The beautiful reddish brown coloured wood of which household furniture is now chiefly made. It is a native of the warmest parts of America and the West Indies. It thrives in most soils in the tropical climates, put varies in texture and grain according to the nature of the soil. On rocks it is of a smaller size, but very hard and weighty, of a close grain, and beau-tifully shaded; while the produce of the low and richer lands is observed to be more light and porous, of a paler colour, and open grain; and that of mixed soils to hold a medium between both. The tree grows very tall and straight, and is usually four feet in diameter. On account of the difficulty of transporting the mahogany timber from the forests, when a tree is of great thickness they cut it into short logs, otherwise the great weight and bulk would be unmanageable with the restricted means available on the spot; and with the view of equalizing the burthen or draft of the cattle (oxen), the logs are long in proportion to their diminished thickness.

The largest log ever cut in Honduras was of the following dimensions: - length, 17 feet; breadth, 57 inches; depth 64 inches; measuring 5,421 feet of plank, of 1 inch in thickness, and weighing upwards of 15 tons.