Page:Architectural Review and American Builders' Journal, Volume 1, 1869.djvu/75

1868.] American and Foreign Woods. 55 For the construction of houses and of cabinet-ware, most of the above-named woods are well adapted in utility, dura- bility and beauty. The Pine and its varieties are so familiar to ns all, that we do not prop- erly appreciate this great national en- dowment. Commencing with the most inferior of this genus, the Hemlock, we find its great utility in furnishing us with cheap joists for small houses. Next, the Spruce, which is very elastic and durable, produces the best joists for large buildings, better than Oak, as it will last fully as long, is much easier to work, and does not warp so much. It is equally strong with ordinary Black Oak ; and, not being so heavy, is better adapted for extensive edifices. The next is White Pine, the wood of all woods for general purposes ; and is bounti- fully distributed by Providence almost all over the whole continent. It is so very plentiful, that we are wasting it shamefully, without making any prepar- ations to maintain or restore the supply, and no doubt we will continue this pro- digal waste, until the difficulty of ob- taining it so enhances the price, that we will be compelled to be more economical in its use. It is cut to all sizes, for all purposes in building ; and is used for doors, sash, mouldings, facings, shingles, weather-boarding and packing-boxes. It is the easiest to work of all known woods, and is of more practical use in the me- chanic arts, than all other woods com- bined. Yellow Pine is the hardest of the genus. It is found in best perfection in North and South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. As is the case in all other woods, so with this, the nearer the tropics the harder the wood. Fat Pine is not found north of Virginia; but in New Jersey, and in some sections of Penn- sylvania, there is a hard-grained wood, somewhat resembling it, used for cheap flooring, wainscoting and weather-board- ing, particularly in Jersey ; and in con- structing the schooners and sloops that are built so profusely along the Jersey coast. The Yellow Pine also is a great benefactor to the human race. It pro- duces from its sap turpentine, rosin, pitch and tar, and is of prime utility for masts of the largest ships — also for ship-timbers and deck-flooring. It is almost indispensable for floor-boards, and is the very best wood for all interior work in good houses ; its great dura- bility arises from the fact, that it is so impregnated with the resin, that it at once affiliates with the turpentine in the paint, and holds the latter very firmly. This at first may not seem a matter of much importance; but we know, from long experience, that such is the case, and can likewise adduce analogous facts. For instance, in using varnishes that are made from resinous gums, we find it very difficult to make a coat of shellac varnish take hold on a coat of copal, or vice versa — whilst we can put coat after coat of either kind on the top of another, and they will all affili- ate, and become a solid mass. The turpentine in the paint will mix with the resin of the wood from which it is derived. The writer was forced to this conclusion, on examining the paint of a house built thirty years before, which was being torn down, and in which all of the wood, even to the stud- ding, was Fat Pine, whose paint was in good preservation, with no disposition to blister. Fat Pine is really a beauti- fully-grained wood ; and when made into furniture, and finished with shellac var- nish, it is much more beautiful than Oak, and equal in appearance to Satin- Wood. For finishing the interior of dining-rooms, for doors, wash-boards, wainscoting, window-frames and sash, it is much more beautiful than Ash, not near so gloomy-looking as Walnut, and will not wear dirty in color, as all other light-colored woods do. To cabinet and chair-makers, Poplar is a very serviceable wood, but is not of much utility to builders. The soft Yel- low Poplar, such as is used for wood-