622 



ANNUAL REGISTER, ISIO. 



I 



the logwood 

 it is said 



much 

 , "attains 



but tiiat of 

 more so, which, 

 maturity in five years 



It has been remarked, by those 

 of most experience in this occupa- 

 tion, tiiat the maiiogany wiiicli is 

 fallen between the months of Fe- 

 bruary and September is very lia- 

 ble to split ; the same observation 

 extends to that also which grows 

 in rocky or mountainous situa- 

 tions. This is the bay-man's 

 greatest evil, for the wood more 

 particularly subject to this incon- 

 venience is invariably the largest 

 and of the finest quality. There 

 is but one precaution against this, 

 whenever the tendency towards 

 it is discovered, which is to keep 

 the tree immersed as closely as 

 possible in deep water, until the 

 time for shipping or otherwise 

 disposing of it arrives. 



The logs of mahogany are gene- 

 rally brought out by cattle and 

 trucks to the water side, or to the 

 barquadier, as it is termed in this 

 country, which has been previous- 

 ly prepared by the foreman of the 

 work for their reception. When 

 the distance is great, this is a la- 

 bour of infinite and tedious diffi- 

 culty. As soon as a sufficient num- 

 ber to form a raft is collected, and 

 the waters have gained the neces- 

 sary height, they are singly thrown 

 from the banks, and require no 

 other aid or guidance than the 

 force of the current to float them 

 to the booms, which are large ca- 

 bles placed across the rivers at the 

 different eddies orfalls. Herethey 

 are once more collected, each par- 

 ty claiming his own from the ge- 

 neral mass, and formed into sepa- 

 rate rafts for their final destina- 

 tion. Sometimes more than a 

 thousand logs tog..ther are sup- 



ported by the booms ; and the 

 catastrophe attendant on their 

 breaking asunder, which during 

 extraordinary floods often hap- 

 pens, has been previously no- 

 ticed. 



The mahogany, when disposed 

 of at Honduras, produces from 

 sixteen to thirty pounds, Jamaica 

 currency, per thousand feet: the 

 price of this article, however, can 

 seldom be fixed, and must always 

 fluctuate as it may be governedby 

 quality or size. The shipping of 

 it to Europe, especially during 

 war, has seldom been found ad- 

 vantageous, excepting to a few in- 

 dividuals, who have succeeded in 

 establishing a kind of preference 

 in the London market. The ex- 

 porting of it to the American 

 States would, it is considered, be 

 highlybeneficial to the settlers ge- 

 nerally, were there less restriction 

 in the way of the dimensions of 

 that which is permitted to be car- 

 ried to them : this renders the in- 

 tercourse, as it exists at present 

 of insignificant importance. 



To give some idea of the profit, 

 though perhaps the instances of 

 such success are not numerous, 

 which has been known to attend 

 the cutting of mahogany : a single 

 tree has been found to contain 

 12,000 superficial feet, and this to 

 produce upwards of one thousand 

 pounds sterling. This certainly is 

 a most flattering view of the sub- 

 ject ; but, unquestionably, many 

 more examples of opposite advan- 

 tage might be produced. The 

 great expense the settler must in- 

 cur in the purchase, feeding, and 

 clothing a number of slaves ; the 

 tools, cattle, and furniture, he must 

 supply for the purpose of draught, 

 exclusive of a variety of miscella- 



