The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-09-05
COSTLY WOODS.
Small Piles of Lumber Worth $4,000
and M0re-vaIue of "A Log.

Lying in some of the great lumber yards
or New York and only showing their value
heaps of rare and costly woods, some from
the countries of the equator others cut
from American forests. In one single lum-
Der yard IL is no uncommon thing to see
a stock that is valued at $4,000 or more.
In one block near the East river front,
there is often million dollars worth piled,
up in the open air or under the cover of
rough sheds.
The veining and nothing of a log and the
veneers that are made from 1t fix it's value.
While all these special woods of commerce
are costly, prices three and four times the
average are paid for unusual patterns of
rosewood. mahogany and black walnut.
There are several hundred varieties of
York. but of these only few are known to
commerce to any extent. Mahogany
French burl, rosewood curly ash, Ameri-
can chartered oak, figured birch. black wal
nut Circassian walnut and satinwood are
the fancy timber varieties that sell the
best, their prices running from to 10 cents
a foot for veneers These figures give no
adequate conception of values, until they
are examined carefully. But the calculation
is simple one. A veneer is a thin strip cut
from board by a shaving machine. thirty
veneers being allowed to each board of an
inch thickness the boards of these costly
woods running about two feet In width, A.
a rule these boards are eight to ten feet
long. and thus a single veneer of mahog-
any two feet wide and ten in length is
worth. by itself, from 80 cents TO 81. A
double row of these veneers piled up FIVE
feet high is worth easily $1,000
In the log. mahogany sells here at 81 to
$3.50 a foot board measurement IL comes
from Mexico and Cuba. and, brought to
this city in logs, it 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 five hundred sheets, or from
$500 to $500 worth. and is so heavy that the
strength of from four to six men, with roll
ers, is necessary to get il upon truck. A
case is known in the trade as 'hitch.''
Even unvarnished and unpublished as these
rare woods in the rough the patterns
are easily visible and the designs and VEIN
ing are very beautiful. Nearly all these
woods are sold in veneers. for two reasons;
first. they too costly to use solidly
and. second, they all have a tendency to
comes American figured walnut. from Ken
lucky. West Virginia Tennessee and the
logs of this timber are to be found on the
slopes of the Blue Ridge and Cumberland
mountains. SO important Is II 10 get woods
of fine patterns that the leading walnut
dealers inspect the trees themselves before
they are cut down. They employ experi-
enced 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 most
valuable trees. afterward buying them from
the farmers or the owners Of the land.
These precautions amply repay the
trouble. for the reason that at times Amer
lean walnut sells for 20 cents "a foot in We
neers. and a single log six feet long has
been known to yield much s525.
From Bahia comes the finest rosewood of
the world, it's veneers selling at cents q.
foot 1t is not brought here, however, i'm
any great quantity, rosewood Is no long
err the fashionable material IL was I'm the
days of our grandmothers White mahog-
any from the west coast of Mexico, and
satinwood from San Domingo OF a pale
yellow tint and of dainty pattern the finest
qualities of which have sold for 60 cents in
veneers 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 used mainly for inlaying. 1t comes
from Africa, and is sold nj 20 cents a pound.
Two of the finest foreign woods are
French burl, from Persia, and the circas-
sian walnut that is cut around the shores
of the Black sea. French .burl costs Is
cents pound. and it's grain Is a most Curl
Gus thing. 1t is really walnut wood, the
"burl' being "a wart. or knot that forms
on the side OF the tree while II Is young.
thus twisting the course OF the sap vessels
and forming strange patterns and odd COM
binatons of lines, AT times these burls are
extremely valuable A single log has sold
cassian walnut are the high polish to which
it can be brought and it's vivid stripes of
dark brown and black.
Some other expensive native woods are
figured curly ash, figured North Carolina
birch, which has reddish tinge; poplar
for house work. All of these fetch from
to 5 cents foot in vene9rs. Ebony sold at
$40 ton; cocohoio. somewhat resembling
rosewood and granadilla. heavy and black,
are much in use for knife handles san Do
minco lignum vitae Is, perhaps, the heavi-
est We cd that is 10 be found A stick eigh-
teen inches in diameter and three to four
feet long weighs from five hundred TO six
hundred pounds. spanish cedar and snake-
wood the latter so called because its grain
is like the markings of some serpents. are
used for many purposes. Turkish lockwood
comes here in rather large quantities. and
n Mooa 0ng 'ns oas 81 sR D
most artistic OF all woods. with Ito bright
yellow surface.