Proceedings. gr 



Mahogany is a native of Central America and tlie larger 



t^tri^Tr^r '■''' '''-' '^'^''^ '''^ '^'^'^'^'^^ 

 II and 23 N. There is a kmdred tree which grows in 



Afnca, and also one in India; but the wood in each case is 



n many respects of inferior quahty, though harder and more 



fiom Cuba, and is called Spanish Mahogany. In Jamaica it 

 has be ome scarce, from the districts near the coast havin. 

 been c eared, and the hiU-country being difficult of access: 

 It has been to a great extent cleared from the Bahamas. 



of lon^! ? '".[ *''t ^" '"' "^ '^' ^''^''' '^^ ^««t stately 

 of tiopical growth. Its trunk is not unfrequently 50 ft. in 



rm The 1 ' " ''''^'''\ '''-^^ '^'^ ^^^^^ -^ 

 and m the month of August they turn to an orange hue, of 

 which advantage IS taken by those who are in search of the 

 famber. The fruit is about the size and shape of a large 

 Victoria Plum, and contains numerous seeds arranged In 

 spiral form round a centre. These seeds are winged, and are 

 cairied by the wmd to a considerable distance. They readilv 

 take root in almost any soil. ^ ^ 



The tree will flourish in wet, marshy ground, or in rich 

 alluvia soil, or in a rocky country ; but the wood grown on a 

 wet soil IS lighter m colour and less close-grained than that 

 grown on alluvial soil, and that grown on alluvial soil is less 

 weighty and softer than that grown on rocky ground I 

 grows in dense forests, so that gangs of men are employ;d to 

 cut a path through the tangled undergrowth before the trees 

 can be reached. When felled and squared they are dragged 

 on wheels through roadways cut through the forest till some 

 stream is reached, where the logs await the tropical rains 

 of May and June to float them to the sea-coast Logs of 

 commerce are not often more than 2 ft. hi the square 

 though occasionally nearly 3 ft.; their length varies from 

 o It. to A5 it. or more. 



The beauty of Mahogany was known in the latter part of 

 the 16th centiuy, and recognised by the ship-carpenter of Sir 

 Walter Ealeigh when in the West Indies; but it does not 



