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July, 1918 crete ship construction plant will soon be designated and there is little doubt that it will be located in the Oakland estuary since the city of Oakland has cleared the title through the relin- quishment of all claims. Eight 7500- ton ships are to be built at this plant upon each of which the San Francisco Shipbuilding Co., builders of the first large concrete vessel in this country, the Fairu, will receive an engineering or superintending constractor’s fee of $30,000. The six plants engaged in steel con- struction are now in a position to launch an average of two 8800-ton vessels each ss SS << SS << HE most gigantic timber tree in tropical America is the mora, Dimorphandra mora, which finds its best development in British Guiana. There is not one of the North American CLOSE-UP VIEW OF TWO MORA BUTTRESSES hardwood forest trees that can be com- pared with it. Our large oaks wouid only seem like dwarfs if they were standing near one of these giants, the stems of which are overshadowed by beautiful dark-green foliage. The Indians call this tree the “chief of the forest” which appears to be an appro- priate name. It often attains a height of 150 feet and a diameter of 8 or 10 feet above the root swelling. One marked. feature about this tree is that TREES SHOWING week, it is said, and it is expected that this average will be increased before the end of the year. The first phase of the development of the shipbuilding industry in this district that of preparation has been passed. Payroll is Large More than $15,000,000 a month is _ being spent at San Francisco on_ ship- building and about 14 per cent of the total steel ship construction in the United States is being handled in Cali- fornia, according to Capt. A. F. Pills- bury of the Emergency Fleet corpora- tion. The 92 vessels being built in the in § By C. D. Mell LWW it develops enormous buttresses which are sometimes more than 20 feet through. It is difficult to form an idea of the mora forests. Unlike other South American trees this species often occurs in pure stands, and the growth of mora trees in some places is so dense that it is impos- sible to see the sky above them. The vision is lost in -ar NaS SOF leaves and dense shadows. A noted naturalist once said that the observer can behold in these forests only a laby- rinth of trees of enormous propor- tions, and that the dome of dense foliage darkens the atmosphere and renders it intolerable, heavy, and gloomy. Vines of great thickness entwine the trunks and grow to the highest treetops where they form an intricate woven network. ipbuil THE MARINE REVIEW 309 San Francisco bay district are said to represent about one-sixth of the 1918 program of the country. In all 200 ships have been allotted to California for construction out of a total of 1900. A recent innovation was the estab- lishment of a camouflage department at San Francisco and the OAKLAND, built for transport service, was the first vessel to receive the deceitful and grotesque adornment. Previously, ves- sels intended for Atlantic war zone service have been sent to Atlantic ports for camouflaging, involving considerable delay in the transportation of cargoes destined overseas. y @ Ing-- The wood varies from chestnut-brown to dark-red or red. It is hard, heavy, strong and tough and generally has a twist or waviness in the fiber, which im- parts to the polished boards cut from the logs a beautifully figured appear- ance, giving to them much additional value for special uses. As it takes a good polish, it is sometimes utilized as a substitute for rosewood or for the darker grades of true mahogany in cabinet making and is employed exten- sively for many purposes in the wood working arts. One of the most valuable properties of mora is its nonliability to splinter. It rivals oak in this respect; in fact it is one of the toughest woods known. Its outstanding merits are remarkable WHERE SHIP TIMBERS GROW—MORA FOREST IN BRITISH GUIANA durability, a particularly high breaking strain, exceptional strength, an average specific gravity of about 0.915 (approxi- mately 57 pounds per cubic foot), and a practically unlimited power of resisting the action of water. Mora contains an