Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-08-12
PORTO RICAN WOOD
Splendid Opportunity for Economic
Forestry.
VALUABLE TIMBER Is NOW WASTED
Robert 7. Hill Makes Compre-
hensive Report.
VALUABLE SUGGESTION

The Forest Conditions of Porto Rico"
is the subject Of a bulletin of the Depart
ment of Agriculture which is now about
ready for publication. 1t is the work of
Robert T. Hill, geologist of the United
states geological survey, and probably con-
tains the most complete and accurate sum-
mary Of forest conditions on the island
lately annexed by the United States that
is extant
Those who have read Kingsley's inter-
esting description of the tropical forests
of Trinidad or Lafcadio Hearn's vivid pic
lures of the vast woods of Martinique"
says Mr.. Hill, will be disappointed not
to find such forests and woods duplicated
III Porto Rico, except in the single instance
or the summit portion of Ell Yunque, in
the Sierra Luqufllo where there are about
eight square miles of virgin forest. The
Island. although wooded in the sense that
1t Is still dotted by many beautiful trees
Is largely deforested from a commercial
point of view Porto Rico. at the time Of
its discovery, was undoubtedly completely
covered by forests of many species of trees
but these can hardly be said to exist at
present. A few insignificant patches of
culled forest also occur in the central and
northwestern portions Of the island.
Open Wooded Landscape.
ITO the casual observer the aspect of
wooded landscape. The farms and planta-
tons, excepting the tobacco and sugar
fields. are not clearly cleared like those of
the United States, but on the contrary, in
d1v1dual trees are abundant and well dis
tributed everywhere. Along the roadsides,
around every hut and throughout the cof-
fee plantations are many trees a few of
which are remnants of the aboriginal for
est, while most of them have been planted
for shade or fruit. Orange trees, mangoes,
anna md thar
stately trees are common, while, as in our
own deforested region, there are few tim
ber-making trees which have been spared
the ak. Besides these larger trees, fam
boyantes nisperos and guanabonas of
smaller growth add their foliage to the
wooded aspect of the island.
Useful Treea.
Among the products of the forest the
following trees are used by man:
For timber and fuel-Agarroba, ausubo,
capa blanca, capa prieta, lanrei sabine,
laurel blanca, guaycan, ucar (ucare or jul
care), espejuelo, moca, maricao mauricio,
oregon, tachuelo cedro, cojoba, aceitillo,
guaraguao maya, yati, palo santo, tortu-
guillo, zerrezuela, guayarote, higuereta,
tabanuco, mora hueso, hachuelo, fleuce-
dram
For cordage-M ahagua, a tall malva-
ceous bush.
For dyeing and tannfng-Nfoca. brasil
Iete, achiote, granadilio, maricao, dividivi,
mora, gengibrillo, camasey, Vijao. mangle
'Resinous trees-Tabanuco paJuil, alSar-
rcbo, Nancy, rnasa, cupey, maria, quay
AGO.
Forest trees yielding fruits-Pina, MIS-
pero fmedlar tree). mango, guanabana, CO.
cotero aguacate, naranjo, jacana, Nancy,
wild orange
Mr. Hin points out the fact that woods
valuable for veneering purposes are used
in Porto Rico for making wheels for OK
carts and suggests that if this need were
supplied by Americans these rare woods
would be reserved for more appropriate
uses.
Waste of Valuable Material.
The principal of woods upon the is
land at present. he says, rs in the con-
struction of the heavy two-wheeled OK
carts, which, next to pack animals, are the
most general means of transportation.
These carts have large wheels with massive
hubs, spokes and fellies, and tired with
iron. These wheels, the wood for which
costs $50 per pair, have almost the rigidity
and durability of iron, and upon any roads
not az bad those Of Porto Rico would be
practically indestructible The hubs are
made of guayacan, the spokes of ausubo
and the fellies of mora. They are made by
hand in every city and village, and the
principal stocks Of lumber are those stored
for their manufacture. In Ponce there is a
small woodworking mill run by steam with
modern machinery. II American manufac-
turers would make cart wheels of common
woods of sufficient strength for the Porto
Rican market the valuable island woods
now used III these wheels could be saved for
furniture Veneers and other ornamental
purposes. The native stock of woods for
this latter purpose is not abundant, and
much of the material is imported from
Santo Domingo. Some beautiful furniture
made of native woods may be seen in the
houses of the well to do.
Throughout the country there are many
huge mortars made Of sections of trees and
used for hulling coffee and rice and pound
ing corn. In the aagre gate these represent
a great cost of wood and labor. Troughs
for feeding cattle are frequently seen. In
Arecibo there are many large dugout "a
noes made from solid logs
Porto Ric" Imports Wood.
The export of wood from Porto Rico is
very slight.
ION the other hand" he says, Porto
Rico imports woods and manufactures of
woods quite extensively. principally from
Canada and the United States, and a little
from Spain. Colonel Fred A. Hill, who has
been collector at the port of Ponce for
the past eight months, informed the writer
that the principal imports of wood con-
sisted of spruce and hemock from Canada
and New Brunswick. In 1895 the United
states sent wood and its manufactures TO
Porto Rico to the value of $S40,51I Dur
ing the four years IS92-ISss6 Spain exported
to the island the same articles valued at
ST., 1867, our exports for the one year, 1895,
having been over ten times as great as that
of Spain for four years"
The writer describes the crude methods
in vogue in the country in the transporta-
ton of logs to the seacoast and towns,
and says this difficulty of transporta ton
because of lack of roads would render a
modern saw mill useless because enough
logs could not be secured at any one place
for it's use
Good Field for Economic Forestry.
Porto Rico" he says, presents an in
teresting field for the practice of economic
forestry. The climate, geologic structure
and soils all well adapted to the growth
of trees, and the forest question upon this
island plainly stated, is that of reforesting
a deforested region. That trees will grow
rapidly and readily is shown by the many
superb specimens of cultivated trees seen
around the houses, and especially the shade
trees planted along the highways by the
late Spanish government. One interesting
phase of the Spanish road building expert
ments was the planting of avenues of trees
along the macadamized highways far
as they were constructed. These trees have
grown with remarkable rapidity, and are
now shedding a grateful shade over what
would otherwise be sunny stretches of
highway. Many deforested mountain
slopes and submits which have been ADAM
doned as agricultural land could be rapidly
reforested Such a proceeding would be
profitable even for fuel, considering the
high prices of that article upon the island.