USES OF THE AILANTHUS. 279 



which had grown in the yard of a city house there. This 

 furniture has been in daily use for nearly twenty years ; and 

 its solidity and beauty furnish a strong argument in favor of 

 the value of ailanthus^wood for cabinet-making. In this 

 connection I am glad to be able to quote the opinion of the 

 mechanic who was employed to make this furniture, and 

 who is now a large furniture-dealer in Providence, because 

 the testimony of a practical mechanic in regard to the way a 

 wood works will naturally have greater weight with other 

 practical men than a theoretical opinion in regard to it, based 

 on its specific gravity and structure. The following letter, 

 giving his opinion of the value of ailanthus-wood, has been 

 sent me : — 



I would say that I have a very high opinion of its merits, from its 

 beautiful color (resembling satin-wood), its compactness, the facility with 

 which it can be worked, and its reliability as to keeping in place : indeed, it 

 has all the merits which manufacturers of cabinet-work value. It can be 

 seasoned as easily as walnut or mahogany, as my experience has shown 

 me. As to its shrinking and warping, I regard it as superior to walnut, 

 and fully equal to mahogany. When cut from full-grown trees, it would 

 cut up as economically as first-class walnut or ash. In its grain the wood 

 is very fine, and weighs about the same as mahogany. It has no un- 

 pleasant odor. It does not dull tools any more than mahogany, and can 

 be seasoned quite as readily. When its merits are known, its market- 

 value would be fully equal, I should think, to that of the best walnut, say 



twelve to fifteen cents per foot. 



James H. Field. 



Providence, January, 1878. 



Other experts to whom specimens of this wood have been 

 submitted speak of it in equally enthusiastic terms, either for 

 cabinet-making or for interior finish, for which its light, 

 cheerful color, and freedom from any tendency to shrink, 

 particularly adapt it. For the treads of stairs, the floors of 

 mills, offices, and other buildings where constant use requires 

 a hard, strong wood, it is probably superior to an}^ of the 

 woods commonly employed in such situations. From its 

 structure, it is not improbable that ailanthus will be found 

 nearly as durable as white oak, when exposed to the weath- 

 er; but on this point I am unable to speak with certainty, as 

 experiments covering a sufficiently long period of time to be 

 of any value have not come under my notice. Should, how- 

 ever, this opinion of its durability be confirmed, the ailan- 



