Show MAHOGANY IS PEER OF decorative for reaid expression in iglic ilic manufacture of furniture and all other forms of interior decoration mafoi any is undoubtedly the hie peer of hardwoods no wood is so universally used today tor for this purpose in every city and country of the world in no wood is so freely and successfully amit imitated tied americas anu men ken ui the furniture and cabinetmaking cabinet making industries dus tries draw heavily upon the markets of the world in the strength to supply an ever increasing demand tor for genuine mahogany mal loganY hundreds ot of tons of 0 logs annually are imported into this country and worked into beautiful forms to grace fine homes or dignity dignify the interior ol of public buildings large hotels or railway cars eat A few years ago mahogany was regarded as a very precious wood and was wal employed only in hf the interior 0 of the finest houses and in the inabu facture of the most moat expensive furniture during the past few years however there has been a wonderful development in mahogany imports tion lion and use the total quantity ot of mahogany imported last year was nearly board feet of this large amount north america supplied per cent and europe IS per cent though europe supplied only a little more than one fourth as much mahogany as there was imported from north america its average value per thousand feet was more than twice as much due to finer quality the remainder ot of the imports came from africa south america and asia mexico furnished 46 0 per cent of 0 the mahogany coming from north america nicaragua followed with per cent british honduras with per cent cuba with 8 per cent and honduras with 74 per cent other central american countries furnished the small remaining percentage immediately following the war with spain lumbermen of the united states exploited the largest and most accessible of the cuban mahogany forests for a few years the forests ot f cuba contributed move more largely to the supply in this country than at the present time largely owing to tc the rapidity with which this tile ble timber was logged and shipped 1 an ali engineer employed by ame i i authorities during the accent inter I 1 bention in cuba claims that nearly all of the available supply of oc any of that island has been exhausted and that what now remains lit in any considerable quantities Is far remote from facilities the number of buyers or of mahogany la in this count rys hardwood market Is now exceeded only by those of oak maple poplar ba sewood ash birch chestnut and cypress the principal reason for the popularity of mahogany Is that thai the importers 0 of the logs and th the c manufacturers of lumber have never advanced advance tl its prices be yond a modest profit and it is lela iela dively so low that it now makes little difference in price whether an office building or a home is finished in mahogany or quarter sawn sawa white oak another reason for its popularity Is because it improves in lone with age after much experimentation car builders finish practically all or of their case in mahogany as it withstands satisfactorily the severe usage and also holds its finish tile tho chief centers of mahogany importation and danli manufacture facture tire are boston new york louisville new orleans chicago and indianapolis the mahogany is the wood of a tree of of the natural family of named by jaquin i in honor hondr of J van SwI eten the T tree is one of the most majestic and beautiful with large spreading head and pinnate shining leaves the trunk is often forty feet in len th and six feet in diameter and is divided into mani many massive arms in the london timber and trade journal there appeared recently an interesting historical reference to tile the mahogany trade in england according to this writer mahogany wood was first imported by E england in 1724 although in 1597 sir walter raleigh demonstrated the great value of this wood which was used in repairing pai ing his ships at trinidad from 1724 until the discovery of 0 the mahogany forests of africa by stanley england and continental E europe drope were heavy purchasers of mahogany from the west indies honduras and mexico A great part of the mahogany use used in this country in early years came from europe it having first reached there from the west indies mexico and honduras |