224 PRACTICAL FORESTRY 
We always associate heavy densely fibered woods 
with the tropics, but some of our finest light woods 
grow there also. The best of these is the Cuban 
cedar (Cedrela odorata), which is extensively used for 
cigar-box manufacture, as a finishing wood, and in 
boat-building. This is not a true cedar. It belongs 
to the order Meliacew, which includes many other 
valuable timber species. It is a broad-leafed tree, 
and in no way resembles a cedar except that the wood 
is aromatic and faintly red in color. The tree resem- 
bles the English walnut. We have, in fact, no true 
cedars in North America. The true cedars belong to 
the genus Cedrus, and are well represented by the 
deodar of India and the cedars of Lebanon. The West 
Indian cedar is a very rapid grower and produces a 
very useful and valuable wood. To this same order 
belong the satinwood of India (Chloroxylon swie- 
tenia), the redwood (Soymida febrifuga) of Coroman- 
del, the toon of India (Credela toona) or the red 
cedar of Queensland, the African mahogany (Khaya 
senegalensis), and the king of all woods, mahogany 
(Swietenia mahogoni). 
All are familiar with this hard, fine-grained, rich 
reddish or yellow-brown wood, which is used so much 
in cabinet-work and is known in all parts of the world 
by its Indian name, mahogany. The tree is a native 
of the West Indies, Central America, and Mexico, 
