The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1902-02-09
WOODS BOTH RARE And COSTLY
HIGH-PRICED LOGS IN EASY
RIVER LUMDER YARDS.
Sticks Of Mahogany worth as Much -
So. 900 Other Lumber Even More
Expensive Fine Woods Hard 60 Get
Nowadays --Snakewood Dearest Of All.

East River. bet ween Fifth and Tenth streets,
there lie piled up in rough. unsymnnetrfoaa
heaps large numbers OF coarsely hewu
dirty logs. An ignorant observer might
take these to he supplies for a kindling
wood factory and certainly would be sur
prised to lea IN that The dirty ri ticks Of timber
are the most valua BILE woods in the world
In their rough form, for that is what they
are.
There il mahogany there. any quantity
| of H.: ebony. Black Sea walnut and costly
snakewood. but il all lies there seemingly
u~nguarded and beaten by the weather 80
though Il were the cheapest sort OF white
pine. 80
1T doesn't look very valuable. does itfs
said the manager OF one Of the companies
which sell much Of the costly timber: but
that is the wood that some day will DO
worked over, polished and made into the
most beautiful woodwork that money can
buy.
THAT one big log that those workmen
| are carrying is worth 81 900, and | have seen
a log of mahogany only a little larger than
| tina, which was sold for 5000. II was 2s
| feet long and 5 feet thick, and was the finest
! piece Of the wood that ! have ever seen.
Pretty good price for a single stick.
isn't il? II was a perfectly sound log.
though. and It's ~coloring and marking were
remarkable. That is why it brought such
a high price.
Mahogany is like diamonds he con-
tinued. The value of each 81 ick is de-
termined by it's marking and freedom
from fla VS.. When the logs are sold In the
rough. as you see them here. there is a big
element Of chance in their purchase.
The expert can Judge. them only ny
outward appearance and must be abe
TO tell by the general look Of the logs whether
they are sound and whether the marking
which shows on the outside is apt to con-
tinue through the piece. After a good
deal OF experience one il able 10 size up a
piece OF tirnber pretty correctly, but We
are all fooled once In a while, and that IL
one OF the uncertainties Of the business.
Someone once said that maho gany was
the king Of woods and he was not far wrong.
II is certainly the most durable on account
Of it's hardness and the polish thai 1t tskes
gives IL a right 10 the title. ltisnt what II
used 10 he, though.
Thirty years ago all the best Of the
wood was designated as San Domingo
from the place in which il grew: IL was the
best that was ever cut and attained q great
reputation, but il is almost impossible tn
TO get now. The choice wood 10 all gone
and there is not enough TO he had now 10
supply one-hundredth part OF the demand
for Il.
III fANuIt q Nv Y h''n 80,
c~oloring superior 10 any other. We still
get the wood from San Domingo, but IL
II all second growth. smaller than the old
| mahogany and much inferior 10 IT,.
Mahogany from Central America was
sold in large quantities here years ago
also, but 1t was found to be soft and straight
grained and now il has practically stopped
coming to this market. Nowadays we get
the wood from Cuba and Mexico.
The Cuban product comes In small siSes
but is Of good texture and hard. II is from
Mexico, though, that the great markets
Of the world are now supplied, not only WIN
the best mahogany but also with
that is soft though much better then inc
old South American product.
MANY people have the idea that there
lie no more good mahogany and that All
that is cut now is soft. This assertion
is the outcome Of individual experiences in
procuring good or poor wood: those who
have received the beat grades pronouncs
the Mexican wood hard and beautiful In
texture
AN impression also exists that mahogany
il expensive and only TO be INDUCED IN by
a few. That is untrue. The facilities
for procuring the wood and the devices
for reducing il into lumber have 20 i'll
proved hat its cost to-day compares fav.
orsbly with some OF our domestic hard
woods. such as cherry. .
THE cost of working il il certainly not
greater than any OF the domestic woods
II lasts better than the domestic article
though.
The process Of veneering il what makes
all the hard woods expensive. as this work
hosts as much as the timber in the rough.
The wood is cut very thin, about one
thirtieth Of an inch. say. :,
A layer Of glue is placed over the wood
10 which the strip is To be applied efter
which the strip is laid on, smoothed down
by hand and then clamped between Two
hot presses, or cauls. as we call them. IL
takes some time for the glue 10 dry.
Then the clamps are removed, the WOOD
sandpapered and scraped and the real
work OF polishing begins with the appnca,
ton Of filters 10 I'LL the pores OF the wood
and make it smooth Then almost ndlee
rubbing has to be done TO develop ts
polish.
1T is a long process and expensive for
that reason. but no more costly in the cass
Of mahogany than any other wood. h
average cost OF mahogany in the rough
is from $3.50 TO $3.50 a thousand feet.
If you think mahogany is very expen-
sive, what do YOU think about Ciroassian
walnut, which we import from Russia and
costs almost double? Rosewood, which
comes from South America, costs from
three to four times as much as mahogany
and is fully as rich in coloring IL is used
but little. however, oil account OF its cost.
Satin wood. a p product OF the West Indies,
costs almost "a much as rosewood. too.
This is a bsautifu light yellow wood, which
also takes a high polish.
English brown oak is also fully as eI-
pensive as mahogany. Az present II N
scarce, as the supply is limited by laws
restricting the cutting OF il. il II ALEC very
defective and this fact makes its cost
mount up.
1T costs 80 cents a foot in the log and
the waste makes the real price amount to
a great deal more. A builder told me
recently that he put a large quantity OF
I'm ylish oak in the new home of a millionaire
and that by the time perfect pieces had been
procured the cost Of the wood had amounted
10 81 a foot.
II is one Of the most beautiful woods
We have when polished, Al its best IL has
a rich deep brown color and contains many
very dark. almost black blotches.
Ebony is all going out because II II ~
hard 10 gei good specimens 81 II nowadays.
Good ebony il almost lCt black, but that
which IL imported now is full OF gray stresks
which spoil il.
-yerv little curly maple is used these
DAYS and bird's-eye maple j. comparatively
cheap Tor n handsome wood. II sells in
the rough for ten cents a foot and veneers
cheaper than most Of the others. Walnut
has gone out OF style, TOO and has given
way 10 maple. whit. and CHARTERED oak.
ash. cherry and birch.
-i1inese teak wood j. another that IL