Page:Timber and Timber Trees, Native and Foreign.djvu/176

156 {| ''Vertical Experiments.—Four pieces. Nos. 26, 27, 28, and 29, each 2 × 2 inches, and respectively'' E = 436880.S = 3498.
 * 1
 * 2
 * 3
 * 4
 * Inches in length.
 * Crushed with
 * 27.25
 * 27.2875
 * 25.875
 * 25.862
 * Tons.
 * }
 * 25.862
 * Tons.
 * }

THE MORA TREE (Mora excelsa),

the produce of Demerara and the island of Trinidad, is a tree of straight growth, yielding timber in the log of 18 to 35 feet in length, and 12 to 20 inches square.

The wood is of a chestnut-brown colour, hard, heavy, tough, strong, and generally straight in the grain, but has occasionally a twist or waviness in the fibre, which imparts to the logs possessing it a beautifully figured appearance, giving to them much additional value. As it takes a good polish, it would be useful as a substitute for Rosewood, or dark Spanish Mahogany in cabinet making, and might be employed for many purposes in the domestic arts.

The economical uses of the Mora are somewhat restricted by the frequency of star-shake in the logs, and only the best trees can be advantageously converted into plank and board; it may, however, be used with greater profit for beams, keelsons, engine-bearers, &c., in ship-building, and in a general way in large scantlings for either civil or naval architecture.

The Mora possesses great strength, and contains an oily or glutinous substance in its pores, which is probably conducive to its durability.