ILICINE^. 85 



construct a candle-box of a part of one of tlie planks, which, when finished, 

 so far exceeded in fineness all Giijbou's other furniture that it became an 

 object of notice and wonder, and was placed upon exhilntion. Soon after 

 this it became a favorite material for the construction of furniture, and very 

 speedily found its way into the dwellings of the wealthy classes. 



Mahogany is to this day the favorite wood for cabinet ware. The tree was 

 first noticed as a native of the teriitory of the United States hy Dr. Muhlen- 

 berg. It is found on the Florida Keys, reaching the height of 50 to 90 feet. 

 That which furnishes the fine curls and apparent interlacing of the fibers, used 

 for veneers, grows on rocky hillsides, and is from that jjart of the tree wliere 

 the branches join the trunk. It is said to attain a great age. Sir William 

 Hooker counted 200 rings in a bhx-k, l)ut the rings may not each have denoted 

 a year. 



Use. Malioganv is one of the best woods known to the cabinet-maker. 



The finest is sawn into thin slices and used for veneers. It is worked into 

 chairs, tables, cabinets, desks, bureaus, l)edsteads, and other furniture, and is 

 nmch more common in Europe than with us. Its value depends upon its 

 hardness, and its ability to take a high polish. It is not liable to shrink and 

 warp. It was formerly used in naval architecture, and ranked by the English 

 as second to the celebrated English oak for that purpose. On the Bay shore 

 in Central America the wood of the mahogany, which is coarser grained and 

 softer, is used for inferior purposes, such as common tables, wainscoting, floor- 

 ing, the making of cigar-boxes, etc., and is called Bay Wood. 



There is a bitter principle residing in the bark which is efficacious in remit- 

 tent fevers, and the bark is used by the natives in the same way and for the 

 same purposes as the cinchona bark. 



Statistics. — GYea,t (luantities are imported annually by England and by 

 the United States. A single log has been known to sell for S5,000 ; this 

 when sliced up into material for veneers was made to cover an immense 

 surface. 



Order XVI. ILICINE^. 



Sepals 4-6, inihricated in tlie Inid, small. Corolla 4-6 cleft, 

 hypogynous, imbricated in the bud. Stamens inserted in the throat 

 of the corolla, alternate with the segments ; anthers adnate. Flowers 

 perfect, small, solitary, or grouped in the axils of tlie leaves. Fruit 

 a drupe. Leaves alternate or opposite, simple, leathery, glabrous, 

 shining, and witliout stipules. Trees and shrubs. 



Number of genera, 0. 



ILEX, L. (Holly.) Calyx with 4 or .") tcctli. Corolla 4-5-clefl. 

 wheel-shaped. Stamens 4-.'), alternating with the segments of the 

 corolla. Ovary sessile, with 4 stigmas. Berry with 4 or 5 one-seeded 

 nuts. Small tree. 



I. Paraguayensis, Lamb. (Paraguay Tea, or Verba Mate.) Stem from .5 

 to 15 feet in hciglit and ^ to inches in diameter. Much branched. Leaves 

 alternate, oval, crenate. glossy, leathery, 4 inches long, evergreen. <lark green 

 above, paler underneath. Fruit a berry, bright red, small and smooth. 



