Note 38 — Chapter XXII

The cebia, or wild cotton tree, is one of the most imposing of the forest’s monarchs. It grows rapidly, and to a great size. I have seen a single trunk seventy feet long, forty-four feet in circumference at one end, and thirty-seven at the other. The wood is lighter and less durable than pine, but it is worked easily. This tree is generally used for bongos or piraguas. It produces large pods, filled with a downy substance like floss silk, which is used in a variety of ways, for stuffing cushions, pillows, etc. It may, no doubt, be put to other economical purposes.