MAHOGANY TREE. 



449 



to England was about tlie beginning of the last 

 century; a few planks having been sent to Dr 

 Gibbons, of London, by a brother who was a 

 West India captain. The Doctor was erecting 

 a house in King Street, Covent Garden, and gave 

 the planks to the workmen, who rejected it as 

 being too hard. The Doctor's cabinet maker, 

 named Wollaston, was employed to make a 

 candle-box of it, and as he was sawing up the 

 plank he also complained of the hardness of the 

 timber. But when the candle-box was finished, 

 it outshone in beauty all the Doctor's other fur- 

 niture, and became an object of curiosity and 

 exhibition. The wood was then taken into 

 favour : Dr Gibbons had a bureau made of it, 

 and the Duchess of Buckingham another; and 

 the despised mahogany now became a prominent 

 ai'ticle of luxury, and at the same time raised the 

 fortunes of the cabinet maker, by whom it had 

 been at first so little regarded. 



The mahogany tree is found in great quanti- 

 ties on the low and woody lands, and even upon 

 the rocks in the countries on the western shores 

 of the Caribbean sea, about Honduras and Cam- 

 peachy. It is also abundant in the islands of 

 Cuba and Hayti, and it used to be plentiful in 

 Jamaica, where it was of excellent quality; but 

 most of the larger trees have been cut down. It 

 was formerly abundant on the Bahamas, where 

 it grew, on the rocks, to a great height, and four 

 feet in diameter. In the earliest periods it was 

 much used by the Spaniards in ship building. 

 When first introduced by them it was very dark 

 and hard, and without much of that beautiful 

 variety of colour which now renders it superior 

 to all other timber for cabinet work; but it was 

 more durable, and took a higher polish with less 

 labour. At that time it was called Madeira 

 wood, though it appears to have come from San 

 Domingo (Hayti) and the Bahamas. Of course 

 it was wholly unknown to the ancients. It was 

 first introduced in the sixteenth century, but it 

 was not generally used in England till the eigh- 

 teenth. 



This tree so far con-esponds with the pine 

 tribe, that the timber is best upon the coldest 

 soils, and in the most exposed situations. When 

 it grows upon moist soils and warm lands, it is 

 soft, coarse, spongy, and contains sap-wood, into 

 which some worms will eat. That which is 

 most accessible at Honduras is of this descrip- 

 tion; and therefore it is only used for coarser 

 works, or for a ground on which to lay veneers 

 of the choicer sorts. For the latter purpose it 

 is well adapted, as it holds glue better than deal, 

 and, when properly seasoned, is not so apt to 

 warp or to be eaten by insects. When it grows 

 in favourable situations, where it has room to 

 spread, it is of much better quality, and puts 

 out large branches, the junctions of which with 

 the stem furnish those beautifully curled pieces 



of which the choicest veneers are made. When 

 among rocks, and much exposed, the size is 

 inferior, and there is not so much breadth or var- 

 iety of shading; but the timber is far superior, 

 and the colour is more rich. The last descrip- 

 tion is by far the strongest, and is therefore the 

 best adapted for chairs, the legs of tables, and 

 other purposes in which a moderate size has to 

 bear a considerable strain. Since the produce of 

 Jamaica has been nearly exhausted, there are 

 only two kinds known in the market. Bay 

 wood, or that which is got from the continent 

 of America, and Spanish wood, or the produce 

 of the islands chiefly of Cuba and Hayti. 

 Though the Bay wood be inferior to the otner 

 both in value and in price, it is often very beauti- 

 ful, and may be obtained in logs as large as six 

 feet square. It is, however, not nearly so com- 

 pact as the other; the grain is apt to rise in 

 polishing, and, if it be not covered by a water- 

 proof varnish, it is very easily stained. It also 

 gives to the tool in carving, and is not well adapted 

 for ornaments. Spanish wood cuts well, takes 

 a fine polish, resists scratches,.stains, and frac- 

 tures much better, and is generally the only sort 

 upon which much or delicate workmanship 

 should be expended. The colours of mahogany 

 do not come well out without the application ol 

 oil or varnish; and if the best soiis be often 

 washed with water, or long macerated in it, they 

 lose their beauty, and become of a dingy brown. 

 The red is deepened by alkaline applications, espe- 

 cially lime-water; but strong acids destroy the 

 colour. When the surface is covered by a colour- 

 less varnish, which displays the natural tints 

 without altering any of them, good mahogany 

 appears to the greatest advantage. 



Another species, the febrifuga, or East India 

 mahogany, is a very large tree. It grows in the 

 mountainous parts of central Hindostan, rises to 

 a great height with a straight trunk, which, 

 towards the upper part, throws out many branches. 

 The head is spreading, and the leaves have some 

 resemblance to those of the American species. 

 The wood is of a dull red colour, not so beauti- 

 ful as common mahogany, but much harder, 

 heavier, and more durable. The natives of India 

 account it the most lasting timber that their 

 country produces, and therefore they employ it 

 in their sacred edifices, and upon every occasion 

 where they wish to combine strength with dura- 

 bility. 



The Moroxylon is chiefly found in the moun- 

 tains of the Sircars, that run parallel to the bay 

 of Bengal, to the north-east of the mouth of the 

 river Godovery. The tree does not attain the same 

 size as either of the former, and the appearance 

 of the wood is different. It is of a deep yellow, 

 nearly of the same colour as box, from which it 

 does not differ much in durability; and it could 

 be applied to the same purposes. 

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