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been certain of its quality, have been worth 10007. Mahogany of remarkable fineness is very costly, as we shall shew when we come to speak of fancy-woods.

As is the case with much other timber, the finest mahogany trees, both for size and quality, are not in the most accessible situations; and as it is always imported in large masses, the transportation of it for any distance overland is so difficult, that the very best trees, both on the islands and on the main landthose that grow in the rich inland vallies-defy the means of removal possessed by the natives. Masses of from six to eight tons are not very easily moved in any country; and in a mountainous and rocky one, where much attention is not paid to mechanical power, to move them is impossible. In Cuba, the inhabitants have neither enterprise nor skill adequate to felling the mahogany trees, and transporting them to the shore; and thus the finest timber remains unused.

The discovery of this beautiful timber was accidental, and its introduction into notice was slow. The first mention of it is that it was used in the repair of some of Sir Walter Raleigh's ships, at Trinidad, in 1597. Its finely-variegated tints were admired; but in that age the dream of El Dorado caused matters of more value to be neglected. The first that was brought to England was about the beginning of 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 Kingstreet, 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 furniture, 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 be came a prominent article of luxury, and at the same time raised the fortunes of the cabinet-maker by whom it had been at first so little regarded.

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The mahogany-tree is found in great quantities 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 Campeachy. 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. 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 eighteenth.

The mahogany is a graceful tree, with many branches that form a very handsome head. The leafets are in pairs, mostly four, and sometimes three, but very rarely five; the pair opposite, and without any odd leafet at the point; they are smooth and shining, lance-shaped, entire at the edges like those of the laurel, and bent back; each leafet is about two inches and a half long, and the whole leaf is about eight inches. The flowers are small and whitish, and the seed-vessel has some resemblance to that of the Barbadoes cedar: hence some botanists have given the name of cedar to the tree.

This tree so far corresponds 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 description; 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 variety of shading; but the timber is superior in strength, and the colour is more rich. The last description 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 is inferior to the other both in value and in price, it is often very beautiful, and may be obtained in logs as large as six feet square. It is, however, not nearly so compact 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. 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 fractures 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 of oil or varnish; and if the best sorts 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, especially lime-water; but strong acids destroy the colour. When the surface is covered by a colourless varnish, which displays the natural tints without altering any of them, good mahogany appears to the greatest advantage.

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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 beautiful 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 durability.

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The Chloroxylon is chiefly found in the mountains of the Sircars, that run parallel to the bay of Bengal, to the N.E. 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 ås box, from which it does not differ much in durability; and it could be applied to the same purposes.

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