CHAPTER LII. 
THE MAHOGANY-TREE. 
Where Indigenous.—Its Primitive Nativity —Its General Physique De- 
scribed.— Its Floral Productiveness.—Peculiarity of its Seed.—A 
Reason for its Dispersed Existence.—Season of Felling.—Varieties, 
and Renowned Uses of its Wood.—Unseasonable Felling, and Pre- 
cautionary Measures to Prevent Imperfectness.—Date when Intro- 
duced into England.—An Interesting Account of. its Introduction. 
—Effect of Soil and Climate on the Texture ofits Wood.—Its Du- 
rability.—Its Present Uses.—Dimensions of Exported Logs and their 
Value.—Method of Test for Soundness in Logs.—How the Mahog- 
any became Naturalized to the Eastern Hemisphere.—A Species of 
the Burman Forests.—Its Characteristics Compared with those of its 
American Cousin. 
Tue mahogany-tree is indigenous to the southern parts 
of Florida, and is found in its primitive nativity in the 
warmest parts of the American continent. It is an inter- 
tropical tree and grows plentifully in the West India 
Islands, though the principal supply to the United States 
is received from Central and South America. In phy- 
sique it is one of the most beautiful and magnificent of 
trees, and as a growth it is considered one of the most 
valuable of the vegetable kingdom. Its trunk often 
reaches to the height of forty feet, with a diameter of 
six feet; and its proportionately large and numerous 
branches, covered with a dense, glossy foliage, form a 
wide-spreading summit which extends over a consid- 
erable area and throws a shade pleasantly cool and 
impenetrable. It bears variously-colored flowers, some 
whitish, others red or saffron color. Its seed, which 
is enclosed in a shell or thick husk, ripens about the 
middle of summer, and disperses itself over extensive 
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