Mahogany

“ Next to oak and fir, the foreign wood Mahogany is by far the most valuable, and that most extensively used; it is the growth of the West Indies and South America, and the tree, the Swietenia mahogani, is, perhaps, the most majestic of all timber trees from the enormous dimensions to which its trunk attains, its vast height and size, and its dark beautiful foliage. The mahogany of the island of Cuba, and that from the bay of Honduras, is first in estimation. There are two East Indian species, but they are not imported in any quantities into this country. ”

“ Mahogany costs more than stained birch, and walnut than gum wood, but there are certain people who for some strange reason feel that they are getting something a little smarter and better if it is tagged "birch mahogany" than if it were simply called birch. Some of the furniture is well stained and some shockingly done, the would-be mahogany being either a dead and dreary brown or a most hideous shade of red, a very Bolshevik among woods. ”

“ Mahogany is an expensive wood, and therefore imitations of its color on common stuff are rather objectionable. Then, again, the color of even the cheapest mahogany cannot be obtained by a bare coating of stain, so that it is not satisfactory from either point, consistency or appearance. Mahogany, walnut, maple, and other choice woods, particularly those which are imitated best in distemper color, can, however, be beautifully grained upon prepared plain wood, with results almost equal to work done upon painted grounds. ”

“ The best mahogany is that which grows in dry, cold, and exposed situations. Such wood is fine-grained, hard, and dark in colour, richly variegated, causing it from its beauty to rank among the most ornamental of fancy woods, while the light, coarse-grained wood, which grows in warm moist climates, is sufficiently abundant to be used for ordinary purposes, and yet possesses admirable properties for all, where no great strength or tenacity is wanted. ”

“ Mahogany and oak are the best materials for furniture. The former is cleverly imitated in a mahoganized birch, which presents a pleasing appearance and sometimes deceives those who are not familiar with the beautiful rich tones of the genuine article. Mahogany adapts itself to almost any sensible style of interior decoration, is likely to be of careful manufacture, and is almost invariably cherished for its beauty. Like other highly finished woods it takes on a bluish tint in damp weather, and if not well protected, will demand attention more frequently than other materials. ”

“ Mahogany wood is strong and tough, uniform in structure and close or moderately open grained, depending upon the locality where it is grown. Mahogany possesses a combination of physical and woodworking characteristics that have brought it into high renown as a cabinet wood. It is receptive to the finest of finishes. Freshly cut mahogany ranges from a light pink to yellow, but on exposure to light and air, quickly turns to a reddish brown or sherry color. ”

“ There are said to be more than forty different trees which pass as mahogany in lumber markets. Various descriptions and keys have been published for the purpose of separating and identifying different woods which are bought and sold as mahogany. These woods grow on every continent except Europe; but those which pass as mahogany nearly all come from Africa or America. Some are well known, both as to origin and botany, while others are doubtful. Logs sometimes appear in markets and no one knows where they come from, or the species which produce them. ”

“ One would not think that the women required any protection from the sun’s rays, for their faces are like their hands and ankles, of a deep brown colour, from the accumulated dust of years; whilst a red glow, that the cold winds give them, aids the semblance of their skins to well-seasoned mahogany. ”

“ Neither is it certain that true mahogany shows no yearly rings. Some trees do not, but others may. The ring, as is well known, is produced because the tree grows part of the year and rests part. In the tropics where growth is continuous, the ring may not exist, but it sometimes does exist, and thus upsets the theory. Besides, it proves little in the case of mahogany which has a range extending from south of the equator northward into the temperate zone, where there are seasonal changes. ”

“ In Jamaica, mahogany is employed as a strong and durable timber for beams, joists, planks, boards, &c. Many attempts have been made to stain other kinds of wood so as to resemble it, but none of these have been attended with success.
It has been lately discovered that the bark of the mahogany tree may be advantageously employed in medicine, as a substitute for Peruvian bark (62) .
144. QUASSIA is a drug, the root of a tree (Quassia amara, Fig. 78) which grows in the West Indies and South America, but particularly in the colony of Surinam. ”

“ If people want a mahogany color, try and induce them to have also a mahogany grain. I know that frequently some article of furniture made of stained cherry has to be matched in color in graining a room, and in such cases there is no resource but to imitate it. I once went to grain a chamber in imitation of cherry, and the lady of the house requested me to observe the color of her mahogany chamber-set, which color she desired to have on the woodwork of the room. ”

“ We were received in the wonderful mahogany room. The existence of this was not known until recent times, when some workmen accidentally discovered beneath the plaster a wall of solid mahogany reaching from floor to ceiling. The plaster was removed and the mahogany paneled and varnished, thus making a beautiful and unusual interior.
Mrs. Charles Francis Adams was a fine-looking woman whose bright black eyes bespoke keenness of mind as well as geniality and vivacity of temperament. ”

“ The roe of the mahogany is formed in the grain by one ring overlapping the other, making mottled ringlets of light and shade, sometimes very pronounced and exquisitely beautiful. Only those trees are cut which are close to the river, for the native has no mechanical means of transporting it and no mechanical aptitude to invent such means. ”

“ I delight in oak, and, although I know how much more liable it is to "twist" than first-class mahogany, yet if of good picked quality, dry and sound, and properly tongued and framed, there is not much to fear, and its light and elegant appearance is a great gain in a large room, added to this it improves by age and is practically indestructible. ”

“ Mahogany is a beautiful, close-grained wood, but is used not so much on account of its strength, but more frequently because of its non-liability to shrink, warp, or twist, and from the peculiar property of taking a firm hold of glue. In the last respect it is superior to any other wood. ”

“ Two Specimens of Wood.
Mahogany, placed among the second class of ship-building woods by Lloyd's Register, was once used to some extent in place of oak in naval architecture, but is now so greatly valued for decoration as to be employed for little else, save occasionally the hulls of small pleasure craft. The decorative value is due to a combination of beauty, working qualities, and durability. Beauty is influenced by both grain and warm red color. ”

“ In mahogany or satinwood, where the chief interest exists in the figuring and colour, carving is undesirable and the best effects are obtained by high polish. It may be urged that in the Chippendale period the work was invariably carved, but the detail was always in very low relief, and the finishing dark in colour, in which the figuring was subdued. Mahogany in its more{290} general employment owes its chief beauty to the development of figuring and colour. ”

“ The uses of mahogany are so many and so well-known that it is unnecessary to speak of them in detail. There were importations into the United States nearly three hundred years ago, and it has been coming ever since. ”

“ MAHOGANY STAIN Take of chip logwood 1 lb., sal-soda two pence worth, water 1 gallon, boil all together, apply it while hot, to every kind of white wood, using a brush or sponge, and it will produce a most beautiful mahogany colour.
419. MAHOGANY COLOUR Method of darkening every sort of wood. Take soap suds, wash your wood with it; every coat you put on will make it a shade darker.
420. SATIN WOOD STAIN Take of water 1 quart, fustic 2 oz., and the size of a small nut of alum; boil all together, apply it while hot, and it will produce a most beautiful yellow. ”

“ SIDEBOARDS have had to make no bid for popularity. The curve of the serpentine and bow (the Southern serpentine is flatter than those found in the North) , the concave and the convex, the fine-grained walnut, soft finished mahogany, brought from the West Indies, native cherry in feathery grain, with inlaid ebony and tulip, fine bandings of kingwood, all reflecting in detail, as in other Southern-made pieces, the harmony and inspiration of the English masters by men at work at the bench. ”

“ The mahogany is one of the few trees in the tropical forests whose leaves change color with the season, and the Carrib Indians, who are employed to cut them, discover their presence by this peculiarity. They climb the highest tree they can find, sight the mahoganies, locate their position with great skill, and lead the choppers to them with unerring accuracy. ”

“ It is found in many variations of color. New mahogany is very light toned and seldom darker than a medium buff tone. It acquires a reddish tone by age, which becomes a rich dark red in time. This redness is usually artificially supplied in the natural wood by staining. In graining it is the most usual to reproduce the rich red darker variety, and that of the light varieties is only resorted to in order to match some parts added to a room which has been finished in the light natural wood. ”

“ The mountain mahogany sometimes is thirty feet high, and two in diameter. It grows from 5,000 to 9,000 feet elevation, sometimes on steep cliffs. Its range extends from Wyoming and Montana to Oregon, California, Arizona, and New Mexico. The wood is bright, clear red, or rich dark brown. It reaches its largest size on the mountains of central Nevada. Another species is known as valley mahogany (Cercocarpus parvifolius) . It ranges from Nebraska to Oregon, and Texas to California. Its rate of growth is very slow, and it seldom exceeds a height of thirty feet and a diameter of ten inches. ”

“ Discovered by Sir Walter Raleigh, who brought specimens home with him, mahogany did not come into general use till about 1720. The material then used by Chippendale and his school was the splendid mahogany from the great untouched forests, producing at that time timber the like of which, in dimension and in quality, is now unprocurable. ”

“ Consequently the greatest care has to be exercised in the selection of material, the fashioning of the component parts, and their fitting together. Only the best seasoned mahogany can be utilised to withstand the strains of warping, shrinking, and expansion under extremes of heat and cold, and climatic fluctuations. ”

“ Bearing in mind these unfailing proclivities of the maker of cottage and farmhouse furniture, the collector should not find it difficult to recognise the country hand at once. Now and again one is struck with the extraordinary ingenuity of some of the work, or one is charmed with the faithfulness with which designs have been translated from the golden bowl to the silver, or, to be literal, from walnut and mahogany to oak and elm and beech. ”

“ Even the daughters of good old New England farmers are found to-day glad to exchange mahogany for quartered oak and English pewter for pressed glass and stamped crockery. True, another generation may come in and buy it all back at fabulous prices, but the waste of it! ”

“ Standing isolated, it is certainly more striking in appearance than when growing in the jungles; and one is particularly attracted by its curious tendency to grow fruit on the trunk.
The elongated mahogany-coloured seeds are, when roasted, palatable and nutritious; while its wood, which is much sought after for special purposes, takes a high place for durability. ”

“ Drill six holes in the pine hexagon at the top, and pass six 3⁄4 or 7⁄8 inch screws through from the under side into the top piece by inverting, with top on the floor.
There is so much careful work on this tabourette that it is worthy of good material. Mahogany is very suitable, the light coloured bay wood being the cheapest variety; but of course other woods will do. In case bay wood is used, it can be given the appearance of old mahogany by first coating it with a wash of potassium bichromate. ”

“ The collection of mahogany for commerce is a most laborious business, often involving the construction of a road through a dense forest, upon which the wood may be transported to the nearest water-course. ”

“ German artisans are also very successful in the preparation of imitation of veneers of rosewood, mahogany, walnut and other ornamental woods. The more expensive mouldings are either in wood (such as oak or mahogany) , in veneers of any expensive ornamental wood, or real gilt. ”

“ Mr. Banks inquired after the wood which has been imported into England for cabinet work, and is here called Madeira mahogany: he learnt that no wood was exported from the island under that name, but he found a tree called by the natives Vigniatico, the Laurus indicus of Linnæus, the wood of which cannot easily be distinguished from mahogany. Dr. Heberden has a book-case, in which the vigniatico and mahogany are mixed, and they are no otherwise to be known from each other than by the colour, which, upon a nice examination, appears to be somewhat less brown in the vigniatico than the mahogany ”