The daily morning journal and courier., 1902-03-01
WOODS RARE AND COSTLY,
UrGH-PRICED LOGS IN EAST RLV-
 ER LUMBER YARDS.


 Nine Thousand DolIars-other Lum-
 Der Even Moro Expensivo-Fino
 Woods Hard to Get Nowad"ys--
 snakewood Dearest of All.
 In the lumber yards fronting on the East river, between Fifth and Tenth streets there lie piled up in rough, un- symmetrical heaps large numbers Of coarsely- hewn, dirty logs, An ignorant observer might take these to be sup plies for a kindling wood factory ana certainly would be surprised to learn that the dirty sticks of timber are the most valuable woods in the world m their rough form, for that is what they are.
 There is mahogany there, any quan- tity of it; ebony, Black Sea walnut ana costly snakewood but it i'll lies there seemingly unguarded and beaten py the weather as though it were the cheapest sort of white pine.
 Tt doesn't look very valuable, does il? ?" said the manager of enc of the
  timber; "but that is the wood that some day will be worked over, polished and made into the most beautiful woodwork that money can buy
 That one big log that those work men are carrying is worth $2,Uo0, ana have seen a log of mahogany cnIy little larger than that which was sold for 5000. It was 2S feet long and feet thick, and was the finest piece of the ! wood that I have ever seen. Pretty good price for single stick isn't it? It was a perfectly sound log, though, and it's coloring and marking were remarkable. That is why it brought such high price. Mahogany is like diamonds,' he con tinued. "The value of each stick is de- l termined by it's marking and freedom | from flaws. When the logs are sold in the rough. as you see them here, there | is a big element of chance in their pur- | chase.
 The expert can judge them only by outward appearances and must be able | to tell by the general look of the logs whether they are sound and whether the marking which shows on the out side is apt to continue through the piece. After a good deal of experience one is able to size up piece of timber | pretty correctly but we are all fooled | once in while, and that is one or the | uncertainties of the business. Some one once said that mahogany | was the king of woods and he was not far wrong. It is certainly the most i durable on account of It's hardness and the polish that it takes gives it right to the title. It isn't what It used to be, | though.
 | Thirty years ago all the best of the wood was designated as San Domingo, from the place in which It grew. It was the best that was ever cut and attained a great reputation, but 1t is almost inn possible to get now. The choice wood is all gone and there Is not enough to be had now to supply one-hundredth part of the demand for it.
 1 "Its texture was the very finest and the coloring superior to any other. We | still get the wood from San Domingo, but it is all second growth, smaller | than the old mahogany and much infe- rior to if.
 | Mahogany from Central America
 was sold in large quantities here years ago also but it was found to be soft 1 and straight-grained and now 1t has practically stopped coming to this mar ket. Nowadays We get the wood from 1 Cuba and Mexico,
 l "The Cuban product comes in small sizes, but is of good texture and hard.
 It is from Mexico, though, that the great markets of the world are now | |, l,n hag l hoo
 any, but also with much that s soft, though much better than the old south | American product.
 l Many people have the idea that l there is no more good mahogany and
 that all that is cut now is soft This assertion is the outcome of individual
 experience in procuring good or poor wood. Those who have received the
 best grades pronounce the Mexican wood hard and beautiful in texture.
 An impression also exists that ma hogany is expensive and only to be in- duIged In by few. That is untrue The facilities for procuring the wood and the devices for reducing 1t into lumber have so improved that it's cost to-day compares favorably with some of our domestic hard woods, such as cherry,
 "rThe cost of working it is certainly not greater than any of the domestic
 woods It lasts better than the domes- tic article. though
 "The process of veneerine is what makes all the hard woods expensive as this work costs as much as the timber in the rough. The wood is cut very thin, about one-thirtietb of an inch, say.
 "A layer oS glue is placed over the
 wood to which the strip is to be applied after which the strip is laid on, smooth | ed down by hand and then clamped be- tween two hot presses, or cauls, as we
 call them. It takes some time for the glue to dry.
 Then the clamps are removed the
 wood sandpapered and scraped. and the
 real work of polishing begins with the
 application of filters to fill the pores of the wood and make it smooth. Then
 almost endless rubbing has to be done
 to develop the polish,
 Ut is a long process and expensive for that reason, but no more costly In the case of mahogany than any other
 wood. The average cost of mahogany
 in the rough is from S150 to $250 a thou | sand feet,
 "If you think mahogany is very eX- penslve what do think about Circs- I Is,i, 1Yoti ioI i,,1r,