58 Mr. Arthur Deaneon 



are sold under the name of Mahogany. A good paper on the 

 recognition of some of the different kinds of Mahoganies, by 

 Dr. Dixon of Trinity College, which he read before the Eoyal 

 Dnblin Society, was published in December last. Dr. Dixon 

 describes some 45 kinds of " Mahogany " which he had the 

 opportunity of examining. The paper is illnstrated by excellent 

 photographs, the tangential sections being particularly valuable 

 in displaying the area occupied by the rays in the different woods. 

 Enough has been said to show that common names arc 

 confusing, which makes it very possible to substitute timber of 

 ])Oor quality for better timlier. This leads to the necessity of a 

 reliable means of recognizing commercial woods. The wood 

 design produced by the cambium when viewed in the three 

 directions offers the most reliable means for the identification of 

 timbers, although thei'c arc accessory characters such as colour, 

 taste, odour, bark (if pi'csent), which maybe helpful in conjunction 

 with sti'uctural characters. Even structural character does not 

 always render identification easy between related species, as in 

 Oaks. Althongh an Oak wood is perhaps the easiest to identify, 

 yet it is one of the most complicated as regards its structure, 

 while softwoods, although much simpler in structure, are more 

 difficult to identify than hardwoods, and frequently require the 

 aid of the microscope for decision. 



In attempting the identification of wood, one should not 

 forget the observations of many good workers, and particularly the 

 labours of H. Nordlinger, R. B. Hough, J. S. Gamble, F.R.S., on 

 Indian Timbers ; the late Professor Marshall Ward, F.R.S., and 

 Herbert Stone. Many attempts have been made to establish 

 keys to "run down " timbers, but these generally deal with only 

 certain woods. 



Mr. Herbert Stone, the author of an excellent book — "The 

 Timbers of Commerce and their identification," and other works, 

 Avho has examined many thousands of timbers, has devoted much 

 time and thought to the construction of a key. An interesting 

 account of Mr. Stone's suggestions for such a key will be found 



