CHAPTER VII 
SOME ACCOUNT OF THE DIFFERENT VARIETIES 
OF MAHOGANY 
St. Domingo.—Wood from this Island was probably 
the first mahogany to reach Great Britain. Shipments 
were fairly frequent up to about thirty or forty years 
ago, but]since"that time the Island has shown signs of 
exhaustion in regard to the supply, and only small 
parcels, mostly of inférior and crooked logs, have been 
shipped. 
The wood is of distinctive character, and may be 
readily identified in the log by its rich and very dark 
colour, by its texture and, generally, by the peculiar 
adzing shown in the manufacture of the logs. It is 
highly esteemed for most work, but the sizes and make 
of the logs now sent render them, as a rule, only fit for 
chair-frames and other similar purposes. 
Cuba.—This Island, like the last mentioned, a former 
possession of Spain, has always been noted for the fine 
mahogany which it produces. It has been a heavily 
afforested one, in which mahogany has been largely 
predominant, but with heavy demands on the wood 
for use in Great Britain, in America, and on the Con- 
tinent, and in conjunction with the clearances of forest 
areas for sugar and tobacco planting, there are signs 
that, although shipments of late years have been 
fairly plentiful, this source of supply cannot be looked 
upon as one of long duration. The wood is highly 
esteemed, and is generally considered the ideal one for 
the manufacture of furniture, being of hard texture, 
fine ‘colour, and with a finished surface which takes a 
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