he futtock-timbers of all the galleons, galleys,
and pataches; and all the knees and compass-timbers, of all sizes
required. There is much of this timber from which to select, although,
because of the ships built by Don Juan de Silva, the supply of it is
now obtained from a distance. That wood is used only for this purpose,
for the tree is short and not straight. Capstans of one piece, gears,
and some stringer-plates [_trancaniles_] for the curved parts of
the prows of vessels and the snatch-cleats for the wales, are also
made from that wood. That said wood is very durable, and is of such
quality that once a nail is hammered into it, it is impossible to
withdraw it without breaking it; and when a nail is hammered into
that wood it does not hole or chip. If a ball be fired into it of
the size of eight libras or less, it does not pierce the wood; and
if the ball is large, the wood is not splintered. On the contrary,
the hole is stopped up at its entrance and egress with the chips
forced out by the ball in its passage. That wood is very light,
and has a very poor grain for working.

There is another wood called _arguijo_, [39] which is very strong
and heavy. It is a certain very tall and very straight tree, like the
pine. From it are made the keels, beams, false keels, wales, mast heads
[_calcetes_], and pumps, of whatever size required; for that tree, as
above stated, grows very tall and straight. Gun-stocks, gun-carriages,
and wheels for the artillery are also made from that wood.

There is another wood called _laguan_. [40] From it is made all
the planking and sheathing with which the galleons and galleys are
planked. From those trees are made the masts, topmasts, and yards
of the galleons and galleys. The said tree grows very straight and
thick, so that the flagship galleon has its mainmast from one, that
is seventy-two _codos_ [41] long and fifteen palmos in circumference,
all in one piece.

The sheathing and planking hewn from the above-named trees for the
sheathing of the ships is one palmo thick and three or four wide, and
the shortest is twelve brazas long. These planks last a long time under
water, as the ship-worms do not hole them; but above water they warp
and rot, so that they do not last more than two years--and especially
on the decks, if they are not calked during the winter. The greatest
danger is that, on account of the haste used in their construction,
time is not allowed to cut the wood at the conju