BIRCH MAHOGANY 355 



belief it does not grow in great forests; but is sparcely scattered 

 thru the tropical jungles. A bulletin of the National Union of 

 the American Republics states: "There is no such thing as a 

 forest of mahogany. The pine loves its own kind, and never 

 thrives better than when planted by nature or by man, one tree 

 next to the other, for mile after mile, on plain or moimtain. Other 

 trees are found in groves or clumps, seeming to form little settle- 

 ments within the woods. The mahogany tree, however, lives by 

 and for itself alone ; standing solitary of its species, surrounded by 

 the smaller trees and dense undergrowth of the tropical forests rear- 

 ing its head over its neighbor." Very often it occurs that only 

 one or two trees may be found per acre. 



The Lumbering Outfit 



The personnel of a mahogany limibering outfit is the same in 

 many respects as a lumber camp in any American forest, save 

 for minor details. Belize, in British Hondurus, is the chief ex- 

 porting city for mahogany, and for that reason most of the outfits 

 are made up from there. 



The methods used in harvesting are exceedingly primitive, 

 inefficient and relatively expensive. The cutting begins in the 

 mid-simimer, which is the rainy season. The tree hunter, or the 

 one whose duty it is to locate the trees, is by far the most im- 

 portant man in the outfit. His first move is to pick out some 

 elevated point and climb the highest tree and from there locate the 

 mahogany. This is a comparatively easy matter, for at this 

 season of the year the leaves of the mahogany have turned a 

 reddish yellow hue, while the other trees are green, thus making a 

 decided contrast which is visible for a long distance. After having 

 carefully noted his bearings, he proceeds to locate the trees. 

 This is by no means an easy task, for in most places the under- 

 brush is so dense that it is necessary to actually chop one's way 

 thru. 



The trees are large and spreading with pinnate, shiny leaves. 

 They range anywhere from fifty to one hundred feet high and 

 from ten to twenty-five feet in circumference at the base, de- 

 pending on their age. It isthe custom to build a platform, some 

 eight or ten feet high around the largest of the trees for the reason 

 that the trunks are greatly enlarged at the ground. But by so 

 doing, a great deal of the most valuable wood is lost, for it is here 



