THE TIMBERS OF COMMERCE 



mentioned stop short of a complete circle at times, I conclude 

 that they are not the limits of the annual growth. 



Pith. Nearly round, from i£-2 mm. diameter, very soft, 

 coarse-celled : lighter in colour than the wood. 



Radial Section. Considerably lighter in shade than the 

 Trans, sec. Pores. Fine rather darker lines, usually with dark 

 contents, otherwise empty and shining. Rays. Readily visible 

 but inconspicuous flakes. The ring boundary lines are just 

 visible with trouble. 



Tangential Section. As the Radial, but the rays appear as 

 very numerous, rather dark, minute lines (need micro.) : about 

 o - 5 mm. high. The rings are inconspicuous but are rather more 

 easily traced at the edges of the loops. 



Type specimen authenticated by the Forest Officer to the 

 Government of Ceylon : from a log sent to the Colonial and 

 Indian Exhibition. Nordlinger says that the structure is "like 

 M. dubia " (M. australasica. Juss), but he must not be taken to 

 mean that the wood resembles that species. 



MAHOGANY. 



The various species of Mahogany and so-called Cedar are so 

 confusing that I confess to the inability to make any precise 

 statements either as regards their structure or origin. I know 

 of no convincing proof that any of the American kinds met with 

 on the English market are the wood of Swietenia Mahagoni nor 

 that those shipped from Africa are the wood of Khaya senegalen- 

 sis. These two genera are very nearly allied to Cedrela and 

 Melia, and it is difficult to separate any of the four from the rest 

 by the characters of the wood. After giving the most careful 

 attention to every detail I lean to the view that most if not all 

 of the Mahoganies commonly met with are Cedrelas. I have 

 seen but two series of specimens which pretend to be authentic : — 

 viz. those at Kew and Nordlinger's sections. Nordlinger 

 states in the Introduction to his Querschnitte der noo Holzarten 

 that he has included nothing for the authenticity of which he 

 could not vouch, but his section of Swietenia does not resemble 

 anything which I have been able to find, and that of Khaya 

 senegalensis is nothing whatever like African Mahogany. 

 Gamble's description (Indian Timbers, New Ed., 1903, p. 153) 

 does not correspond any better, for he says : " Annual rings 

 marked by a continuous line of Pores with few or no Pores in the 

 Autumn wood." A continuous Pore-ring can only be found in 

 the so-called Cedars and then only in the lighter, softer kinds 

 such as Mexican Cedar, and they have invariably Pores scattered 

 throughout the Autumn or later wood (i.e. the outer side of the 



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