(3 BULLETIN" 474, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



The numerous trade names given to mahogany usually imply a 

 difference in grade, as determined by the features just pointed out. 

 Formerly mahogany from Nassau or Santo Domingo was distin- 

 guished from Cuban mahogany by the smaller size of the logs, and 

 dealers still carefully discriminate between so-called Spanish or 

 Cuban mahogany and that obtained from other islands of the West 

 Indies. The large trees accessible in Cuba, however, have practically 

 all been cut. 



Florida, Cuba, Mexico, and Honduras exhibit distinct features of 

 soil and climate and produce grades of mahogany of characteristic 

 qualities. The difference between woods from the various regions is 

 often so marked that an expert can tell at a glance from which one 

 of them a given piece of wood has come. Trees on the hard, dry lime- 

 stone soil of extreme southern Florida grow very slowly and produce 

 a wood that is hard, heavy, dark red, and beautifully figured. This 

 mahogany takes a better and more lasting polish than any other 

 grade of the wood. The mahogany of Cuba and Santo Domingo 

 grows in a richer, moister soil, and, as a result, is usually somewhat 

 softer and of lighter weight than Florida mahogany, but neverthe- 

 less is of a high grade. It has a close, even grain, and the logs 

 imported seldom average more than 10 cubic feet each. Some of 

 the pores are filled with hard, gritty, white masses which constitute 

 a distinguishing character. Mahogany from those parts of Mexico 

 and British Honduras where soil and climatic conditions are very 

 favorable to rapid plant growth is considerably lighter in weight 

 and often much lighter in color than that from more elevated regions. 

 Mexico produces larger mahogany trees and a greater yield per acre 

 than any other country. Honduras produces logs 40 feet long and 

 4 feet in diameter. The wood is a beautiful dark color with a more 

 or less wavy figure. Even 6-foot pieces with a wavy grain and 

 including crotches of the trees sometimes bring fabulous prices. 

 Occasionally single logs have been sold for $3,000. The claim that 

 Mexican mahogany is generally of a much better grade than that 

 from Central America is not true of the grade of Mexican mahogany 

 known as bay wood (Swietenia macro p hylla) , which usually sells for 

 much less than the ordinary heavier, darker colored mahogany from 

 regions farther north, which is the small-leafed mahogany {Swie- 

 tenia mahagoni) . The dark reddish-colored grades of Mexican ma- 

 hogany, however, are fully equal and in some instances superior to the 

 Central American wood. 



The weight of mahogany varies greatly according to the density of 

 the wood. Florida mahogany is the heaviest, having a specific 

 gravity when dry of 0.842. A cubic foot of it weighs 52^ pounds, 

 and 456 board feet weigh a ton. The better grades from Honduras 

 and Mexico have a specific gravity of about 0.74, 1 cubic foot 



