NOTES ON THE HISTORY OF TIMBER, ETC. 15 
as to the quantity or description: there was probably 
however little if any mahogany among them, and it was 
not until about 1891 that any serious exploitation of 
the mahogany supplies of these districts was made. 
At first this mahogany was received in Great Britain 
with reserve, and for some time considerable prejudice 
hampered its sale when in competition with estab- 
lished Central American varieties. It rapidly grew in 
favour however and, assisted by a strong demand which 
sprang up for the wood in the United States, the import 
and volume of business which followed grew consider- 
ably. How the export expanded, as compared with the 
amount of wood brought in from the older sources in 
Central America, can best be brought before the reader 
by the subjoined tables, which give not only statis- 
tics in regard to the United Kingdom, but figures 
relating to its import to other European countries. 
Teak, another important hardwood that has held, 
and still holds, an almost unassailable position for 
various purposes may also be referred to. This invalu- 
able timber, whose native habitat is East India, Siam 
and adjacent countries, came into general use, so far 
as records show, about the middle of the last century. 
Obtainable in long lengths and of fine dimensions and 
being found moreover to possess the virtue of rendering 
iron, when in contact, immune from rust, Teak rapidly 
found favour among ship and boat builders and was 
often found to be valuable for railway work. It stands 
in a class by itself in Lloyd’s list of shipbuilding woods 
and has well sustained its reputation throughout its 
career, no wood having yet been found to supplant it 
in its use for special purposes. Owing to difficulties 
of extraction and the care with which it is conserved 
by the Indian Forest Department in Burma and other 
parts of India, the supply has rarely exceeded the 
