724 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



actually suitable as substitutes. At one 

 time the American birch was often 

 palmed off upon the unsuspecting pur- 

 chaser. This wood, however, is only 

 likely to be mistaken for mahogany 

 after it has been carefully stained and 

 polished. Other native woods occa- 

 sionally substituted are cherry, moun- 

 tain mahogany, Cercocarpus ledifolius 

 Nutt., and loblolly bay, Gordonia lasi- 

 anthus (Linn.) Ellis. Importers have 

 tried to palm off a great many other 

 woods from all over the world. Among 

 them are several species of Cedrela, to 

 which belongs Spanish cedar, more 

 commonly known as cigar box cedar, 

 so easily recognized by its characteristic 

 odor. Although cedars are as a rule 

 somewhat lighter in weight than ma- 

 hogany, it is often difficult to tell them 

 apart, even for experts. Cedrela Ussilis 

 Veil., and Cedrela guianensis A. Juss., 

 from Central and South America, are 

 high-class woods. Cedrela toona Roxb., 

 from the Philippine Islands, Sumatra, 

 and southern Asia, is highly esteemed 

 as a wood suitable for furniture and 

 interior finish, and could be used in 

 place of mahogany with very little cause 

 for complaint on the part of purchasers. 

 There are other woods belonging to the 

 same family (Meliacese) as the true ma- 

 hogany, that resemble it even more than 

 those of the genus Cedrela. Three 

 African species generally known among 

 lumber dealers as African mahoganies 

 are Khaya senegalensis A. Juss., K. 

 grandiflora Stapf, and K. purchii Stapf, 

 which resemble the true mahogany so 

 closely that it often requires an expert 

 to tell them apart. Other genera of 

 this family, such as Triehilia, Gnarea, 

 Soymida, Entandrophragma, and Car- 

 apa, yield timbers that are difficult to 

 distinguish from the true mahogany. 

 These genera have representatives 

 growing in the tropics and a number of 

 them have been but little exploited. 



The timbers of several African spe- 

 cies of Triehilia and Guarea are now 

 extensively exported under the com- 

 prehensive trade names of African ce- 

 dar or African mahogany. There are 

 several species of Guarea in Central 



America which yield timber locally es- 

 teemed for purposes similar to that for 

 which mahogany is used. 



The wood of a number of species of 

 Euralyptus has been used in place of 

 mahogany, especially in the form of 

 veneer, for it can be handled most ad- 

 vantageously in this condition when it 

 is to be used for furniture. When the 

 woods of certain species of Eucalyptus 

 are carefully stained and highly pol- 

 ished they present a very pleasing ap- 

 pearance and resemble mahogany very 

 closely. 



From India, Burma, and the Philip- 

 pine Islands are imported the woods of 

 several species of Pteroearpus, which 

 are often called mahogany, and fre- 

 quently sold as such. These woods are 

 darker red, heavier, and coarser 

 grained than mahogan3\ and are less 

 likely to furnish suitable substitutes. 

 Probably the most recent attempt on the 

 part of an importer was to place on the 

 market a so-called Colombian mahog- 

 any, botanically known as Cariniania 

 pyriformis IMiers, a member of the or- 

 der Leeythidacece. Although this wood 

 possesses characters almost exactly like 

 those of true mahogany, the two spe- 

 cies are not closely related, but belong 

 to two entirely different families. 



The wood known as Coccobola, com- 

 monly used for making knife handles, 

 is obtained from one or more species 

 of the genus Lecythis imported from 

 Central America. The wood is now be- 

 coming scarce, but manufacturers have 

 become so accustomed to a wood of 

 this description that they are looking 

 for another kind with similar properties, 

 namely, a hard, dark red wood that may 

 be given a beautiful polish. There are 

 a number that would serve the purpose 

 equally as w^ell as Coccobola. Chief 

 among such substitutes may be men- 

 tioned several varieties of Eucalyptus, 

 Diospyros (ebony), Dalbergia (rose- 

 wood), Jacaranda, and Maehccrium 

 (known also as rosewoods), Ccrsalpiua 

 CBrazil) , Pteroearpus (variously known 

 as barwood, camwood, or santalwood). 



