. A description and history of vegetable substances, used in the arts, and in domestic economy . he dream of El Dorado caused matters of morevalue to be neglected. The first that was brought toEngland was about the beginning of last century ;a few planks having been sent to Dr. Gibbons, ofLondon, by a brother who was a West India cap-tain. The Doctor was erecting a house in King-street, Covent Garden, and gave the planks to theworkmen, who rejected it as being too hard. The Doc-tors cabinet-maker, named WoUaston, was employedto make a candle-box of it, and as he was sawing upthe plank he also
. A description and history of vegetable substances, used in the arts, and in domestic economy . he dream of El Dorado caused matters of morevalue to be neglected. The first that was brought toEngland was about the beginning of last century ;a few planks having been sent to Dr. Gibbons, ofLondon, by a brother who was a West India cap-tain. The Doctor was erecting a house in King-street, Covent Garden, and gave the planks to theworkmen, who rejected it as being too hard. The Doc-tors cabinet-maker, named WoUaston, was employedto make a candle-box of it, and as he was sawing upthe plank he also complained of the hardness of thetimber. But when the candle-box was finished, it out-shone in beauty all the Doctors other fiirniture, and MAHOGANY. 149 Ijecame an object of curiosity and exhibition. Thewood was then taken into favour: Dr. (iibbous liada bureau made of it, and the Duchess of Huckinjr-ham another; and the des])ised mahoufany now be-came a ])roniinent article of hixury, and at the sametime raised the fortunes of the cabinet-maker by whomit had been at first so httle Ma/togam/—Swietenia mahagoni. Tlie maho^any-tree is found in great quantities onthe low and woody lands, and even upon the rocksin the countries on the western shores of the Carib-bean sea, about Honduras and Campeachy. It isalso abundant in the Islands of Cuba and Hayti,and it used to be plentiful in Jamaica, where itwas of excellent finality ; but most of the larger treeshave been cut down. It was Ibrmerly abundanton the Bahamas, where it grew, on the rocks,to a great height, and four feet in diameter. In theearliest periods it was much used by the Spaniardsin ship-building. When first introduced by them itwas very dark and hard, and without much of that o 3 150 VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES. beautiful variety of colour which now renders itsuperior to all other timber for cabinet-work ; but itwas more durable, and took a hiijher polish with lesslabour. At that time it was called Madeira wood,th
Size: 1782px × 1403px
Photo credit: © Reading Room 2020 / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookauthorsoc, bookcentury1800, bookiddescriptionhisto00sociuoft
