ON THE CAUSES OF CRIME. 589 



Mahogany is a beautiful, close-grained wood, but is used not so 

 much on account of its strength, but more frequently because of its 

 non-liability to shrink, warp, or twist, and from the peculiar property 

 of taking a firm hold of glue. In the last respect it is superior to any 

 other wood. Mahogany differs greatly in regard to its closeness, hard- 

 ness, strength, and beauty. That from Honduras, called "bay-wood," 

 is much inferior to that called " Spanish " mahogany, which comes 

 from the West Indies ; the former is much used in the construction of 

 light textile machinery, but chiefly on account of its cheapness; and 

 the latter is used for furniture or for other ornamental purposes. As 

 regards strength, this wood is inferior to oak in all respects, and its 

 great characteristic defect is unsuitability for exposure to the weather, 

 or, indeed, for any purpose where it is made alternately wet and dry. 

 When so subjected, it rapidly decays, and loses all its good qualities. 



Oak, taken as a whole, is one of the strongest and most durable of 

 woods, and is especially adapted for exposure to the weather of a damp 

 climate, and is indeed suitable for almost every purpose where the 

 properties of strength, stiffness, and toughness, combined with endur- 

 ance, are required. Its value for ship-building is proverbial, and in its 

 employment for the staves of casks, for treenails, for carriage-wheels, 

 and for all such purposes requiring lightness and strength in combina- 

 tion, it is equally useful. From time immemorial it was esteemed the 

 best timber for heavy roofs, and the condition in which some of these 

 grand old roofs have reached our era fully attests the wisdom of the 

 selection. 



Oak is found of many degrees of quality, but probably none, taking 

 every property into account, is superior to that which grows in Eng- 

 land, and which is perhaps more durable than any other. Some of the 

 foreign oaks are as good in some respects, but, as a whole, English is 

 the best. 



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(M THE CAUSES OF CKIME. 1 



Br Ho. HORATIO SEYMOUE. 



THE name of this Association fails to give a full idea of its scope 

 and aims. In terms they seem to be limited to that class of men 

 who have brought themselves under the penalties of the law ; but the 

 moment we begin to study the character of criminals and the causes 

 of crime we find that we are forced back to a scrutiny of our social 

 system and of the weakness as well as the wickedness of our fellow- 

 men. It is because the subjects of pauperism and crime thus lead to 

 an analysis of human nature and to the consideration of social aspects 



1 Address before the National Prison Association at Baltimore. 



