Chap. XXIV.—B. P.] 
MAHOGANY. 
409 
a curiosity; it, however, attracted so much attention 
that the owner procured a further supply, had a bureau 
made of it, and set the fashion, which, unlike most 
fashions, has ever since grown in favour with the 
public. 
The tree itself is one of the most beautiful in the 
tropics, and one of the largest. I have often seen the 
trunk between forty and fifty feet in height, under the 
branches, and fourteen to sixteen paces in circumfer¬ 
ence,—equal to thirty or thirty-five feet, squaring 
seven or eight feet, one slice alone being enough to 
floor a small room. 
At a short distance the tree is a magnificent sight, 
—its giant arms stretching over a great extent of 
ground, and generally forming a sort of dome-shaped 
top, which can he distinguished at certain seasons of 
the year from all other trees by the discoloration of 
the leaves, which then (August, September, and Octo¬ 
ber) assume quite an autumnal tint, like the leaves of 
many of our trees at home. 
This well-known change of the leaf is of great value 
to the hunter, as the Carih is called whose business it 
is to point out the mahogany ; he climbs the highest 
tree he can find, at once detects the spots where 
the largest numbers are growing, and then unerringly 
leads the cutters to the place. The first step is to 
clear all round the vicinity of the tree selected for 
felling, the men do this with machetes and axes; 
the Canadian axe is their favourite tool. When the 
tree is down, the branches are lopped off and the trunk 
squared, after which it is dragged by oxen yoked two 
