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About The gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1912-1925 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 3, 1914)
12 HOME AND FARM MAGAZTN1SECTION Value of Mexico's Timber ONE MAT travel over thousands of! miles of railway in Mexico and see hardly a tree of commercial timber. The average visitor therefore j obtains tha impression that Mexico is practically f orestless. Bat as a matter of fact the timber resources of Mexico are vast ia extent and value. Extending . nearly from the United States border on the north to the Isthmus of Tehuantepee on the south ia an almost unbroken pine and oak forest that has a width ranging from 100 to 300 miles. During the last few years of the Diaz administration many Americans purchased large tracks of the valuable timber and their exploi tation of this natural wealth had just begun when war put a stop to opera tions. Besides the pine and oak there are many kinds of cabinet woods that grow profusely on big areaB in Mexico. It is stated that of the woods to be found in Mexico two-thirds are valu able for furniture and fine wood-work of all kinds, while all with a very lew exceptions can be used as ordinary utility woods. In fact, at the present time many woods in Mexico which would bring very high prices if prop erly introduced to the furniture mar kets, are now being used for railway tics and construction work. A brief description of some of the woods fol lows. The zapote mamay is a dark, cinna mon brown and very much like wal nut. It has about the same grain as mahogany. It is capable of a very high polish and is no more difficult to work than walnut. The zapote chieo, which belongs to the same family as the zapote mamay, is one of the finest woods in Mexico. It is of a clear, deep reddish brown color and takes a very fine polish. It is almost indestructible, for it will stand in fresh and Bait water, mud, air and wet soil better than steel or iron. On account of these valuable qualities it is now being used extensively for wharf building. The sea worm will not attack it. It is a very large tree, the trunk being generally fifty feet to the first limb. The zapotillo Colorado belongs to the same family as the two preceding woods. It is very close grained and hard and takes an excellent polish. It has the grain of hickory but looks like a light colored oak. This tree often grows three feet in diameter and gen erally affords some fifty feet of trunk without knots. The zapotillo bianco is a beautiful white wood with a slight yellowish tinge. It is very even in color and somewhat heavier than white pine, but of mnch finer grain.. ,It is an excel lent wood for inside house finishings. Falo maria very much resembles ma hogany in color, grain and weight. It is of a uniform light brown eolor. It stands wet well and is much esteemed by the people of the regions where it grows for building purposes. It is a large tree, being from fifty to 100 feet to the first limb, with a trunk quite clear of knots. Bed cedar is one of the best known woods in Mexico. It is of an exceed ingly even color and fine grain, and is extensively used for making cigar boxes and lead pencils. In Mexico it is also nsed for the construction of chests and bureaus, as the scent of the cedar drives away moths and insects that destroy clothes. Macaya resembles hickory very mnch in color, grain, hardness and weight. It is used by the Indians for the manufacture of wagon stock. ' Palo Colorado is of a rich, light eoffee color. It is a little heavier than mahogany and of a very dose grain. It takes a very high polish easily. This is a fine furniture wood. Coral! ill o is bo called on account of the supposed resemblance of the eolor of the wood to coral. It is much tha same as the palo Colorado in eolor and grain. It is also an excellent fur niture wood and capable of a fine polish. Oranadilla is a kind of rosewood of 4m V '-VI 0h W r ..- -I ICY 1M l r &.3k.. y - - Malt Rainier is the Pure Malt Tonic For Mothers Who Require Additional Nourishment and Strength. ASK YOTJB PH73I0IAX F Bait by ATI Druggists a rich reddish brown color with seal brown markings in the form of wavy lines. It is heavier and more compact than mahogany. It is one of the most promising of the undeveloped woods of Mexico. Gateado is one of the most peculiar woods in Mexieo. It looks somewhat' like rosewood, but is mnch heavier. Its chief beauty, and it is one of tha most beautiful of woods, consists ia the curiously marked variations of col ors which the grain of the wood pre' sents. It is of a deep yellow color heavily marked with seal brown and light brown stripes of an irregular form and size. All the wood requires to finish it is polish, for it has all th natural colors that are produced ia most cases in the United States by, the use of stains and fillings of dif ferent kinds. Balsam o is another of the good hardwoods of Mexieo. It is light brown color with a grain like rose wood. It is of a solid color, makes good furniture lumber and would be excellent for hardwood house trim mings. Guapage is a very hard compact wood having the grain and density of ironwood. It is very heavy and of a solid red eolor, It is capable of a high polish and would make excellent fun niture wood. Huisaeh resembles hickory in color, grain, weight and density. This is ona of the best general woods in Mexieo. It is used in making carriages and wagons, and other things which re quire a combination of strength, polish and weight. Jicaeo is like maple in grain, den sity and weight, but is slightly mors reddish in eolor. Babo de lagarto (alligator's tail) is of a cinnamon brown, running often into a yellowish brown. On account of its even color, its easiness in work ing and its beautiful variegated grain this wood makes fine lumber for trim mings of all kinds, - including fanejj panola. Campanillo ia of about the same grain and color as dark maple, bat slightly lighter. It is easily worked and, like rabo do lagarto, makes fins, housetrimmings, wainscoting, etc. Palo bianco is of about the grain and density of red pine. It ranges in color from a brownish white to a deep croara color. On account of its beam tiful wavy grain it makos fine furnti ture and house trimmingB. l'alo de agua looks like white pins' but is very much finer in grain. U has a beautifully marked grain. On account of its being easily worked it can be nsed to advantage in houss trimmings and the back parts of fur nitura. Sombrerete is another fine Mexican hardwood. It looks like checked maplo, bnt it is slightly lighter in weight and darker in color. The wood has brown markings on a light background. 11 would be excellent for furniture. Tepesnehil is beautiful wood to look at bnt is somewhat difficult ta work on aecount of its uneven grain. It is about as heavy as soft mapls and has mnch the gTain of hard maple. It is of a brownish yellow in color. Jonote is almost as light as cork. It is used by the Mexicans for razor strops and rafts. It is from one ta two feet thick. It is bolieved it would make excellent paper pulp, and on account of its rapid growth it could be planted for this purpose. A HANDY TBEB. DID YOU ever hear of a thread and-nocdle treet It must be rather a handy tree to have growing in tho back yard, especially whon thora are boys in the house with buttons coming off about every other minute. This strange tree grows in nearly all tropical countries, and in some places nearer home where the climate is warm. It gets its name by which wa know it from the curious formation ot its leaves. At the tip of each leal there is a sharp thorn, which is tha needle. If you grasp it firmly and pull it out, there you are with a needle already threaded for your sew ing. This fiber thread is very strong, and the Mexicans use it for weaving a coarse kind of cloth, as well as for sewing. The leaves of the troe they use for roofing their houses, instead of tiles, and a fine roof it makes them, Btrong and water-proof just the sort of a roof they need when the rain comes down in sheets.