In the trade the wood is generally classified under the two heads of Spanish Mahogany and Honduras Mahogany or Baywood. The former comprises the rich, solid, and heavy varieties, susceptible of a high degree of polish, and frequently showing rich wavy figuring, in which case the wood is enormously enhanced in value, and used only in the form of veneers. Under the name of Honduras mahogany or baywood is embraced the light open-grained and plain classes of mahogany, uniform in colour, and valuable for the ease with which they can be worked for an endless variety of uses where sound straight timber, free from all tendency to warp, is required. By importers, however, several classes of mahogany are recognized. The original Spanish mahogany is the produce of the island of San Domingo, whence only small supplies now come, and these mostly in logs of not more than 8 to 10 feet in length by 12 or 13 inches in thickness. Cuba mahogany is in richness of figure and other properties little inferior for ornamental purposes to San Domingo wood, while it possesses the advantage of being obtained in logs up to 35 feet long and 2 feet square in cross section. Squared Honduras logs are sometimes obtained 40 feet long and 2 feet thick, and, although the wood is generally plain in character, richly figured logs are occasionally got. It appears that the Honduras wood obtained in the north, near the Mexican boundary, is much more rich, dense, and solid than the soft swamp-grown timber, which commonly goes by the name of Honduras or baywood. In Mexico the mahogany tree attains its greatest dimensions, and thence logs squared to 40 and even 48 inches are sometimes obtained, whilst the common size of logs varies between 15 inches and 3 feet. The Mexican wood is cut into lengths of from 18 to 30 feet, for convenience of shipment, and, while in general the wood is plain and somewhat soft in the core, the produce of some provinces, Tabasco especially, is firm, solid, and not unfrequently richly figured. Occasionally the wood which has been .floated in tropical seas is found to be badly “wormed” or attacked by marine borers. The cutting, squaring, and shipment of the wood in the tropical regions which are its home are conducted under circumstances of great difficulty. The tree has recently been introduced into the north-west provinces of India under very favourable conditions, and its successful cultivation there is likely to prove a matter of considerable economic importance. Mahogany is included among the second-class woods in Lloyd’s list for ship-building purposes; it is a good deal employed in internal joiner work both in ships and houses; it is a favourite turnery wood, and is equally preferred by wood-carvers. The imports of mahogany into the United Kingdom during 1881 were 42,412 tons, of an estimated value of £390,418, fully one-half of which came from Mexico.