The lumberers are among the roughest and rudest of the Canadian and American population: for their occupation takes them so little among the haunts of commercial or cultivated men, that they are only a few shades superior to the American Indians—in some points far beneath them.
Miscellaneous kinds of Timber.
Deal so completely takes precedence of all other timber in house-building, that a very slight notice of other varieties will suffice.
Beech is partially employed in ship-building for the keel and timbers near it; but it is not at all employed, in civil architecture. The principal use made of this wood is in the construction of machines, mill-work, lock-gates, &c., and for handles to tools; it is also a good wood for the turner, being of a close grain. It will not, however, bear alternations of moisture and dryness, and is liable to be attacked by worms, so that it is not extensively employed.
Chestnut belongs to the same tribe as the beech, but although a valuable wood, it is now little, if ever, used. Formerly it was extensively so, and the roofs of several ancient buildings were constructed of it. From some experiments, indeed, it seems to be as durable as oak itself.
Ash is the wood for the wheelwright and the maker of agricultural implements; it is one of the most valuable of all timber trees, combining great strength with elasticity and lightness; it, however, splits easily. Ash is not used either by the shipwright or the common carpenter.
Elm is a coarse-grained wood, but strong and durable, it does not work readily, and is therefore but little used. It is, however, employed for certain parts of ships, and for making casks, chests, coffins, posts for mill-work, and a few other purposes.
Next to oak and fir, the foreign wood Mahogany is by far the most valuable, and that most extensively used; it is the growth of the West Indies and South America, and the tree, the Swietenia mahogani, is, perhaps, the most majestic of all timber trees from the enormous dimensions to which its trunk attains, its vast height and size, and its dark beautiful foliage. The mahogany of the island of Cuba, and that from the bay of Honduras, is first in estimation. There are two East Indian species, but they are not imported in any quantities into this country.
The best mahogany is that which grows in dry, cold, and exposed situations. Such wood is fine-grained, hard, and dark in colour, richly variegated, causing it from its beauty to rank among the most ornamental of fancy woods, while the light, coarse-grained wood, which grows in warm moist climates, is sufficiently abundant to be used for ordinary purposes, and yet possesses admirable properties for all, where no great strength or tenacity is wanted.
Within the last twenty years the use of this wood has increased amazingly, and some ships have many of their upper timbers above the water-line constructed of Honduras mahogany. Its use in furniture and cabinet-making is well known, and, indeed, it may be said to be the principal wood used for this purpose, and to have entirely supplanted our own walnut, which was formerly in universal use for the same purposes.