The History of Cuba, vol. 5Johnson, Willis Fletcher
History
The History of Cuba, vol. 5
Johnson, Willis Fletcher
Cuba -- Economic conditions; Cuba -- History
SABINA: indigenous; found in eastern end of Island; hard beautiful
wood, mottled chocolate color; furniture and general construction;
Sp. Gr. 0.65.
SABICU: indigenous; very large tree, sometimes called imitation
mahogany; hard, tough and compact; mahogany color; used for rail
chalks, port holes of ships, wagons, etc.
TAGUA: indigenous; 25 to 30 feet in height; hard, compact and
durable; used for fine cabinet work and musical instruments; Sp.
Gr. 0.7.
YABA: indigenous; 45 feet in height; abundant, strong and compact;
reddish color; used for wagon work, general construction and
turning; Sp. Gr. 0.88.
TANA: indigenous; very hard, inflexible; grows in damp and sandy
soils; specially adapted for naval construction; Sp. Gr. 1.02.
YAMAGUA: indigenous; 30 to 35 feet in height; 20 inches in
diameter; excellent wood; reddish yellow; used in general
construction work; Spec. Gr. 0.7.
Specimens of all these woods, together with some three hundred others,
form a collection that may be seen at any time at the Government
Experimental Station at Santiago de las Vegas.
Scattered throughout the broad grass covered savannas that lie along
some parts of the coast of Cuba, are found heavily wooded clumps of
forest trees, that stand up out of the grassy plains like islands, and
give rather a peculiar effect to the landscape. In these “Cayos de
Monte,” as they are called, are found nearly all of the small, hard and
durable woods of Cuba, such as Ebony, Lignum Vitae or Guayacan,
Grenadillo and others of similar character, that seldom make tall trees,
but that frequently have a value in the markets of the world that cause
them to be sold by the pound or hundredweight, instead of by board
measure.
The great bulk of timber lands, or virgin forests of Cuba, are scattered
throughout the mountainous districts of the Island, mostly in Santa
Clara and Oriente, and belong to non-resident owners living in Spain.
While the timber is very valuable, the cost of cutting and getting out
the logs with the help of oxen, precludes any possibility of profit and
will insure their remaining untouched until less expensive methods are
found for their removal to the coast. The price of these lands vary at
the present time from $3 to $15 per acre, and they can be purchased only
in large tracts.
In passing it may be mentioned that many of the forest lands of the
mountainous districts are located within the mineral zones of the
Island, but the purchase of the property does not carry with it a right
to the ore deposits that may lie below the surface. These can be
acquired only through registering mineral claims or “denouncements” in
accordance with the laws of the Republic.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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