138 THE TIMBERS OF THE WORLD 



Liverpool and London since the general introduction of West Coast wood. 

 The logs are of unusually large size and length, even up to as much as 

 7 feet square. The principal deliveries have come from Lagos and Benin, 

 but this variety is found in the supplies from all the ports, and especially 

 in the so-called " Bonamba " mahogany imported from Duala. It has 

 been customary to name this wood Sapeli mahogany when it was imported 

 from Lagos and Benin, but if received from other ports it is described 

 and sold as mahogany without special classification, excepting that 

 occasionally the timber is called " scented." A few logs possess very 

 strong characteristics of cedar, with its pungent aromatic scent ; others 

 have only a faint scent and a corresponding absence of cedar texture, 

 while a few have cedar characteristics and scent on one side of the 

 tree, while being the pure mahogany type on the other side, which 

 is devoid of any scent. The wood is generally heavier and harder 

 than the African mahogany, and almost invariably contains a roey 

 or contrary parallel grain, which is often broken in character and 

 interspersed with more or less strongly pronounced mottle. These logs 

 produce very handsome figured and coloured wood, which is used either 

 in veneer, or soHd for panels or other decorative work. A straight- 

 grained log is very rare. The principal fault consists in its liability to 

 spHts, which are generally ring or cup-shakes following the line of the 

 concentric layers. These show as actual splits on the butt end of the 

 tree, but they are also liable to develop along a gum streak after the wood 

 is sawn up, and, unlike the other kinds of African mahogany, generally 

 extend throughout the length of the tree, occasionally repeating in 

 circular layers at intervals of a few inches. Another of the disadvantages 

 of this wood is that after finishing and polishing the soft grain will sink 

 slightly and the hard grain will rise, showing rather an uneven surface. 

 This difficulty can, however, be overcome by careful finishing. The wood 

 is almost entirely free from cross-breaks, so prevalent in all other West 

 Coast varieties. The general colour of the timber is much browner than 

 the other mahoganies, and on this account the use of the ordinary wood 

 has been condemned in America, where the practice of sawing up different 

 logs and mixing the produce results in a variety of colour in individual 

 boards. There also the finely figured logs are not liked for veneers 

 on account of their liability, due to the exceedingly hot, dry climate, 

 to split badly after conversion. Before the war the principal demand was 

 from Germany, where this wood seemed to be very favourably received, 

 as it was well suited to the design of decorative cabinet work peculiar 

 to that country. Sapeli mahogany was found in the propeller-blades of 

 the destroyed Zeppelins, and is undoubtedly a very fine material for such 

 work. 



The pores are rather large and irregular, and are interspersed with 



