The body of the tree is of course the most valuable; but, for ornamental purposes, the limbs or large branches, are generally preferred, their grain being much closer, and their veins being more rich and variegated than those of the other parts. The Honduras mahogany is considered inferior to that produced in Jamaica. In this island mahogany was formerly much more abundant, and consequently much less expensive than it is now, because the low lands have gradually been thinned of such trees as could readily be carried to market, or conveyed on board vessels for exportation. The date of the introduction of mahogany wood into England is 1724. Since this period it has been in very general request for making the more valuable kinds of household furniture. It admits of a high polish, and is excellently adapted for tables, chairs, desks, and other similar articles. 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._ _The leaves of the quassia tree are winged, with two pair of oval and somewhat pointed leaflets, and an odd one at the end: these are smooth, deep green above and pale below; and the common footstalk is edged on each side with a leafy membrane. The flowers are bright red, and terminate the branches in long clusters._ This drug was first brought into use in Surinam, by a negro whose name was Quassia, and who employed it with great success in the cure of intermittent and other malignant fevers, which prevail in that flat and marshy country. The offer of a valuable consideration induced him to reveal the secret to Daniel Rolander, a Swede, who carried specimens of the wood, together with a branch of the tree, the flower, and fruit, to Stockholm, in 1756. Since this period the drug has been generally employed in Europe; and its efficacy in the removal of many diseases has been perfectly ascertained. Dr. Cullen, however, observes, that though it is an excellent bitter, and that it will do all that any pure or simple bitter can do, yet his experience of it had not led him to think it would do more. Quassia is said to possess antiseptic properties, and consequently to have considerable influence in retarding a tendency to putrefaction. It is also sometimes used instead of hops in the brewing of malt liquor. The _root_, _wood_, and _bark_ of the quassia tree are all occasionally employed in medicine, and the bark is said to be more intensely bitter than either of the other two. ---- CLASS XI.--DODECANDRIA. ---- MONOGYNIA.