NUTES ON THE HISTORY OF TIMBER, ETC. 13 
from Baltimore being the first timber of this variety 
introduced. 
For shipbuilding purposes iron had, however, now 
become established, and in this direction less oak was 
needed and little growth for a short time took place in 
the receipt of the above exports from the West. 
The finer woods from Memel, Riga and Odessa were 
however largely used for furniture and building fit- 
ments, and that from Prussian ports for railway and 
‘rolling-stock purposes. About 1884 the United States 
began further to supply these markets, the timber they 
forwarded at this time being practically all in a con- 
verted form, usually known as lumber. For the first ten 
years or so there was a steadily increasing import of this 
manufactured wood, and later still further expansion 
took place, the supply during the last fourteen or fifteen 
years having formed a by no means small proportion 
of the entire import of this wood. The Slavonian 
forests of Austria~Hungary have also been laid under 
contribution, a small share of this fine wood having 
been continuously shipped to English ports during the 
last twenty years. A further source of supply has been 
opened up since the war between Japan and Russia, the 
first-named country having sent large shipments 
of logs and converted timber which have found 
considerable favour. 
Mahogany, with which fine and popular wood all 
are familiar, is understood to have been first introduced 
into the country about the commencement of the 
eighteenth century, but it was evidently known among 
the West Indian Islands as a valuable wood as early 
as the sixteenth century, Sir Walter Raleigh having 
commented upon it as a valuable shipbuilding wood. 
It is generally supposed that the first arrivals came 
from the Spanish Islands of St. Domingo or Cuba, and 
