Lincoln County leader. [volume] (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987, 1911-04-14

ern Florida, southern California ane
parts Of Mexico, but only as an orna
mental tree. however, because Il Ia o.
such slow growth and requires for full
maturity such natural surroundings
that for commercial purposes 1t wouit
seem impossible of cultivation. II is
giant among even the giants Of trop
ical forest. II towers sometimes to g
height Of 100 feet The trunk alone
is often 30 feet in length and IL feet IL
diameter. and It divides into 30 many
huge arms and throws the shade OF Its
shining green leaves over so vast ar
extent 6f surface that more magnii
cent or more useful object Is not to be
met with In the vegetable world. The
precise period of It's growth Is not &C
curately known, but as, when large, II
changes little during the life Of man
the time of It's arriving at maturity IL
probably not less than 200 years. The
name "Swietenia" was given to mahog
any In honor Of the celebrated Baror
Won Swieten. physician to Maria Ther
esa The early Spanish called the tree
"Cedrela-" a species not unlike the
mahogany In many respects. and found
also in about the same natural sur
roundings. but the English mistooi
that name for cedar. applying 1t direct
ly to mahogany. the result being tha'
Spanish cedar is term still heart
occasionally or read without true un
derstanding In ancient books Of trave
and discovery along the Spanish Main
Only the best and biggest logs ar,
exported; the smaller ones and tht
remnants of the sawed timber are uti
lized rs ordinary lumber on the spo
for the construction OF houses or tn,
decoration OF small vessels, so tina
In the tropics there can still be seer
the solid mahogany furniture whicl
originally made the wood so famous.
London is the mahogany center o
the world. Here prices are set ant
the character of wood decided. Beaut!
Of grain is, Of course. the chief char
acteristic, and that which at ono,
ranks 1t above other woods either fo
constructive or decorative purposes
allied to beauty is figure or pattern
and when the two are combined. ma
hogany then becomes supreme. Sheet
of mahogany of wonderful thinnes
can be cut from the parent log. witt
very little loss.
Selling mahogany logs by auction 4
still the habit In vogue in the grea
center-London-of the trade, q Gus
tom inherited from generations Of buy
ing and selling. To these principa
markets In England merchants com
from every direction. for the pick o
the forests can always be found there
In fact, the best class of logs from
tropical America are carried first t
England, many Of them sold to MANI
facturers In the United States, to b
finally imported through the Atlanti
seaboard, thus having travelled twic
across the ocean in their journey fror
the forest to the factory.
1t is gratifying 10 know that ther
is no wholesale destruction OF the mi
hogany forests. The young timber ha
to be preserved. At one time II wa
the law that no tree should be Gu
which squared less than 18 inches
quite large tree, as one will notice
but that has become rather dead le
ter, and trees smaller than this ar
cut every day. Still there is some g
fort to preserve the timber. and eve
to do an appreciable amount Of refo
estation. The trees are of very slo
growth. many of the large trees. it
said. bearing evidence of being at leai
900 years old. and when there is car
lesness or greed in cutting. it NEAR
much to the future of the mahogay
business.