BRIDGE REPAIR/REHABILITATION FEASIBILITY STUDY

2 U.S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK NO. 207
In view of the expanding market and the uncertainty
of the present resources of the small
number of timbers being utilized, the need for
using the lesser known species is of first importance.
This applies both to the areas having abundant
timber supplies and to the islands having
insufficient forest, reserves, yet many unused
timbers.
Lack of knowledge, particularly by the consumer,
seems the principal deterrent to the utilization
of lesser known woods. Needed is informat
ion on physical and mechanical properties, as well
as knowledge of air seasoning, kiln drying, durability,
machining characteristics, and resistance to
insects and marine organisms. Prospective users
should also have the benefit of reliable recommendations
on the acceptable uses for the different
timbers and an estimate of their present and potential
availability.
In view of the above considerations, the Fourth
Session of the West Indian Conference held in
1950 recommended that a future conference be
convened to consider the agricultural potentialities
of the Caribbean area, with special reference
to developing the timber trade. Later, the objective
was restricted to a study of the present and
potential timber trade. The conference, held at
Port of Spain, Trinidad, in April 1953, was attended
by representatives from most countries and
islands of the Caribbean area.
Conference delegates agreed on the need for
compiling and publishing a list of the timbers of
present and potential regional importance. They
also agreed that this document should cover the
entire Caribbean, including the independent republics,
and should contain all available information
on the selected timbers. The principal timbers
described in the text were selected largely
by member countries of the Caribbean Commission
and do not necessarily include all timbers of
present or potential importance in the entire
Caribbean region.
Countries represented in the selection of timbers
are as follows: British Guiana, French Guiana,
Surinam, and British Honduras on the
continent; Jamaica, Dominican Republic, and
Puerto Rico in the Greater Antilles; Guadeloupe,
Dominica, Martinique, St. Lucia, St. Vincent,
Grenada, Trinidad, and Tobago in the Lesser Antilles.
Although Cuba and Haiti are not included
in this group, they are well represented by the
selections made for other islands in the Greater
Antilles. But important timbers in other parts
of the Caribbean area are not discussed in detail
unless they are also presently or potentially important
in the above countries or islands.
The conference by resolution directed the
Secretariat of the Caribbean Commission to ask
the Tropical Forest Research Center of the U.S.
Forest Service for assistance in the project. In
answer to that request., this publication was prepared.
It presents, to the best of the author’s
knowledge, a summary of all available and worthwhile
information on the 71 important timbers in
that part of the Caribbean area described above.
SELECTION OF IMPORTANT
CARIBBEAN TIMBERS
Foresters and other representatives of the Government
attending the 1953 Timber Conference in
Port of Spain, Trinidad, selected an initial list of
54 timbers of present or potential commercial importance.
The number was later increased to 71
as additional timbers were suggested. This number
will surely increase in the years ahead : Remote
areas will become more accessible to improved markets,
and further studies will be made of the
quantity and quality of many woods, currently
little known. The final selection of timbers covered
in this work and the species chosen are essentially
as suggested by the participating
governments. The timbers are listed by their preferred
trade and botanical names in table 1.
TABLE 1.— Present and potential commercial timbers of the Caribbean
Trade name Scientific name Page
Andira inermis (W. Wright)
Angelin --------- H.B.K.
{ ----------------- 27
A. spp. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 27
Angelique 28
Aromata --------{ Dicorynia guianensis Amsh. --
Clathrotropis macrocarpa
Ducke ------------------- 30
C. brachypetala (Tul.)Kleinh. -- 30
Baboen ---------- Virola surinamensis (Rol.)
Warb. -------------------- 30
Bagasse - - - - - - - - -{ Bagassa guianensis Aubl. ----- 33
B. tiliaefolia (Desv.) R. Ben. - 33
Urban -------------------- 36
Banak ---------- Virola koschnyi Warb. --------
Baromalli -------- { Catostemma commune Sandw. 30
- 38
C. fragrans Benth. ---------- 38
Balata. ---------- Manilkara bidentata (A. DC.)
Balsa -----------
Chev. --------------------
Ochroma pyramidale (Cav.)
34
Trade name Scientific name Page
Bethabara ------- Tabebuia serratifolia (Vahl)
Nicholson ---------------- 39
Bois gris --------- Licania ternatensis Hook. f. - -
41
Broadleaf -------- Terminalia latifolia Sw. - - - - - -
42
Bullhoof --------- Drypetes brownii Standl. ------
43
Dipholis salicifolia (L.) A.
Bustic ----------- DC.
{ ---------------------- 44
D. spp. --------------------- 44
Cedrela mexicana M. J. Roem.
Cedar, Central
{
- 45
C. odorata L.
American
---------------- 45
C. guianensis A. Juss. -------- 45
47
{
47
49
Courbaril --------
Hymenaea courbaril L. -------
H. davisii Sandw. -----------
Crabwood ------- Carapa guianensis Aubl. ------
Dakama --------- Dimorphandra conjugata
(Splitg.) Sandw. ----------
Determa -------- Ocotea rubra Mez ------------
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