The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-07-01
RARE AND COSTLY WOOD.
varieties That Bring Enormous
Prices in the Market
From the Washington s1ar

Lying IN some of the great lumber yards
situated on the East river in New York
one may see vast heaps of rare woods
that are valued at millions of dollars
MOST OF the timber is carefully stacked
up IN compact squares and is either ex-
posed to the weather or protected by
rough sheds. The woods are representa-
tive of variety of trees native of coun-
tries of the equator and American for
ests.
II is the veining and nothing of log
ana the veneers that can be made from il
that hxes the value of fine wood" said
large New York dealer to a Star repor-
ter recently. 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
Ihere are several hundred varieties of
fine woods brought each year into New
York, but of these only few are known
70 commerce to any extent. Mahogany,
French burl, rosewood, curly ash, Amer-
can quartered oak, figured birch. black
walnut, Circassian walnut and satinwood
are the fancy timber varieties that sell
the best, their prices ranging from to
10 cents a foot for veneers.
THESE figures WILL however give no
adequate idea of the values until they are
examined carefully. But the calculation
is simple one. A veneer is a thin
strip cut from board by shaving ma
chine, thirty veneers being allowed to
each board of an inch in thickness. the
boards of these costly woods running
about two feet in width. AS rule these
boards are eight to ten feet long, and
thus single veneer of mahogany two feet
wide and ten in length Is worth from so
10 ROW. IF
piled up FIVE feet high is worth easily 5000.
In the log mahogany sells at
81 to $3.50 a foot board meas
urement 1t comes from Mexico and Cuba
and is brought TO New York in logs.
1t is sold principally In veneers. These
veneers, even when stacked up In piles
in sheds, soon become so brittle that
the only way Of shipping them to the fur
niture and plano manufacturers is to
pack them in cases. A case usually
holds 500 sheets, or from $500 to $500 worth,
and is so heavy that the united strength
of six men with rollers is necessary to
get 1t upon truck. A case is known in
the trade as Fitch
Even unvarnished and unpublished as
these rare woods are in the rough, the
patterns are easily visible, and the de-
signs and veining are often very beaut-
full Nearly all these woods are sold in
veneers, for two reasons: First, they are
TOO cosby TO use SOhQly, anu, second,
they all have a tendency TO warp. Next
in popularity 10 mahogany comes Ameri-
can 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 slopes
of the Blue Ridge and Cumberland noun
tains.
so important is It to get woods of fine
patterns that the leading walnut dealers
inspect the trees themselves before they
are cut down. They employ experienced
woodsmen, at large salaries, to search over
the whole region where the best walnut
trees are for months at time, and then,
the finest trees having been marked, the
dealer or his trusted representative leaves
the city and travels through the woods
on horseback, selecting the most valu-
able trees, after buying them from 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
veneers, and a single log six feet long has
been known to yield as much as $500. The
foreign demand is also an important fea-
ture in the desire of the dealer to secure
only the finest grades of timber, especially
walnut. The penchant for carved woods
In Germany and France has kept up the
demand more than any other feature, as
they must have the solid wood to admit
of this, while in America the veneer is used
largely upon a foundation OF an inferior
and in many instances very ordinary wood,
with very satisfactory results. Amer
lean made desks and sideboards are We
neered wherever possible, while foreign
made furniture is almost universally form
cd of the solid wood. This accounts for
the foreign orders for sawed walnut al
ways calling for thicknesses ranging from
one to four inches.
From Bahia comes the finest rosewood
Of the word, its veneering selling at 8
cents a foot. II Is not bought now, how
ever, in any great quantities, as rosewood
is no longer the fashionable material II
was in the days Of our grandmothers.
White mahogany comes from the west
coast OF Mexico and satinwood from San
Domingo. The finest qualities, of a pale
tint and dainty pattern, have sold for 90
cents a foot In veneers. and the poorest
veneers for 10 cents are still In great de-
mand.
zone Of the most curious Of rare woods
Is amboy, which IL OF reddish-brown
color. veined irregularly and used mainly
for inlaying. IL comes from Africa and
Is sold at from 20 to 80 cents a pound.
Two OF the finest foreign woods are
French burl, from Persia, and the Cir
cassian walnut, that A. cut around the
shores OF the Black sea. French burl costs
Is cents a pound, and It's grain Is a most
NNtfVes ohSs ~ - AedAl1 walnut WOOD
the burl being a wart, or knot, that forms
on the side OF the tree while u Is young,
thus twisting the course OF the sap yes
sells and forming strange patterns and odd
combinations OF lines. Al times these
burls are extremely valuable. A single log
has sold for as much as 5000 The feat
ures OF Circassian walnut are the high
polish to which Il can be brought and its
varied stripes Of dark brown and black.
Some other expensive native woods are
figured curly ash, figured North Carolina
blrcn. which has reddish tinge: poplar
and American quartcred oak, usesd main-
" for inside house work. All OF these