My last madness

[Johnny Kleso]

Wow thats some roof

Looking foward to seeing some pics of the inside

[Jim King]

Here is a story I found on the internet about the Astoria Mill we are buying and some other interesting information. It is amazing how little things have changed here in the wood business.

There is a second section to this as it was to big to fit on one post.

JANUARY, 1946

MAHOGANY INDUSTRY OF PERU


THE mahogany industry of the Peruvian Amazon is a recent development. Although trees "resembling Spanish Mahogany" were reported in the sixteenth century, they
were utilized only for fuel and construc-tion. By 1900 a few mahogany logs were rafted annually to Manaus and Belem and there exported as Brazilian mahogany. Not until 1920 were saw mills erected near Iquitos. In Peru the names "aguano" and "caoba" are locally applied to mahogany. In some areas the inhabitants maintain that caoba is correct, in others, aguano is insisted upon with equal fervor. Moreover, different botanical names have been given from time to time. Raimondi in 1861 identified the Peruvian mahogany tree as "Swietenia mahagoni," saying that it was the same species as that found in Cuba and other islands of the West Indies. Delboy recently applied the name "Swietenia tassmania" which had earlier been recommended by Harms. Some American botanists consider it to be the same as the Swietenia macrophylla, King, of Central America. There are physical differences in the wood but it seems doubtful that they are sufficient to warrant the naming of a new species. THE mahogany industry of the Peruvian Amazon is a recent development. Although trees "resembling Spanish Mahogany" were reported in the sixteenth century, they were utilized only for fuel and construction. By 1900 a few mahogany logs were rafted annually to Manaus and Belem and there exported as Brazilian mahogany. Not until 1920 were saw mills erected near Iquitos. In Peru the names "aguano" and "caoba" are locally applied to mahogany. In some areas the inhabitants maintain that caoba is correct, in others, aguano is insisted upon with equal fervor. Moreover, different botanical names have been given from time to time. Raimondi in 1861 identified the Peruvian mahogany tree as "Swietenia mahagoni," saying that it was the same species as that found in Cuba and other islands of the West Indies. Delboy recently applied the name "Swietenia tassmania" which had earlier been recommended by Harms. Some American botanists consider it to be the same as the Swietenia macrophylla, King, of Central America. There are physical differences in the wood but it seems doubtful that they are sufficient to warrant the naming of a new species.

DESCRIPTION OF THE MAHOGANY TREE
Wild mahogany grows in association with hundreds of other species; never in pure stands. Although its distribution is far from uniform in the "montafia," the minimum physical requirements of the tree seem to be met throughout the lowlands drained by the Amazon and its tributaries of eastern Peru. In the Iquitos area, mature trees range from 150 to 200 feet tall. The mahogany is one of the tallest in the forest. Trees in the selva grow rapidly because of the continuous death struggle for space in the sunlight. As a result the trunk is straight and all branches are high up in the crown of the tree. This makes it possible to cut four to six logs from a bole. The light gray bark is fairly smooth except on old trees. The compound leaf resembles that of the American ash or hickory. The leaves are light green in color; they present a fresh cool appearance and glisten in the sunlight as though covered with shellac.
ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY

The accuracy of certain of these records may be questioned because of the poor locations of the thermometer and rain gauge.
The climate of Loreto, the depart-ment from which most of the Peruvian mahogany omes, may be considered the Rainy Tropical (Afwi after Koppen).
The temperature is continuously warm; the warmest month (November) aver-scattered periods of short duration.
The accuracy of certain of these records may be questioned because of the poor locations of the thermometer and rain gauge.
The climate of Loreto, the depart-ment from which most of the Peruvian mahogany comes, may be considered the Rainy Tropical (Afwi after Koppen).
The temperature is continuously warm; the warmest month (November) aver-
scattered periods of short duration. The accuracy of certain of these records may be questioned because of the poor locations of the thermometer and rain gauge.

Note that the names for the seasons do not correspond to the actual temperature seasons nor to the position of the sun, but to cloud cover and sensible temperatures. No month is ordinarily rainless but August is usually the driest month. In 1941 the August precipita-tion was 1.3 inches, but in 1942 it was 5.2 inches.

The prevailing wind is from the east but it rarely blows with a high velocity.

Aguascaliente, a small port on the Pachitea River. Much of the gasoline and lubricat-ing oil used in Eastern Peru is produced by the Anzo Azul Oil Company whose refinery is near the right side of the picture. The great height of the forest may be seen along the roadways and clearings. ages 80 degrees F.; the coolest (June) is 77 degrees F. The heat is not overly oppressive. The highest recorded tem-perature is 95 degrees F., and the lowest 62 degrees F. The annual range of temperature is so small that differences between the mean temperatures of the same month in successive years is apt to be larger than the annual range. For example: May in 1941 had a mean temperature of 84 degrees F., in 1943 it was 76 degrees F., almost three times the mean annual range.

The annual precipitation ranges considerably above and below 100 inches. The year is divided into a rainy and a less rainy season. The period from November through April is the rainy season or "invierno" (winter), the period from May to the end of October the less rainy or "verano" (summer). ages 80 degrees F.; the coolest (June) is 77 degrees F. The heat is not overly oppressive.

[Jim King]

Second part

The sky is covered with cloud for at least a part of every day and the existence of a continuous overcast for several days, perhaps accompanying a tropical low pressure area, is more frequent than commonly supposed. Although the mahogany tree is able to survive periods of overflow it does not grow on the low-lying areas that are submerged for several months. Mahogany is a tropical lowland tree but it is significant that the logs from the Pachitea River, which drains land higher than the other rivers, are of the best quality reaching Iquitos
. Mahogany responds to soil differences on plantations, but how much the size of the wild tree is due to soils and how much to drainage, slope, exposure, and competition cannot be definitely stated.

DISTRIBUTION OF MAHOGANY
More than one-half or approximately 400,000 square miles of Peru's total area of 659,000 square miles is forested
Most of this is tropical lowland; all of it is located east of the main ranges of the Andes on the steep-sided foothills and the broad, flat to undulating plain of the upper Amazon and its tributaries. Even though this vast area has been traversed time and again, little of a quantitative character is known of its forest resources. After completing a brief survey of the forest resources of Peru in 1943, Cox concluded that the range of mahogany is great in the "montafia" although its density varies from place to place. In some areas there may be one or more mahogany trees to the acre but more often they are a mile or more apart. No accurate inventory has been taken of where the best trees are located nor how great is the reserve. The result is that some areas have been intensively exploited to the point of exhaustion, others skimmed and abandoned and no doubt other rich stands are still untouched.
The distribution of exploited areas is widely scattered, both between operators and within the zone of one operator. Some rivers produce no logs. Whether this is because operations have not been extended to them, or there are too few trees, is not always known. The rivers supplying the greatest number of logs to the mills at Iquitos, in their decreasing order of importance, are the Ucayali, Huallaga, Marafin, Pachitea, Tapiche, and Nanay. However the rivers supplying the best logs in the order of their excellence are the Pachitea, Marafin, Nanay, Ucayali, Huallaga, and Tapiche.
It is claimed that the finest area of caoba, as well as rubber, occurs in the Department of Madre de Dios in the southeast of Peru. This is a part of the Acre region which Peru shares with Brazil and Bolivia. At present there is no cutting of mahogany there. The exploited to the point of exhaustion, others skimmed and abandoned and no doubt other rich stands are still untouched.

Isolated Indian hut on a low terrace above the level of high water on the Upper Marafin . Some conception of the diverse speciesfound in the tropical forest may egained from this as well as Figure.
.
METHODS OF EXPLOITATION
There is a distinct division of labor between the production of logs and the production of lumber. The logs coming to Iquitos are usually cut by independent loggers and offered for sale when they reach the city. Although there is no open competitive bidding for the log region is a part of the watershed of the Rio Madeira and is tributary to Brazil.
The population is sparse, the largest agglomeration, Puerto Maldonado, has only 600 people and the entire Department slightly more than 5,000, nearly all of whom are Indians only partially aware of political boundaries. Here the only use of mahogany is for firewood and local construction.

The Compania Maderera Loretana lumber mill and storage sheds. Some of the logsin the boom have come to rest on the bank since the river level has dropped about eight feet below the high point reached on May 19. . View slightly upstream toward the southwest. rafts at that time, the operator, unless bound by contract, sells to the mill of his choice. If he is dissatisfied with the classification or measurement of his logs he may float his next raft to the other mill. Recently, because of the shortage of logs the mills have been offering contracts to the producers. The logger receives financial aid from the mill company, the company can expect



This seasons' cut to be delivered to it. This practice benefits the saw mill in that a more certain log supply may be assured through controls they have on the borrower. The logger is benefited by the capital he has available to begin operations, but such a system often keeps him in debt and obligated to the lender.

Although some mahogany is cut during every month, there is a definite cutting season. This usually begins during the less rainy period in August or September. The logger buys the right to cut mahogany, either from the his seasons' cut to be delivered to it. This practice benefits the saw mill in that a more certain log supply may be assured through controls they have on the borrower. The logger is benefited by the capital he has available to begin operations, but such a system often keeps him in debt and obligated to the lender.

ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY
holder of a land title, or from the Government Forest Service if on public lands. Only the logger and his crew of men may operate in the area arranged for. One of the crew, known as a "cruiser," surveys the area and locates the trees to be cut. He may do this from a tall tree but more commonly it is done by chopping a trail through the forest. This forest dweller has an uncanny sense of identification and can recognize a mahogany tree from as far as he can see it. A possible future development will be the location of the best stands of mahogany from the air as has been done with limited success in the case of rubber.

The axe men follow the cruiser. They clear an area around the tree, fell it, and cut a trail wide enough to roll the logs to the nearest stream. The tree is usually chopped and sawed from a platform eight to 12 feet high to avoid the buttressed base. The trunks are cut into lengths from eight to 20 feet long,

. Only the logger and his crew of men may operate in the area arranged for.

Yurimaguas, the second largest city of the Peruvian montafia. Located on the left bank of the Rio Huallaga. View toward the west.
depending upon their diameters and the nature of the terrain over which the log must be rolled. The logs may be rounded with axes so they may be rolled more easily. Each year the percentage of rounded logs increases as the loggers go farther inland.

It is the opinion of loggers that trees, because of sap conditions, should not be cut from five to seven days after new moon. It is believed that pin-worm, the only serious pest in the industry, is certain to develop in logs cut during the dark of the moon. There is no scientific evidence that such is the case but cutting operations are usually suspended at this time. The weeks vacation thus provided may have something to do with perpetuating this practice.

The determining factors in choosing trees to be cut are size and soundness. Because unsound logs bring almost nothing at the mill, very few logs below first class are sent downstream. Most of the trees that are cut average about three feet in diameter at the sawing height, though logs as large as 96 inches in diameter have reached Iquitos. It is difficult to determine the trees' age because of the absence of annual rings, but mill operators estimate the 36 inch logs to be from 60 to 100 years old. Trees grow most rapidly during their early life; in a fast growing area the minimum sized tree that may be legally cut (18 inches) might be only 20 years old. The very large trees are usually avoided because if they are overmature the heartwood is soft textured.
The Peruvian government has adopted a reforestation program which obliges the logger to replant two trees for every one he cuts. However, the Forestry Service find it very difficult to enforce this law.
During the cutting season each small group of men is essentially isolated in the forest . They are out of contact with their village homes so that all provisions and supplies must be carried with them or delivered at specified intervals during the several months of the logging season. After the start of the rainy season, but before

MAHOGANY INDUSTRY OF PERU
When the small streams reach their crest, the logs are rolled by manpower to the stream banks to await the flood which will float them downstream to a collect-ing point where they will be made up into rafts for the trip to the mill.

TRANSPORTATION
Since there are no land routes of transportation in the "montafia," every-thing connected with the mahogany business moves by water. In an emergency a band saw blade or repair part may come by air, but the raw materials as well as the processed lumber constitute a one-way traffic down the river .
Single logs are collected downstream at a point convenient to the cutting area in the early part of the rainy season. Here they are made up into "balsas" or rafts for their trip to Iquitos. These rafts are formed by lashing together with vines ten or more logs side by side. Two such rafts are then securely fastened together end to end. Before the raft is finally sent on its way two or more units may be tied together to form a train-like procession. Such a master raft would contain from 40 to 100 logs and be from 25 to 40 feet wide and from 60 to 150 feet long. If the logs are fairly green, balsa wood or other light-weight logs, are made up in the raft to give buoyancy.
Temporary living quarters are set up on a roofed platform built at one end of the raft. Several men may cook, eat, and sleep on this raft for weeks. The largest rafts are pulled, or rather controlled by a tug whereas the smaller ones are manually guided. At times this requires vigorous paddling to clear the mud bars and to keep in the main channel. The trip from the Rio Pachitea may take from four to six weeks. Log runs are timed to reach Iquitos at or shortly after the river starts to fall, the small streams reach their crest, the logs are rolled by manpower to the stream banks to await the flood which will float them downstream to a collecting point where they will be made up into rafts for the trip to the mill. from May to August, though small lots of logs arrive during the other months. One of the reasons for the choice of the Iquitos area for mill sites by the two lumber companies was because of its strategic location. All major rivers of Peru, except the Napo and the two rivers that form the northern and eastern boundaries of the country, the Javari and Putumayo, join the Amazon at or above the city. Nearly all the mahogany cut on rivers emptying into the Amazon below the mouth of the Rio Nanay goes to Manaus, Brazil as logs, as it is very difficult to tow a log raft upstream against the current. Occasionally a small raft is brought up from the mouth of the Napo River. The mills are both downstream from Iquitos, close enough, however, to make use of the city's labor supply. The Compania Maderera Loretana, managed by E. C. Drewry, an Englishman, is located three miles below Iquitos on the west or left bank of the Amazon. The Astoria Importing and Manufacturing Company mill man-aged by Edward Hartman, a North American, is seven miles below Iquitos on the left bank at the junction of the Nanay and Amazon rivers.

BUYING LOGS
When the rafts of logs arrive at Iquitos they are fastened with vines and cables to trees on the bank-side. Because of the swift current of the stream, it is necessary to store the logs upstream from the mills. Within a few days the rafts are cut apart and measured by employees of the mill. The logs at Loretana are inspected first by rolling the log, then by forcing one end and then the other out of the water by having three or four men climb on the opposite end. Later, logs are floated to a cable encircled boom to await sawing. Astoria has a wood-fired from May to August, though small lots of logs arrive during the other months.

ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY
Using a steam derrick to lift the log out of the river for grading and measuring, then it dumps the log into a small pond from which it is pulled by cable car up to the mill.
Logs are graded by quality into first, second, and third classes, most of them being first class. The price of a log is based on the number of board feet, each first class log averaging somewhat over 700 feet.
After the logs have been graded, measured, and floated into the cable-enclosed log booms, nearly one year's supply of logs are on hand at the end of the high water season in June or July. These booms are attached to trees along the shore and must be constantly tended while the river is high in the event a cable should weaken. While the boom is being filled, all the logs are floating but as the river level drops, as much as 36 feet, most of the logs eventually come to rest on the river bank. As the sawing season progresses, the logs, one at a time, are rolled into the water and floated to the tracked carrier on which they are elevated to the mill by means of a cable and drum.

MILLING
Since the mills have not been estab-lished long, their equipment is fairly modern. The buildings are constructed of unplaned cedro lumber and roofed with corrugated iron
The sides are open to allow free circulation of air.
Most of the sawing equipment is of American manufacture. All sawing of logs is done with band saws which save approximately one inch of lumber every five cuts. The lumber dimensions are full measure in that one inch boards plane down to one inch in thickness. Each mill has two or more saws, the largest one accommodates logs with diameters up to 72 inches. In addition to band saws both mills have other steam derrick to lift the log out of the river for grading and measuring, then it dumps the log into a small pond from which it is pulled by cable car up to the mill.
Logs are graded by quality into first, second, and third classes, most of them being first class. The price of a log is based on the number of board feet, each first class log averaging somewhat over 700 feet.

Aguarana Indians living near the Rio Marinon above the Pongo de Manseriche. These are characteristic of the native laborers in the less accessible parts of eastern Peru.
The mahogany for export is not planed. Power for the Astoria mill is supplied by woodfired boilers which operate a reciprocating steam engine.
All machinery is powered by belts from overhead shafts. Loretana is completely electrified with each machine powered by a separate motor.
Logs are first squared on the band saw and turned from time to time so that lumber is cut from all four sides
Because of this a variety of dimensions is obtained from each log. After the edges of the boards are squared they are sorted and stood on end to dry for two weeks . The lumber is then stacked with small blocks between each board to allow air circulation. It remains in these piles from a few days to two or more years depending upon the market and transportation; in recent years lack of transportation has been the critical factor. Lumber at Loretana is seasoned inside sheds,whereas Astoria stores nearly all its lumber out-of-doors. The mills operate at capacity for only short periods of time. The potential annual capacity of the Astoria mill is about 5,000,000 board feet and the Loretana about 2,000,000 board feet, equipmentfor edging and planing lumber. The mahogany for export is not
planed. Power for the Astoria mill is supplied by woodfired boilers which operate a reciprocating steam engine. All machinery is powered by belts from
overhead shafts.
the Astoria mill is about 5,000,000 board feet and the Loretana about 2,000,000 board feet, equipment for edging and planing lum-ber. The mahogany for export is not planed. Power for the Astoria mill is supplied by woodfired boilers which operate a reciprocating steam engine. All machinery is powered by belts from overhead shafts. Loretana is completelyelectrified with each machine powered by a separate motor. Logs are first squared on the band saw and turned from time to time so that lumber is cutfrom all four sides . Because of this a variety of dimensions is obtained from each log. After the edges of the boards are squared they are sorted and stood on end to dry for
two weeks . The lumber is then stacked with small blocks between each board to allow air circulation. It remains in these piles from a few days to two or more years depending upon the market and transportation; in recent years lack of transportation has been the critical factor. Lumber at Loretana is seasoned inside sheds, whereas Astoria stores nearly all its lumber out-of-doors. The mills operate at capacity for only short periods of time.

MARKETING MAHOGANY
Nearly all of the mahogany lumber is exported from the country. Although cedro is shipped by way of the Amazon but shortages of logs as well as technical and unskilled labor, and breakdowns usually reduce the output to less thanone-half capacity. Iquitos exported 2,500,000 feet of mahogany in 1939.



No Peruvian mahogany ordinarily reaches Lima. The demand for mahogany there is supplied by im-ports of logs from Central America. Nearly all the Amazonian mahogany s marketed in the United States which normally imports from 80 to 90 per cent of the world's total cut. At the present time first grade mahogany is classed asastrategic war material and only conumers with top priorities may buy it. Most of it goes into boat and airplane construction, and pattern making. In peace times the furniture trade, fab-ricators of decorative interior woodwork, and boat builders buy the major part of the supply.




LABOR SUPPLY
In common with other commercial enterprises of the Amazon, the mahogany industry must compete in a deficient labor market. Even though the warslightly greater than that of Cuban or Spanish mahogany. The other mahoganies tested, swelled and shrunk from
three-tenths of one per cent to five and eight-tenths per cent more. In tests of bending,compression and shearing strength, Peruvian mahogany excelled all others, butin hardness it was sur-passed by Cuban mahogany. Although the market for mahogany was undersupplied in 1943, the Astoria mill had over 3,000,000 board feet
of clear, first grade mahogany stacked about the mill because of a shortage of shipping space. No ocean-going freighters had called at Iquitos in nearly a yearThe well conducted census of 1940 ounted 181,341 people in the Departnlent of Loreto and estimated that 140,000 more lived in the forests and along smaller rivers where no accurate census was made. Most of the counted people live along the banks of the Amazon, Ucayali, Huallaga, and Marinon rivers . This obviously limited supply of labor
produces the rubber, leche caspi, balata and other gums, barbasco, cotton, coffee, taguanuts, various fruits, medicinal plants, vegetable oils, plant fibers, and hides and skins of the "montafia." Moreover, due to the primitive organization of the region, it is necessary that most families produce much of their food supply. This is done by collecting, hunting, and fishing, and the cropping of small clearings which requires more man-hours to provide the daily needs of the family than would be required by
specialized agriculturalists. Very little of the potential supplies of labor in the towns such as Iquitos (34,231) or Yurimaguas (5,000) is avail-able to employers in the up-river areas of the "montaiia" because of actual and fancied dangers to life there . The higher pay that is now offered for work in the forest is countered by higher wages in the towns. Before 1941 the usual rate of pay for unskilled labor was about $.32 a day but by late 1943 this had risen to $1.00 or $1.50
.
A contributing cause to the shortage of labor is the poor health of the average worker which in turn is partly due to an time demand for mahogany greatly advanced the price of lumber, neither mill has increased production, one of them actually produced less in 1943 than 1942 because of a shortage of logs, breakdowns, inability to replace worn-
out equipment and difficulty in main-taining a full crew of labor.

Bsics are derived from monkeys and birds shot in the forest and fish caught in the rivers. Because of an inadequate diet and the prevalence of infections, a very large
proportion of the population suffers more or less constantly with intestinal parasites and skin infections. In addition, certain regions are notorious for their high incidence of malaria, beri-beri, leprosy, and yellow fever: the latter has been nearly eliminated. Other
disorders such as grippe or influenza, dysentery and a neuralgic condition may strike large numbers at any time in any area. The people of Iquitos enjoy a state of health probably better than the people in most of the smaller towns and scattered rural areas. This is not due to a safe water supply nor to an adequate sewerage disposal system. To date Iquitos has neither, although projects to provide these are partially completed. The wages of workers in the mills, even though they have increased, have not kept up with the higher costs of living. It was claimed that by August 1943, even though wages had more than doubled, the cost of food had quadrupled. Food accounts for a large part of the budget of a family whose income is less than one dollar a day. One-half or more of the laborers at the mills live on small plots of ground within a short distance of the mill where inadequate diet. The only foods that are always available are "yuca" (mandioca) and "platanos" (cooking bananas). Both of these are high in starches and low in the fortifying food elements. Nevertheless many urban dwellers, and even rural people as well, eat nothing else for considerable periods of time. When this diet is enriched, or varied, it is usually done by supplementing it with rice and farinha (yuca flour). Meat is scarce and too expensive for many urban fanmilies,their meat supply is derived from monkeys and birds shot in the forest and fish caught in the rivers. Because of an inadequate diet and the prevalence of infections, a very large proportion of the population suffers more or less constantly with intestinal parasites and skin infections. In addition, certain regions are notorious for their high incidence of malaria, beri-beri, leprosy, and yellow fever: the latter has been nearly eliminated. Other disorders such asgrippe or influenza, dysentery and a neuralgic condition may strike large numbers at any time in any area. The people of Iquitos enjoy a state of health probably betterthanthe people in most of the smaller towns and scattered rural areas. This is not due to a safe water supply nor to an adequate sewerage disposal system. To date Iquitos has neither, although projects to provide these are partially completed. The wages of workers in the mills, even though they have increased, have not kept up with the higher osts of living. It was claimed that by August 1943, even though wages had more than doubled, the cost of food had quadis less than one dollar a day. One-half or more of the laborers at the mills live on small plots of ground within a short distance of the mill where inadequate diet. The only foods that are always available are "yuca" (man-
dioca) and "platanos" (cooking bananas).Both of these are high in starches and low in the fortifying food elements. Nevertheless many urban dwellers, and even rural people as well, eat nothing else for considerable periods of time. When this diet is enriched, or
varied, it is usually done by supplementing it with rice and farinha (yuca flour).

In the regions where mahogany grows it does not hold a high place. Its weight and hardness are handicaps which favor the use of lighter and softer woods for
construction; and where a highly finished article is desired other woods such as
"palo de sangre" (rosewood) are harder, and have a richer color. Peruvian mahogany is golden-brown when dry, but when freshly cut it has they may supplement their wages by producing a part of their own food . Fifteen or 20 employees of Astoria live in Iquitos and travel to and from work on a company boat.

Due to mahogany's color, grain, and hardness, it has long been a premier cabinet wood. However its ease of work-ing, its strength, and its adaptability for veneers have added greatly to its utility. In the regions where mahogany grows it does not hold a high place. Its weight and hardness are handicaps which favor the use of lighter and softer woods for construction; and where a highly finished article is desired other woods such as
"palo de sangre" (rosewood) are harder, and have a richer color. Peruvian mahogany is golden-brown when dry, but when freshly cut it has a yellowish to salmon pink color. Its appearance is totally unlike the arti-ficially dark red finish typical of mahogany furniture of the last century. Since Peru exports no logs and there is no cutting of veneer in Iquitos, all Amazonian mahogany from Peru used in the U.S.A. is lumber and not veneer. The principal demand at present is for straight-grain mahogany lumber for use in naval and aircraft construction (PT boats, propellors). Such lumber comes only from straight clear logs. Here mahogany's advantage is not in its beauty but in its strength vs. bulk, and its resistance to swell, shrink, and warp. Although only grade one select mahogany is permitted to come into the United States from the Amazon for use in construction of boats, air-planes, model and pattern making, instruments and instrument cases, the second grade common lumber will be used to good advantage by furniture a yellowish to salmon pink color. Its appearance is totally unlike the artificially dark red finish typical of mahogany furniture of the last century .It is resistant to rot, mould, and other organisms of decay. It is particularly adaptable for use in the tropics where termites and other organisms quickly destroy many other woods, it dries quickly and without waste in kilns, takes and holds finishes well.
The postwar demand for mahogany for furniture and woodwork will be due to the above qualities plus the decora-tive effect of the figure and grain of parts of the tree now unused.

SUBSIDIARY CONSIDERATIONS
An industry which originated as a by-product of the lumber mill at Loretana is the electric power plant for the city of Iquitos. The power plant was originally fired with scrap and waste from the mill but further enlargement has so increased its requirements for fuel that the mill furnishes only a minor part now. The power plant is, however, conveniently located to its present main source of wood. The Rio Nanay approaches within 200 yards of the Amazon so that a narrow gauge track has been built from the power plant to the Nanay. The labor supply for wood cutting on the Rio Nanay has been so uncertain that postwar plans call for installation of oil burning equipment in spite of the wealth of wood in the immediate vicinity. In 1943 there was rarely more than three or four days supply on hand at any time.
In addition to mahogany both mills cut large quantities of "cedro" or Spanish cedar. This is the most widely used constructional lumber in eastern Peru. It is a curious fact that prac-tically no mahogany is shipped to western Peru but nearly all the cedar is. The Astoria Importing and Manu-facturing Company, as its name implies, has an interest in eastern Peru beyond the cutting of lumber. Besides contract-ing for logs and advancing money for them, the company is interested in the promotion of a number of other Ama-zonian products. Among these are Hevea and caucho rubber, barbasco, cinchona bark, a palm nut resembling the Brazilian babassu, tagua nuts, leche caspi, balata, and various skins.
The mahogany plantation at Loretana has 7,000 trees from four to 11 years old (Figure 13). Astoria has approx-imately the same number planted at a later date. So far no disease has mani-fested itself among these closely spaced mahogany trees. In their widely scat-tered locations in the forest the trees have few biological enemies but in the is the electric power plant for the city of Iquitos. The power plant was originally fired with scrap and waste from the mill but further enlargement has so increased its requirements for fuel that the mill furnishes only a minor part now. The power plant is, however, conveniently located to its present main source of wood. The Rio Nanay approaches within 200 yards of the Amazon so that a narrow gauge track has been built from the power plant to the Nanay. The labor supply for wood cutting on the Rio Nanay has been so uncertain that postwar plans call for installation of oil burning equipment in spite of the wealth of wood in the immediate vicinity. In 1943 there was rarely more than three or four days supply on hand at any time. In addition to mahogany both mills cut large quantities of "cedro" or Spanish cedar. This is the most widely used constructional lumber in eastern Peru. It is a curious fact that prac-tically no mahogany is shipped to western Peru but nearly all the cedar is.
The Astoria Importing and Manu-facturing Company, as its name implies, has an interest in eastern Peru beyond the cutting of lumber. Besides contract-ing for logs and advancing money for them, the company is interested in the promotion of a number of other Amazonian products. Among these are Hevea and caucho rubber, barbasco, cinchona bark, a palm nut resembling the Brazilian babassu, tagua nuts, leche caspi, balata, and various skins.


A view of the mahogany plantation at Loretana. These trees are seven yearsold. The land is kept clear for the first years y raising food crops. Thereafter the onlyattention given is the chopping out of under-growth once or twice a year. close contact of a plantation blights and other enemies might be expected to
appear.
FUTURE
Although the mahogany industry of Peru is a relatively new one, the easily .A view of the mahogany plantation at Loretana. These trees are seven year sold. The land is kept clear for the first years by raising food crops. Thereafter the onlyattention given is the chopping out of under-growth once or twice a year. close contact of a plantation blights and other enemies might be expected to appear.

Although the mahogany industry of Peru is a relatively new one, the easily available logs of the most accessible rivers have already been exploited. In the future, loggers will have to go farther from the streams and operate on minor water bodies. Up to the present and for some time into the future, if short-ages hinder lumber production it will likely be due to a shortage of labor in the cutting areas.
Because of the favorable growing conditions on the Amazon and the scattered occurrence of mahogany, young trees are ordinarily not disturbed when an area is worked over, in this way mature mahogany trees from pre-viously exploited areas might be cut every ten or twenty years.
It is the opinion of some that the greatest hope for the future of mahogany in Peru lies in the enlargement of plantations such as those started by the two lumber mills, where from ten to fifteen thousand trees are now growing.
These trees have grown to heights of 25 feet in ten years and should reach maturity in about 40 years. If the mills are then operating at approximately the same capacity as now, the area already planted might provide a three to a six year supply of logs. available logs of the most accessible rivers have already been exploited. In the future, loggers will have to go farther from the streams and operate on minor water bodies. Up to the present and for some time into the future, if short-ages hinder lumber production it will likely be due to a shortage of labor in the cutting areas.
Because of the favorable growing conditions on the Amazon and the scattered occurrence of mahogany, young trees are ordinarily not disturbed when an area is worked over, in this way mature mahogany trees from pre-viously exploited areas might be cut every ten or twenty years.
It is the opinion of some that the greatest hope for the future of mahogany in Peru lies in the enlargement of plantations such as those started by the two lumber mills, where from ten to fifteen thousand trees are now growing.

It is the opinion of some that the greatest hope for the future of mahogany in Peru lies in the enlargement of plantations such as those started by the two lumber mills, where from ten to fifteen thousand trees are now growing.
These trees have grown to heights of 25 feet in ten years and should reach maturity in about 40 years. If the mills are then operating at approximately the same capacity as now, the area already planted might provide a three to a six year supply of logs. available logs of the most accessible rivers have already been exploited. In the future, loggers will have to go farther from the streams and operate on minor water bodies. Up to the present and for some time into the future, if short-ages hinder lumber production it will likely be due to a shortage of labor in the cutting areas.

[Greg Cole]

Good Sunday morning read with a cup of joe....

Good stuff Jim, keep digging in those smelly files.

Cheers.
Greg

[Jim King]

Here are some photos of the land survey we did Friday and Saturday. We came across the old and totallt rotted factory where they used to make the rubber bales for shipment to the States and Europe and the factory where the scents were extracted for perfume base that was sent to France. The photos that look like they are from the Raiders of the Lost Ark are of a chimney and the entrance to the factory.

The photo on the left is the school on the company propeety which we will inherit. The second photo is one of the surveyers painting a post to plant at one of the original commpass coordinates. The third is measuring thr coordinates of the original map. The last two are of the rubber and essence factory that provided rubber for Henry Ford and essence for Chanell No. 5.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/30/in...ood.html?8hpib

This Rosewood has its name only due to its strong fragrance and nothing to do with the Dalbergias or true rose woods. It is a very plain cream colored wood and when being cut in a mill you can smell it hundreds of yards away.