Evening star., 1896-10-24

give TO adequate conception Of values until
they are examined carefully. But the cal
culatlon ts simple one.s A veneer Is q
thin strip cut from a beard by a shaving
machine. thirty veneers being allowed to
each board OF an inch thickness, the boards
OF these costly woods running about 2
Ieet In width. AS rule these boards are
to 10 feet long. and thus a single veneer
OF mahogany feet wide and ~ in length
Is worth. by ITSELF from 50 cents to 81. A
double row OF these veneers piled up 8
feet high Is worth easily 5000.
In the log mahogany sells here at 81 to
$l.oO foot, board measurement. 1t comes
from Mexico and Cuba, and, brought to
this city In logs, 1t Is sold In veneers. These
veneers. stacked up in piles in the sheds,
are SO brittle that the only way of ship
ping them to the furniture and piano man
ufacturerS Is to pack them in cases. A
case usually holds sou sheets. or from $3OO
to $500 worth, and is SO heavy that the
strength Of from four to six men. with
rollers. is necessary to get 1t upon truck.
A case is known to the trade as a fitch"
Even unvarnished and unpublished as
these rare woods are in the rough, the pat
terms are easily visible. Nearly all these
woods are sold in veneers, for two reasons:
~ They are too costly to use solidly and
%. they all have a tendency to warp.
Next In popularity to mahogany comes
American figured walnut from Kentucky,
West Virginia, Tennessee and the western
part Of North Carolina. The finest logs
of this timber are to be found on the
mountains So important Is 1t to get woods
Of fine patterns that the leading walnut
dealers Inspect the trees themselves be-
fore they are cut down. They employ ex-
perienced woodsmen to search over the
whole region where the best walnut lies
for months at time. and then, the finest
trees having been marked, the dealers
leave the city and travel through the woods
on horseback themselves. selecting the
mcst valuable trees afterward buying
them from the farmers or the owners of
the land.
These precautions amply repay the trou-
BILE, for tte reason that at times Ameri-
can walnut sells at ~ cents a foot in We
neers, and single log feet long has been
known to yield as much as $525.
From Bahia comes the finest rosewood
Of the world Its veneers selling at cents
a foot. 1t is not brought here however.
in any great quantity. as rosewood is no
longer the fashionable material 1t was in
the days Ct our grandmothers. White ma
hogary from the west coast of Mexico and
satinw ocd from San Domingo, Of q pale
yellow tint and Of dainty pattern, the
finest qualities of which have sold for W
cents In vencers, and the poorest veneer
less than 10 cents are still in great demand.
One OF the most curious Of the rare woods
is amboy. reddish brown, veined Irregular
ly, and is used mainly for inlaying. 1t
comes from Africa and is sold at ~ cents
a pound.
French bl RI from Persia and the Circas-
sian walnut that is cut around the shores
of the Black Sea. French burl costs 15
cents pound, and its grain Is most
curious thing. 1t Is really a walnut wood
the bull being wart or knot that forms
on the side of the tree while 1t is young,
thus twisting the course Of the sap vessels
and forming strange patterns and odd COM
binations of lines. At times these burls
are extremely valuable. A single log has
sold for as much az $500. The features
of the Giro assian walnut are the high
polish to which 1t can be brought and its
vivid stripes of dark brown and black
Some other expensive native woods are
figured curly ash. curly North Carolina
birch. which has reddish tinge; poplar
and American Quartered oak. used mainly
for house work All of these fetch from
3 cents to 5 cents a foot in veneers. Ebony
sold at SO ton: cocoholo, somewhat re-
sembling rosewood, and granadilla, heavy
and black, are much in use for knife ham
dies San Domingo lignum vitae is. perhaps,
the heaviest wood that is to be found. A
stick IL inches in diameter and 3 to 4
feet lcng weighs from 500 to GU pounds.
Spanish cedar and snakewood, the latter
socalled because it's grain is like the mark
ings OF some serpents. are used for many
purposes. Turkish lockwood comes here in
rather large quantities. and has long been
the popular material for wood engraving.
Amarillo is one Of the most artistic Of all
woods, with its bright yellow surface.