UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



Contribution from the Forest Service 

 HENRY S. GKAVES, Forester 



Washington, D. C. 



PROFESSIONAL PAPER 



February 9, 1917 



TRUE MAHOGANY. 



By G. D. Mell, Forest Examiner. 



CONTENTS. 



Introduction 1 



Common names 3 



Geographical distribution 4 



General characteristics of the wood 5 



Characteristics of the wood from dLTerent 



regions 7 



Market value 9 



Uses and supply 9 



Importations 12 



Methods of logging and transportation 14 



Botanical characteristics 15 



Minute characters of the wood 19 



Woods called "mahogany" 22 



INTRODUCTION. 



The name " mahogany " is applied commercially to more than .50 

 different woods. True mahogany, however, is produced by only two 

 closely related species of trees (Swietenia mahagoni Jacq. and 

 Swietenia macrophylla King) , which are natives of tropical America. 

 These were looked upon as the same species {Swietenia mahagoni) 

 until long after mahogany had become well known in the timber 

 trade of the world, so that when a botanical distinction between 

 them was finally recognized it was only natural that the same name 

 should continue to be applied to the wood of both. 



There appears to be a widespread popular belief that true mahog- 

 any may be had from many parts of the world. As a matter of 

 fact, true mahogany grows naturally only from the tropical part of 

 Florida and adjacent keys and islands to the northern part of South 

 America (fig. 1). The extensive commercial use of the name "ma- 

 hogany," either with or without a qualifying adjective, such as 

 African, Indian, Philippine, etc., for so many other woods indicates 

 that the characteristics and sources of supply of true mahogany are 

 still imperfectly known. Some of these other woods in their struc- 

 ture bear little more than a general resemblance to true mahogany, 

 though skillful finishing may make them very much like it in out- 

 ward appearance. The majority of them can be distinguished from 



62059°— Bull. 474—17 1 



