Jasper County Democrat, Volume 21, Number 82, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 January 1919 — Lightest Known Wood. [ARTICLE]

Lightest Known Wood.

A consular report from Port Limon, Costa Rica, gives Interesting details concerning the trade of that region In balsa or corkwood (Ochroma), said to be the lightest of all known woods. It has long been used in tropical America for making canoes and a special type of raft, also known as balsa. It Is very poroua and a good insulator against heat apd cold, and the report above mentioned states that It would be valuable for airplane construction. The young trees are soft and very sensitive to Injury from vines. The trees are deciduous, the male tree being known as burillo and the female as balsa real. The shipment of balsa wood has apparently not assumed large proportions, owing to the difficulty of transporting it from Its native forests to the railway.