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 MAHMOUD MAHOGANY 25 abroad. The Wahabees of Arabia were sub- dued by Ibrahim Pasha, the son of the viceroy of Egypt, Mehemet Ali. Dreading the increas- ing power of Ali Pasha of Janina, Mahmoud made war on him and crushed him in 1822. In 1821 his Greek subjects revolted. By the aid of Mehemet Ali he carried on a successful war against them, but with such extreme cruel- ty that France, Russia, and Great Britain re- monstrated. Their mediation being disregard- ed by Mahmoud, they attacked and destroyed his fleet at Navarino, Oct. 20, 1827. In 1826, after a desperate struggle, in which he dis- played great courage and ability, he had over- thrown the janizaries, and organized an army on European principles. With full confidence in its power, he did not shrink from a war against Russia, but was defeated, Diebitsch even crossing the Balkan; and in consequence of the mediation of England, France, and Prussia, he signed the treaty of Adrianople, Sept. 14, 1829. In 1832, Mehemet Ali having refused to withdraw his troops from Syria, which he had occupied, Mahmoud made en- ergetic preparations against him, but was de- feated by Ibrahim Pasha at Hems and Konieh, and was only saved by Russian intervention from being dethroned. The result was an alli- ance for mutual defence between Turkey and Russia. In the mean time Mahmoud had done much to improve the domestic condition of his kingdom. Roads were made, postal com- munication was established, ambassadors were appointed to the European courts, and women were allowed to appear' in public ; measures which did not fail to make him many enemies among the conservative party. Justice was speedily and severely admimst^ed, and an en- ergetic though unscrupulous police, often aided by the sultan himself, disguised, did much to es- tablish order. But his oppression of all the high- er officers of his kingdom, and the frequency with which he plundered, displaced, or slew them, sacrificing men of ability to unworthy favorites, deprived him of trustworthy aid, and his reign was a succession of revolts and trea- sonable attempts. In 1839, being still deter- mined to reduce Mehemet Ali, he drove him into a new rebellion. His army was again de- feated by Ibrahim at Nizib, but he died before the news reached him. He was succeeded by his son, Abdul Medjid. MAHMOUD, sultan of Ghuzni. See GHUZOT. MAHOGANY (Swietenia mahagoni), a tree of the natural order meliacem, a native of South America, Honduras, and the West India islands, and among the most valuable of tropical tim- ber trees. The genus is named in honor of Baron Gerard van Swieten. The mahogany is a large, spreading tree, with pinnate shining leaves. The trunk often exceeds 50 ft. in height and 4 or 5 ft. in diameter. The flowers, in axillary panicles 3 or 4 in. long, are small and greenish yellow, and are succeeded by fruit or capsules of an oval form and the size of a turkey's egg. Though the growth is very rapid, the wood is hard, heavy, and close- grained, of a dark, rich, brownish red color. The so-called Spanish mahogany, which in- cludes all the above, except that from Hondu- ras, is imported in logs about 10 ft. long and 2 ft. square. The Honduras mahogany is usually larger, the logs being from 12 to 18 ft. long, and from 2 to 3 ft. square. It is chiefly obtained upon low moist land, and is general- ly soft and coarse. The trees which grow on rocky elevated grounds are of smaller size, but the wood is harder and more beautifully veined. The collection of mahogany for commerce is a most laborious business, often involving the construction of a road through a dense forest and in a most difficult country, upon which the wood may be drawn to the nearest water- course ; the logs are roughly squared to prevent them from rolling off of the low rude trucks upon which they are drawn. The natives make this wood serve many useful purposes, as canoes Mahogany. and handles for tools. Some have supposed the Honduras to be a different species from the Spanish, from its being lighter in color, as well as porous in texture ; but it is now ascertained that these differences arise from the different situations in which the trees are found. The largest log ever cut in Honduras was IT ft. long, 57 in. broad, and 64 in. deep, measuring 5,421 ft. of inch plank, and weighing up ward of 15 tons. The mahogany brought from Africa and the East is decidedly inferior to either of the above ; but a fine specimen sent from Cal- cutta to the London exhibition of 1851 proves that the best quality may be raised in the East Indies. The Spanish mahogany is one of the most useful of all woods for household furni- ture, for which it is adapted especially by its durability, beauty, hardness, and susceptibility of polish, though of late years it has been less fashionable than some other woods. The finer kinds of furniture are of solid mahogany, but