The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1892-06-15
MAHOGANY STYLISH.
Antiques the Rage, But New in
Almost Equal Favor.
CURIOUS NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS..
More Mahogany Coming to New York
Than Ever Before-where Ii Comes
From-some Misapprehensions Cor
rected-skiII of the Mahogany sawyer.

Mahogany is again In fashion.
Down in Delaware. and, for that mat
Ter, out on Long Island, whore people
do not change their furniture more
than once in three or four genera
tions. solid mahogany is put to base
nses. and nobody thinks 1t out Of
| place. Unconsidered old pieces,
| damaged beyond the marvellous re-
suscitative powers OF even the New
York cobbler Of antiques, would fetch
handsome price in this town just
| for the sake Of the raw material they
| contain. The present rage Is not only
for antiques, as everything over sew
enty-flve years old is called by the
dealers In such things, but for the
durable and beautiful wood OF which
antiques were usually made. Almost
anything may be counterfeited, but 1t
is not easy to reproduce In new wood
the rich charm Of mahogany that has
been seasoned by the hearth fires OF
three generations and polished with
the loving care that is bestowed upon
heirlooms. A sideboard top two
inches thick, seven or eight feet long,
and three feet wide Is not easy to OBJ
tain now, though such are common
enough among the unconsidered an
tiques that are doing duty in obscure
kitchens south OF Mason and Dixon's
| line.
There are, however, many curious
misapprehensions abroad touching
mahogany. One is that the mahogany
forests are nearly exhausted; ; another.
that large mahogany logs no longer
come to this market; a third. that
mahogany is scarce in New York !;
fourth. that while there Is a rage
for antiques, there Is small demand
for new mahogany. 1t is true that
San Domingo mahogany, which was
the earliest used, and is. perhaps, the
richest in color and figure, is compar-
atively scarce In this market, and
comes only in small logs, seldom over
twelve feet long and fifteen inches In
diameter. The San Domingo forests
have been yielding mahogany ever
since Sir Walter Raleigh's ship car
penters admired the wood 800 years
ago, but the drain has been consider
able for less than 200 years. Even
yet, however, there is plenty of large
mahogany in the interior OF San Do
mingo, and in time 1t will be brought
TO market. Capitalists Of New York
have several times been interested In
schemes to build railways into the in
terror OF the island in order that the
untouched forests OF mahogany may
be reached.
The Mexican and Central American
mahogany forests are yielding an en-
ormous amount OF the wood, and a
great deal comes from Cuba. The
Cuban mahogany Is nearly equal to
that Of San Domingo, while much Of
the Mexican mahogany is finely
marked. The Central American ma
hogany Is inferior.
A glimpse OF the mahogany docks
at the foot OF East Seventh street will
convince any one that large logs are
not rare. The Mexican mahogany
often comes In logs three feet square
and thirty-five feet long. A log four
feet square is unusual, though within
ayear q log six feet square came into
this market. Some OF the Mexican
logs are forty feet long, and the
Cuban often measure thirty five feet.
There Is probably more mahogany
imported to New York now than ever
before, and the wood is put to a
greater variety Of uses than at any
time since its beauty was first discov.
cred. 1t is true that old mahogany
brings enormous prices, and that
architects eagerly watch the destruc.
tion Of old buildings for the sake of
purchasing stair rails and mantel.
pieces Of mahogany for new houses.
But the gaudy barrooms now so pop
ular demand moro new mahogany
in a year than was ever consumed in
a like period for the dining table Of
our grandfathers. The largest logs
when not sawed UP into veneer, 90 to
make bar slabs. They have not the
beautiful dark brown richness OF tho
early sideboards, but they will acquire
good deal OF IL In time. II the Pro-
hibitionists don't succeed In splitting
up bars for nrewood.
Mahogany OF the FIRST grain and
marking is sawed up into veneer in
half a dozen sawmills In this town.
Mahogany saving Is very pretty
business, and q mahogany sawyer Is
q we'll paid man OF great skill and
long experience. He must know
whether a log Is suitable for veneer or
slabs; must be able to guess whether
Its heart runs straight or "dips !"
must see far enough into a log to de-
eide whether It shall be cut trans
versely before being sawed length.
wise and whether is shall be
auartered az oak is quartered or
suwpd straight through with the
grain from end to end. IL has been
found that mahogany should not be
sawed thinner than twenty-six to the
inch, though occasionally 1t is sawed
thirty TO the inch. The process of