. WEST INDIA ISLANDS AND CENTRAL AMEEIOA 157 



close and straight in grain, shrinks but little, warps and 

 twists less than most timber, and is very durable, especially 

 when kept dry, and polishes and takes glue well. The 

 sap wood, like that of all- dark-coloured woods, is of a straw 



[I'huto lent by McNeil, Scott & Co., Liverpool. 



FIG. 27. Dressing African Mahogany. 



It will be seen that no use is made of the stump of the 

 tree, which contains a large quantity of the very best of the 

 timber. The same practice exists in cutting mahogany in 

 Central America. 



colour, sharply divided from the dark heartwood. It was 

 formerly a good deal used in shipbuilding. The Victoria 

 and Albert, which carried Queen Victoria on so many of her 

 journeys and for so many years, was built almost wholly of 

 choice mahogany, more than fifty years ago, and was only 

 recently put out of commission. 



