Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1913-01-12
Copyright, 1872 by Frank G. Carpenter,
PORT BARRIOS Guatemal

@lM2L9GesSNm WRITE you from the edge
TyS - Cl9 OF Mahogany Land. This
H HI S Motagua valley, which lies
NJ w at the foot of the Guate-
NJ - w mala mountains, back OF
MMtS1-GlasA Port Barrios has hundreds
OF mahogany trees which
are being cit down by the United Fruit
company that the land may be used tor
banana plantations The mahogany IS so
valuable that it sells by the pound. and
few trees would make a good income.
have been iii The mahogany country off and
on ever since left Panama. and learn that
valuable timber IS beng taken from the
northern part OF the Panama republic
found them exploiting the forests in Costa
Rica and Nicaragua. and am told that many
mahogany camps are now working II both
British and Spanish Honduras. There are
American unlbermen sending mahogany to
Panama all along the west coasts Of Central
America The logs are sent over the 18th
mus bv rail and theme shipped 10 Europe
or The United States The trees they are
nov cutting here still liz ii the clearing, bit
they will be taken by train TO Port Barrios,
and thence shipped.
Central American Mahogany.
The mahogany Of this part o. the world is
the real article We have 4 so-called ma
hogany III the Philippines, and there are
false mahoganies in Nigeria Ceylon. Ma
deira and California. The true mahogany,
the wood which makes the finest furniture
on earth. comes from this region 1t is
found in the owlands along the east coast
from Mexico 10 Panama. and also in Colon
bia and Venezuela and III the islands OF the
Caribbean sea. The trees are magnificent
/ have seen some 100 feet high and 80 feet
in circumference Not few rise 90 feet
above the ground before the branches be-
gin and some are SO large that five men,
joining hands, cannot eneirclc them.
There is no such thing as mahogany
forest The trees do not grow close to-
gether but at wide distances apart; and the
mahogany hunters climb the highest trees
OF the forest and pick ont the nahoganies by
their bright colored ieaYes. The leaves
change from season TO season and at times
they are as gorgeous as Our leaves III aut-
umn. The hunter marks the mahogany by
the color and then leads the cutters through
the jungle, hacking road to where the
doomed tree stands Often only two or
three trees are found cn an acre, but two
trees per acre are enough to pay dividends.
There is a record OF one corporation which
had mahogany concession OF about $4,000
acres, the total WELD of which was only 90
trees. or less than two per square mile. |
doubt il II paid.
How the Logging Is Done
The ordinary tree ought TO be at least a
yard i'll diameter, and the average tree is
usually one OF two hundred years old before
ii is ready for lumber The most OF the
wood is cut in the rainy season. but as the
trees grow in the lowlands the hauling can
only be done in the dry season when the
ground IS hard AS soon as the trees are
felled their limbs are cut off and the logs
are then taken to the nearest stream. They
are RATED down to the market or they NAV
go to the railroad and lie taken to the ports
on the cars. They are put upon shipboard
as soon as they reach port to prevent their
being attacked by the toredo and other bor-
ing insects The wood IS SO valuable that
it is handled like fruit, and close record is
kept OF it from the forest to the hands Of the
consumer One of the chief markets is
: London and others are New \ DIRK and New