great beauty; indeed, if worked up for furniture, or used for any ornamental purposes whatever, we cannot fail to admire it. The figured logs, therefore, possess a considerably enhanced value over those of a plainer description, and high, even fabulous prices are often realised for them.
Cuba or Spanish Mahogany is durable, and is employed for a variety of purposes. It has been very advantageously used in the building of ships of war in place of Oak for beams, planking, stanchions, &c.; its strength and rigidity rendering it admirably fitted for these, while, being of rnoderate specific gravity, it was safe to use it either above, at, or below the line of flotation; but in civil architecture it is not much used, on account of the high price it obtains over other woods.
| Number of the specimen. |
Dimensions. | Total weight required to break each piece. |
Specific gravity. |
Weight reduced to specific gravity 700. |
Weight required to break 1 square inch. | ||
| With the apparatus weighing 390 lbs. |
After the weight was removed. |
At the crisis of breaking. | |||||
| Inches. | Inch. | Inches. | lbs. | lbs. | |||
| 1 | 1.500 | .000 | 3.50 | 767.00 | 720 | 746.00 | 191.75 |
| 2 | 1.500 | .000 | 3.50 | 883.00 | 817 | 757.00 | 220.75 |
| 3 | 1.250 | .050 | 3.50 | 817.00 | 789 | 725.00 | 204.25 |
| 4 | 0.850 | .000 | 3.85 | 956.00 | 752 | 890.00 | 239.00 |
| 5 | 1150 | .050 | 3.35 | 883.00 | 765 | 809.00 | 220.75 |
| 6 | 1.000 | .050 | 3.00 | 831.00 | 771 | 763.00 | 207.75 |
| Total | 7.250 | .150 | 2070 | 5,137.00 | 4614 | 4690.00 | 1,284.2.5 |
| Average | 1.208 | .025 | 3.45 | 856.16 | 769 | 781.66 | 214.04 |
Remarks.— Nos. 1 and 4 broke with moderate length of fracture, and splintery; 3, 5, and 6—each broke very short.
