heavy, and strong. Pores
small, numerous, isolated or in groups of two to four, evenly distributed. Pith rays
narrow, inconspicuous.

XLIX. StTyRAcAcEx.

149. Styrax portoricensis Krug and Urb.

Tree apparently little known even locally. Reported as being from 30 to 60 feet
high and occurring only in the mountain forests of the eastern part of the island.

L. OLEACES.

150. Linociera domingensis (Lam.) Knobl. (= Mayepea domingensis Krug and Urb.).
Hueso blanco, Palo de hueso, Huesillo, Palo blanco.

Tree from 30 to 45 feet high, quite generally distributed throughout the northern
part of the island. Common also to the other islands of the Greater Antilles.

’ Wood light colored, moderately fine grained, hard, and moderately heavy. Pores
small, isolated or in groups of from two or three, evenly distributed. Pith rays nar-
row, inconspicuous.

LI. APOCYNACE.

151. Plumiera alba L. Aleli, Aleli cimarron, Tabeiba; Frangipanic blanc, Bois de
lait (Fr. WF).

Tree from 20 to 30 feet high and from 6 to 10 inches in diameter, occurring along the
coast, very common throughout tropical America. The wood is used for carpentry
work, and as a substitute for true sandalwood (Santalum album L.).

Wood yellowish-white or light grayish-yellow, marked vith numerous irregular
undulating lines, giving the wood a very pleasing appearance. It is very compact
and fine grained, taking a very good polish, hard, heavy, strong, and tough.

i

94 © BULLETIN 354, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

152. Rauwolfia nitida Jacq. Cachimbo, Palo amargo, Palo de mufieco.

Tree from 30 to 60 feet high, common to the sandy coast soils. Common also to
other of the West Indies. ;

LII. BorrRAGInace”.

153. Cordia alliodora (R. & P.) Cham. (=C. gerascanthus Jacq. and C. gerascanthoides
C. & C.) Capdé, Capa prieta; Prince wood, Spanish elm (Jamaica).

Tree from 30 to 60 feet high and from 12 to 18 inches in diameter, found commonly
in the mountainous interior. Although now rather scarce, this wood is very highly
prized locally because of a variety of good qualities. In Jamaica it is considered
one of their best woods. It is used for furniture, flooring, doors, venetian blinds,
beds, interior finish, carriage building, posts, and cooperage.

Wood rich light brown with dark streaks, fine grained, taking a good polish, mod-
erately hard and heavy (about 36 pounds per cubic foot), strong and durable. Pores
small, numerous, isolated or in groups of from two or three, evenly distributed.
Annual rings of growth visible on a smooth transverse surface. Pith rays narrow but
conspicuous, visible to the unaided eye on a smooth transverse surface.

Nore.—Other species of this genus are Cordia sebestena L. (Vomitel colorado,
San Bartolomé; Aloe wood [Br. W. I.]; Geiger tree [Florida Keys]), from 20 to 35
feet high, occurring along the eastern, southern, and western coasts. It is often
planted as an ornamental tree in tropical gardens. Wood brown, fine grained,
moderately hard, and heavy. Cordia collococca L. (Cereza cimarrona, Palo de
muieca; Clammy cherry [Jamaica]), from 15 to 30 feet high, occurring in the south-
western part of the island near the coast. Used for barrel staves in Jamaica,
having a wood which is soft, brittle, and not durable. Cordia nitida Vahi. (Cere-
zas, Cereza cimarrona, Mufieca), from 15 to 60 feet high, occurring in the southern
part of the island. Cordia sulcata DC. (Moral, Moral de paz), from 30 to 60 feet
high, found in the interior mountain forests. Wood little used. *Cordia borin-
quensis Urb. (Mufeca, Palo de mufieca, Cap4 cimarron), from 20 to 60 feet high,
found in interior mountain forests, having wood light yellow, fine grained, taking
a good polish, moderately heavy, and hard.

LIII. VERBENACE.

154. Citharexylum fruticosum L. (=Citharexylum quadrangulare Griseb.). Péndola;

Péndula, Pendula colorado, Palo de guitarra, Balsamo, Higuerillo.

Tree from 20 to 40 feet high and from 12 to 20 inches in diameter, occurring near the
eastern and southern coasts. It is, used for furniture and in house building. The
natives make their guitars from it.

Wood light red, moderately fine-grained, fairly hard, heavy (about 46 pounds per
cubic foot), and strong.

Nore.—Incidental species in this and a closely allied genera are Citharexylum
caudatum L. (Higuerillo), from 15 to 60 feet high, from the Sierra de Luquillo
and Cordillera Central, also occurs in the other of the Greater Antilles, the Baha-
mas, and Mexico; and Callicarpa ampla Schauer (Cap4 rosa, Péndola cimarron),
from 25 to 50 feet high, occurring only in mountainous regions of Porto Rico.

*155. Petitia domingensis Jacq. Capa, Capd blanca, Capa sabanero, Capa de sabana,
Cap amarillo, Palo de capa de sabéna; Fiddle wood (Br. W. I.).

Tree from 20 to 50 feet high and 2 feet or more in diameter, occurring chiefly in the
interior. ‘ommon also to the other islands of the Greater Antilles. The wood is used
locally for making rollers in coffee-hulling mills and is suitable for cabinetwork, inte-
rior finish, and general building purposes where a hard, tough wood is required.

Wood light to dark brown, streaked with a decidedly beautiful wavy grain, moder-
ately fine grained, taking a good polish, hard, and heavy. Pores small, isolated, or in

groups of two or three, evenly distributed. Pith rays minute, inconspicuous. Struc-
turally similar on the radial section to the American beech.

wa

LE IOTEION GS oon |

—T

a.

TREES OF PORTO RICO. 95

156. Vitex divaricata Sw. Higuerillo, Péndula, Palo de péndula, Péndula blanco;
Lizard wood, Fiddle wood (Br. W. I.).

Tree from 30 to 60 feet high and from 20 to 30 inches in diameter, found in mountain-
ous regions, common to many of the islands of the Lesser Antilles. Used locally for
shelves, boards, framework of houses, in cabinetwork, and suitable for all inside and
outside work.

Wood white, moderately fine grained, hard, heavy (about 50 pounds per cubic foot),
strong, and durable. Pores small, isolated or in groups of from two to five. Pith rays
narrow, inconspicuous.

*157. Avicennia nitida Jacq. Chifle de-vaca, Mangle blanco, Mangle bobo; Black
mangrove (Br. W. I.).

Shrub or tree from 40 to 70 feet high and from 12 to 24 inches in diameter, found in
tidal swamps. Widely distributed throughout the West Indies, and the shores of the
American and African continental Tropics. The wood is used locally for foundations,
underpinning for houses, fence posts, drains, and for charcoal and fuel.

Wood dark brown, rather coarse grained, with conspicuous tangential lines visible
on a transverse surface, hard, heavy, and very durable in damp situations. Pores

small, isolated or in groups of from two to five, arranged largely in radial lines. Pith
rays narrow, inconspicuous.

LIV. BIGNONIACES.
158. Tabebuia.

This genus embraces two local species, first described by Urban in 1899, of very lim-
ited distribution, namely, Tabebuia rigida Urb. (Roble), from 20 to 60 feet high from
the Luquillo region, and Tabebuia schumanniana Urb. (Roble colorado), from 30 to
50 feet high, eccurring in the mountains near Utuado.

Wood light brown, fine grained, taking a good polish, moderately hard and heavy,
strong, tough, and very durable. Pores small, numerous, arranged in conspicuous
tangential lines visible to the unaided eye on a smooth transverse surface. Pith rays
ineonspicuous.

*159. Tecoma pentaphylla (L.) Juss. Roble, Roble blanco; West Indian boxwood.

Tree from 20 to 60 feet high, quite common throughout the island, particularly in the
limestone hills, and found in the Antilles generally. The wood is used in Porto Rico
and throughout tropical America for ox yokes, piles, for house and boat building, and
for general purposes.

Wood white and fine grained, moderately hard, heavy (about 52 pounds per cubic
foot), and strong. Pores small, isolated or in groups of two or three, evenly distributed.
Faint tangential lines of soft tissue may be seen with a hand lens. Pith rays minute,
inconspicuous,

160. Tecoma leuycoxylon (L.) Mart. Roble, Roble prieto; White wood (Br. W. I.).
Tree from 20 to 60 feet high most commonly found in the limestone hills of the south
coast and less frequently in the Sierra de Luquillo and Cordillera Central. Not an
important tree in Porto Rico, but in other parts of tropical America it yields a wood
used for furniture, house building and sounding boards, and musical instruments, also
for posts, piles, and other purposes in exposed situations.
Wood resembles somewhat that of the preceding.

Norre.—Another species of little importance is Tecoma haemantha (Bertero)
Griseb. (Roble), from 25 to 30 feet high, from the coast hills and interior valleys.

*161. Crescentia cujete L. Higiiero; Calabash (Br. W. I.); Jicara, Tigulate, Temante,
Palo de melon, Melon tree (Mexico and Central America).

Wild and cultivated tree from 10 to 45 feet high and from 12 to 18 inches in diameter,
widely distributed throughout the island. The wood is not known to be used locally,
but the rind or bony outside covering of the fruit, like the shell of the coconut, finds
a multiplicity of domestic uses for cooking utensils and tableware. The wood is used

96 BULLETIN 354, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

in Jamaica for tool handles, carriage parts, fellies of wheels, saddles, and chairs, It
is also employed for ship’s knees and cabinetwork in Mexico and Central America.

Wood light brown, coarse grained, taking a good polish, moderately hard, hea
(about 54 pounds per cubic foot), very tough, flexible, and durable in the ground.
Pores small, isolated or in groups of two or three, evenly distributed. Alternating
tangential wavy lines of hard and soft tissue are barely visible to the unaided eye on
a smoothly cut tranverse surface. Pith rays narrow, inconspicuous.

LV. Rustracez.

162. Rondeletia portoricensis Krug & Urb.

A recently described tree from 20 to 60 feet high and from 12 to 20 inches in diameter,
occurring in various places in the Sierra de Luquillo and Cordillera Central.

*163. Randiaaculeata L. Tintillo, Palo de espinillo, Palo de cotorra, Cambrén, Escam-

brén; Ink berry (Br. W. I.).

Tree from 20 to 30 feet high and from 6 to 9 inches in diameter, widely distributed
throughuot the island. Wood little used.

Wood dark brown, fine, close and straight grained, taking a very good polish, hard,

heavy, strong, tough, and very durable. It resembles the true lignum-vite in general

appearance. Pores exceedingly small and indistinct. Pith rays very narrow and
scarcely visible under the hand lens.

*164. Genipa americana L. Jagua, Hagua.

Tree from 30 to 60 feet high and from 15 to 20 inches in diameter, widely distributed
throughout the island and the West Indies generally. The wood is suitable for pack-
ing boxes, shoe lasts, barrel hoops, and wherever strength and elasticity are required.

Wood light brown, tinged with red, very fine grained, moderately hard, heavy
(about 54 pounds per cubic foot), strong, tough, and durable; in these qualities it
resembles the ash. Pores small, isolated, or occasionally in pairs, evenly distributed.
‘ Pith rays numerous, narrow, inconspicuous.

165. Guettarda scabra (L.) Lam. Palo de cucubano, Serrasuela.

Tree from 20 to 40 feet high and from 8 to 12 inches in diameter, occurring in the
coast hills chiefly, and sparingly in the interior valleys. The wood is used principally
in building native huts. :

Wood ash-colored, moderately fine grained, rather hard and heavy (about 54 pounds

per cubic foot). Pores small, isolated or in groups of from two to five or more, and
evenly distributed. Pith rays small, inconspicuous.

Nore.—Other less important species with very limited distribution and wood
similar to the above are G. krugit Urb., G. ovalifolia Urb., and G. levis Urb.,
which attain a height of from 30 to 60 feet and occur chiefly in the coast hills and
shore woodlands.

166. Antirrhea obtusifolia Urb. Tortuguillo.

Tree from 25 to 45 feet high, found in the mountains of the Luquillo region and
Yabucoa. The wood is apparently little used, although suitable for structural and
cabinet work.

Wood light reddish-brown, straight and fine grained, taking a good polish, hard,
heavy, and strong. Pores minute, evenly distributed throughout the annual rings
of growth, which are easily visible to the unaided eye.

167. Antirrhea coriacea (Vahl.) Urb. Quina, Palo de quina, Boje, Boje quina.

Tree from 40 to 50 feet high and sometimes 2 feet in diameter, chiefly occurring in
the northern part of the island. Occurs also in several of the islands of the Lesser
Antilles. The wood is used for carpentry work, furniture, cabinetwork, and frame-
work of houses.

Sa i a a

i TREES OF PORTO RICO. oF

Wood yellowish, very fine and straight grained, taking a very good polish, hard,
heavy, strong, though brittle, and very durable in contact with the soil.

Nore 1.—Antirrhea sintenisii Urb. (Quina) is a tree sometimes 45 feet high,
described from the limestone hills in the vicinity of Utuado, Lares, and Manati,
and yielding yellowish wood similar to that of Antirrhea coriacea.

Note 2.—Chione, a closely related genus, is represented by one species of little
known importance. Chione venosa (Sw.) Urb. (Martin avila, Palo blanco, Santa
olalla), a tree from 20 to 50 feet high reported from the Sierra de Luquillo, Sierra
de Lares, and the vicinity of Bayamon and Toa-Alta. Found also in several other
of the West Indies. Wood is said to be made into lumber.

*168. Coffea arabica L. -Café, Café macho; Coffee (Br. W.I.). ®

A cultivated and seminaturalized tree from 10 to 20 feet high and from 2 to 4 inches
in diameter, grown in plantations at all elevations but doing best in sheltered locations
at or above 2,500 feet on the northern and western parts of the island. Native of
Arabia. Coffee is one of the most important articles of export of Porto Rico. The
wood is often used for walking sticks.

Wood white, very fine grained, taking a fine polish, hard, heavy, strong, and tough.
Pores minute, very numerous and evenly distributed. Pith rays minute and incon-
spicuous.

*169. Ixora ferrea (Jacq.) Benth. Palo de hierro, Dajao, Palo de dajao, Hackia; West

Indian or Martinique ironwood (Br. W. I.)

Tree from 15 to 30 feet high, occurring quite generally in the limestone hills and
somewhat on the slopes of the interior mountains. Elsewhere in the West Indies and
in the northern part of South America it sometimes attains a height of from 30 to 60
feet and a diameter of from 1 foot to 2 feet. The wood is not reported as being used
locally, but in the other countries where it occurs it is used largely for cogs, shafts,
and furniture.

Wood dark brown, taking a very beautiful polish, exceedingly hard, heavy, very
strong, and tough.

170. Other genera of this family represented by tree species.

Psychotria brachiata Sw. (Palo de cichimbo), usually a shrub or small tree, but occa-
sionally 45 feet high; Palicourea alpina (Sw.) DC., shrub or small tree from 15 to 30
feet high; and Faramea occidentalis (L.) A. Rich (Cafeillo, Palo de toro), from 15 to
a feet high, all rather widely distributed locally as well as generally throughout the

est Indies.

LVI. CApRIroLIACcEs.

171. Sambucus intermedia var. insularis Schwerin. Satico.

A cultivated and seminaturalized tree occurring in various places throughout the
island. Introduced from Central America and found in many of the other West In-
dian Islands.

LVI. GramMInea.

172. Bambusa vulgaris Schrad. Bambi; Bamboo.

This bamboo (although the bamboos belong to the grass family and are not trees at
all) has an erect wood stem which attains a height of 40 feet and a diameter of 4 inches,
and is rather commonly distributed over the island, particularly along the watercourses
and throughout the West Indies. It is a native of Java. The bamboos, of which
there are many species, are adapted to a wide variety of uses and their planting should
be greatly extended in Porto Rico.

, 21871°—Bull. 354—16——7

APPENDIX IL

BIBLIOGRAPHY.
LIST OF THE BOOKS CONSULTED IN THE PREPARATION OF THIS WORK.

AxBBapD y LasterRA, Fray INico. Historia geogrdfica, aivil y politica de la Isle de S.
Juan Bautista de Puerto Rico. Madrid, 1788.

AREAS OF THE UNITED STATES, THE STATES AND THE TERRITORIES. Bulletin 302, U.S.
Geological Survey.

Barrett, O. W. The Fall of Porto Rican Forests. In Plant World, Vol. V, No. 6,
June, 1902.

and Girrorp. (See Gifford.)

Briton, N. L. Recent Botanical Explorations in Porto Rico. Journal New York
Botanical Garden, May, 1906.

Broun, A. F. Silviculture in the Tropics. MacMillan, 1912.

Burns-Murpock, A. M. Notes from the Federated Malay States. Indian Forester,
Vol. XXX No. 10, October, 1904.

CarnE, THomas A. (See Dorsey.)

CapotteTti, C. General Report of the Proceedings of the Navigation Congress.
Milan, 1905.

Census or Porto Rico 1899. Taken under the direction of the U. S. War Depart-
ment.

Census, U.S., Thirteenth Decennial, 1910.

CLIFFORD, eae 3d Earl of Cumberland. The Voyage to Saint John de Porto
Rico. In Purchas, his Pilgrimes, pt. IV, 1625.

Coutuins, G. N. (See Cook.)

CoGGsHALL, GEORGE. 36 Voyages to Various parts of the World between 1799 and
1841.

Coox, O. F. The Origin and Distribution of the Coconut Palm. Contibuboel from
U.S. National Herbarium, Vol. VII, No. 2.

—. Shade in Coffee Culture. Bul. 25, Division of Botany, U. S. Dept. of
Agriculture.

——. Vegetation Affected by Agriculture in Central America. Bul. 145, Bureau of
Plant Industry.

and G. N. Cottins. Economic Plants of Porto Rico. Contributions from the
U.S. National Herbarium, Vol. VIII, pt. 2, 1903. }

DorsEy, CLARENCE W., Louis Mesmer, and Tuomas A. Carve. Soil Survey from
Arecibo to Ponce, Porto Rico. Field Operations, Bureau of Soils, U. 8S. Dept.
of Agriculture, 1902.

Export or Farm AND Forest Propucts, 1909-1911. Bul. 96, Bureau of Statistics,
U.S. Dept. of Agriculture.

Fassic, Otrver L. The Climate of Porto Rico. Unnumbered Circular, Weather
Bureau, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture.

Fernow, B.E. The High Sierra Maestra (including a list of trees and botanical notes
by Norman Taylor). Forestry Quarterly, Vol. IV, No. 4, December, 1906.

Fewkes, Jess—E WALTER. The Aborigines of Porto Rico and Neighboring Islands.
Part of 25th Annual Report Bureau of American Ethnology. Washington, 1907.

Furer, Col. G. D. An Account of the Present State of the Island of Porto Rico. ~
London, 1834.

GazerrEER oF Porro Rico. . Bul. 183, Series F, Geography. U. 8S. Geological
Survey, 1901.

Girrorp, Joun C. The Luquillo Forest Reserve, Porto Rico (with appendix, Trees of
the Luquillo Region, by John C. Gifford and O. W. Barrett). Bul. 54, Bureau of
Forestry, U. 8. Dept. of Agriculture, 1905.

98

\

_ BIBLIOGRAPHY. 99

Harris, W. The Timbers of Jamaica. Bulletin, New Series, Vol. I, No. 1 Depart-
ment of Agriculture. Jamaica.

HarsHBERGER, Jonn W. Phytogeographic Survey of North America, being a part of
Die Vegetation der Erde, by Engle and Drude, 1911.

Hearn, Larcapio. Two Years in the French West Indies. New York, 1890.

Herrera, ANTONIO DE. The General History of the Vast Continent and Islands of
America * * *, translation by Capt. John Stevens. Vol. IV. London, 1726.

Hu, Rosert T. Notes on the Forest Conditions of Porto Rico, Bul. 25, Division
of Forestry, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1899.

Imports or Farm AnD Forest Propucts, 1909-1911. Bul. 95, Bureau of Statistics,
U.S. Dept. of Agriculture.

IN1co, Fray. (See Abbad y Lasierra.)

Knapp, Seaman A. Report on Investigation of the Agricultural Resources and
Capabilities of Porto Rico. Senate Doc. 171, 56th Cong., 2d Sess.

LEepRUE, ANDRE PreRRE. Voyage aux fles de Ténériffe, La Trinité, Sainte Thomas,
Sainte Croix, et Porto Rico, etc. Vol. II. Paris, 1810.

Leyes DE Los Rernos pE LAs Inpras. Recapilacion de, Book 4, title 12, Trans. by
Bureau of Insular Affairs, War Dept.

Mesm_Er, Louts. (See Dorsey.)

Morris, Daniet. Report on the Economic Resources of the West Indies. Kew
Bulletin of Miscellaneous Information, Additional Series, I, 1898.

Murrey, Louis 8. A Preliminary Report on the Forest Problems of Porto Rico.
First Report Board of Commissioners of Agriculture of Porto Rico, January 1,
1912.

Norta AMERICAN AND West INDIAN. GAZETTEER, 1778.

Oviepo y VALDES, GONZALO FERNANDEZ DE. Historia General y Natural de las
Indias, Vol. TI.

Pumirrine, Director or Forestry. Annual Report of 1912.

Porto Rico. Reports of the Governor of, from 1899 to 1913.

The Registers of, for 1901 and 1910.

Rea, Jonn T. West Indian Timbers. Indian Forester, Vol. XXVIII, No. 12.
Dec., 1902.

Rosin, ©. C. Voyages dans l’interieur de la Louisiana, de la Florida, occidentale,
etc. * * * pendant les annees 1802-6, Vol. I.

Scumrer, A. F. W. Plant Geography upon a Physiological Basis (Trans. by W. R.
Fisher). Oxford, 1903.

Summary oF TRANSACTIONS in U. S. Customs District of Porto Rico for the fiscal
years 1909, 1910, and 1911.

Taytor, Norman. (See Fernow.)

Txurston, Lorrin A. Report of, Chairman of Committee on Forestry of Hawaii
Sugar Planters’ Association, 1907.

TRADE witH Non-contiguous PosssEssions IN Farm AND Forest Propvucts,
1901-1903, 1904-1906. Buls. 31 and 54, Bureau‘of Statistics, U. S. Dept. of
Agriculture.

UnpErwoop, L. M. Report on a Trip to Porto Rico. Journal New York Botanical
Garden, November, 1901.

Wevyt, W. E. Labor Conditions in Porto Rico. Bul. 61, Bureau of Labor, Depart-
ment of Commerce and Labor, November, 1905.

Witson, H.M. Water Resources of Porto Rico. Water Supply Paper No. 32, U.S.
Geological Survey, 1899.

Woopwarp, Kart W. Informe sobre las Condiciones Forestales de la Republica
Dominicana, Santo Domingo, 1910.

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