3S2 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS 



November 28, 1908.. 



THE MAHOGANY AND ITS SUBSTITUTES. 



Mahogany tirnlter has always been reganled as one 

 of the most valuable and useful among the products of 

 the tropical forest. The general mahogany of.«ommerce 

 is the produce of the tree Swictenia Mahagcmi, so well 

 hnown in the West Indian Islands. This tree is 

 indigenous to the West Indies, to the mainland of 

 Central America, and to the West Coast of Africa. It 

 belongs to the natural order Meliaocae, which also 

 includes several other trees, the woods of which are 

 often used as substitutes for the produce oi Sirictenia 

 Mdliagonl. The history and charactei'istics of the 

 various mahogany trees and the tiinljers yielded by 

 them lately formed the subject of two ai'ticles appear- 

 ing in successive numbers of the JonriKil of the Royal 

 Society of Arts. From those articles the particulars 

 given below have been abstracted : — 



The fii'st nifiitioii of mahogany in ]-']uropean book.'; occurs 

 shortly after the discovery of America, from which it is evident 

 that the value of the timber early attracted attention. 

 Sir Walter lialeigh used the wood in L^>97 for repairing his 

 ships at Trinidad. Some doubt occurs as to the date of the 

 fir.st introduction of mahogany into ]ingland, but, according to 

 the he.st accounts, it became an article of commerce in that 

 country about 1724. ' Spanish mahogany,' which forms the 

 most superior kinds of these timber.-, is the produce of Cuba, 

 Hayti, and San Domingo, and these kinds have a prestige over 

 all others on the European market. A good deal of mahogany 

 is imported into Great Britain from British Hondura.s ; this u 

 fre<piently known as 'bay-wood' (an abbreviation of 

 ' Honduras baj' 'K 



The precise [leriod which a mahogany tree takes to 

 attain full growth is not accurately known, l)ut it is estimated 

 that the time to arrive at maturity is probably not les.; tluin 

 20() yeais. When full-grown, the truidc is not irifrequently 

 SO feet in height, with a diameter of 12 feet. 



The bark of Sirietciiia J/ahni/oni po.ssesses the iir(i[ierlies 

 of a febrifuge, while it is mentioned that the |)owdered seeds 

 formed the basis of a cosmetic which was famous tlu'oughout 

 tro|ii(al Anici'ica for centuries. 



Ln liritish Hondura.s, the season for wood-cutting in the 

 mahogany forests commences about August, felling contin- 

 Ties till March, when the dry season has well set in, and the 

 ground is hard. Hauling the timbe)- to water-ways goes 

 on through March and .\|iiil, and with the arrival of the 

 rainy season in May and .lunc, tlir logs are f1oate<l down ti- 

 the j>ort of shipment. In Cuba the logs arc cut throughout 

 the yejir, but more particularly from October to June. 



The authors of the articles in the Juiirnn/s leferred to 

 j^iM- a list of trees, the woods of which frecpiently .serve as 

 ■substitutes for mahogany. ."Xs already mentioned, these trees 

 all belong to tlie Meliaceae. They are found growing in 

 various parts of India or in West Africa. 



Cedrc/a Tooiiri is an evergreen forest tree, the home of 

 wliieh extends to Western India, to Eastern J5engal, and far 

 into Burmah. The wood of this tree is red, and forms 

 a tindier which is stated to be in no way inferior to that of 

 Hiricti'iiiii Mdliiniiiiii English names for this tindjer are 

 'East Indian Mahogany,' 'Bastard Cellar,' etc. Its bark 

 also possesses febrifugic properties, and its tlowers are used 

 for preparing a red dye. 



Another 'mahogany,' is the tree Sn iclriiin /il>iit'ii;iii, 

 Ito.vburgh, a native of Western and Central India, in which 

 country it attains enormous dimensions. It yields a bright 



red, hard and durable wood, known in England as ' Indian 

 Red Wood,' 'Ited Cedar,' etc. This tree has a bitter bark. 



Sii'ieteniii Cliloro.i-t/hj», Roxburgh, is a small deciduous- 

 forest tree of Western India, with a hard, durable, yellow wood 

 of fine grain, and an e.xipiisite satin-like lustre, from whi'-li it' 

 takes it!; Englisli name of Satin Wood. 



The African mahogany is the produce of Kliai/a si'iici/a/en- 

 •<(.<. Although this tree belongs to a different g>^'nus, timber' 

 merchants in England regard the best African .shipments a.-* 

 being essentially the .same as the mahogany from Central 

 America, especially in structure and fibre. 



Sii'iefenid CAickra^i, Roxburgh, a lofty forest tree of^ 

 Western India, Eastern Bengal, and Burmah, yields a beauti- 

 fully veined, close-grained heart wood, whicli is as lustrous as 

 satin wood and greatly prized by cabinet makers. The bark 

 of this tree possesses astringent properties, while its tlowers- 

 are u.sed for dyeing red and yellow. 



Other ' mahogonies ' are Mdia Atddintclifn, Linn., an 

 Indian forest tree of fine proportion.*, and .]fc/i(i A'.edmurli, 

 Linn. The latter is found in the West Indies, where it is 

 know^n as the ' Barbados lilac/ and in some places as the- 

 ' China berry. ' 



AGKICULTURAL CO-OPERATION MOVE- 

 MENT IN GREAT BRITAIN. 



A movement has recently been set on foot in Great 

 Britain with the object of establishing a general system 

 of co-operation aiuoiig farmers throughout England, 

 Scotland, and Irel;u;d. Sir Horace Plunkett, Chairman 

 of the Joint Boani !or Co-operative Agricidtural Trade, 

 and formerly Vice-President of the Irish Department of 

 Agriculture and Technical Ijstruction, which has done 

 so much to develop co-operation in Ireland, has issued 

 a mecnorandum setting forth the scojk' and purpose of 

 this board. 



The three main directions, indicateil by the memorandum 

 in which agricultural co-operation is to be advanced, are : — 



1. The oiganization of farmers is to be brought to 

 a higher level of business efficiency by the exchange of 

 ex|>eriences between the three Organization Societies of 

 England, Scotland, and Ireland respectively. 



2. The co-o[)erative agi icultural trade is to be developed 

 by joint action between the organized fanners of the tiaet- 

 countries, and 



.'{. itegarding the agricultural interest as a wliok.', the 

 new machinery which is to be established for these two- 

 purposes will be used, as the o|>portunity pre.scnt.s itself, for 

 advancing and i)roteeting the interests of the agricultural 

 clas.ses in relation to goveriunent. 



Continuing his remarks in the nieinorandnm, Sir Horace- 

 Plunkett states that the nn)vement will be primarily and 

 essentially practical in its aims : and the matters in which 

 joint action may usefully a;lvance agricnilnial co-opciative 

 trade fall into three main tli\isions : — 



1. The accpiisition ot farmers' supi)lies of the best 

 quality at the lowest price. 



2. The marketing of agricultujal [irodui-e in the mo.-<t 

 economical manner. 



3. The interchange of certain luobuts between the 

 branches. 



The memorandum also deals with the development in 

 relation to government, the value of organization being 

 insisted upon as a means of strengthening the position and 

 intlneiu-e of the agricultural interest in its relation to local 

 adnunistration and government. 



