22 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



Figured Walnut, 



ClHiK r, I.' 



Ill- 



iii:ri!i:ii wai.m t LoiiS anh luiir.s I!i:ai>v i'i>i! siiii'MKNt. 



t)iic of tlif illiistnitLDiis aci-oiMimiiyiiiK this 

 article i-oprcsi'iits n full (Mrlmul (if fiKmcil 

 \\mv\. consistiny nf iiliictrcii Muck waliiiil 

 burls iinil t\vcl\i' figured logs tliiit were 

 gnil)lii''l. 'I'lic fiict that tlicse nineteen pieces 

 were genuine Inirls, possessing rare vnMm 

 and init swirls or barlt grown Icnots. willi 

 which they are sometimes confused, was the 

 real merit of the collection and made it quite 

 renuiricable. A true walnut burl, while it is 

 not the most valuable wood known, ranks 

 high as to its commercial value, Imlh on ac- 

 count of its rarity and its beauty of figure. 

 Sometimes it is llie perfection of a log, cou-* 

 pled with llic ;nt and ingcimity of man that 



A FIN1-: 1:1. ATK WAI-Nl'T JilKI, \\i:ii:ill.\c; 

 •J. 000 POUNKS 



produces the attractiveness, as in i|uartereil 

 cak, wOiere the medullary rays are taken ad- 

 v.-mtagv of to produce a very beautiful effect 

 and gives unusual values to the wooil. In 

 burls, such as we have shown here, it i.s dif 

 ferent. They are distortions of the grain, 

 which is curled or twisted out of its natural 

 ])Ositiou. They are freaks of nature — a dis- 

 ease which causes or creates the rare value. 

 There are a- multitude of kinds belonging 

 to the family of burls, and they are fouiul 

 ou many ditl'erent kinds of trees, notably, 

 ash, oak, yew, amboyne, thuya and the big 

 sequoia of the Pacific coast. They are larger, 

 however, in proportion to the size of the tree. 

 and arc more common to walnut than any 

 other variety. All walnut Iinrls have a ccr 

 lain similarity to eacli other, but are unlike 

 those in any other kind of tindier. iSunu'- 

 limcs a very large burl will be found at the 

 liase of a small tree, and in sucli cases th • 

 liurl is the more valuable cm account of tlie 

 lesser ann.uiil of straight wood it will con- 

 tain. 1 n-uH'oilier one instance of obtaining 

 a \»alnot hurl that weighed 1,780 pounds, 

 anil was sixteen feet in circumference and a 

 little oviT live feet in diameter. It was 

 sound, healthy growing wood, well [iropor- 

 tioned and very similar in shape to a stone 

 cutter's uuillet. The tree ou which it grew 

 was mit ov r eight inches in diameter .iust 

 aJM.ve the burl, and a|ipeared stunted and 

 sickly. It was doubtless dying a slow linger- 

 iiig death from being robbed of a necessary 

 amount of nourishment by the predominating 

 vitality of the burl. Tt had outgrown the 

 tree, which was dwindling and scrawny, and 

 looked like a mere sapling growing out of 

 the huge round mass of wood. This par- 

 ticular piece of wood was an exception, as to 

 (|uality of figure and also value, yet it was 

 not prized very highly by its original owner, 

 an old (ierman. on whose land it was found. 



When he was aski'd what he would take for 

 it, in an unconcerned sort of a way, he said: 

 '"Dot beeg knot none goof, mine poys try to 

 ilig him out mine \'ay V'onc'e alr,?ady, he runs 

 up giiist mit u'iiie plow, I bees glad you take 

 him out mit unne corn field, you pays me 

 nottings. ' ' The old (rcrnian was persuaded 

 to acc(>pt a dollar for the tree, and it was 

 taken otf his prendses at once, and was soou 

 afterwards sold on boanl the car at Yates 

 ('enter, Kan., for 111 cents per pound in the 

 r<nigh, and brought $17.s. Some of the boys 

 could mit resist the pleasure of relating this 

 to tlu' old German the first time he came to 

 town, and he jumped straight up in the air 

 and said, "Mine Got, dot vas goot not, me 

 swindled him out by dam Yankee."' All 

 liurls are not such a lucky find, however, as 

 this, for it is largely a matter of chance as 

 to their value. 



^m'llKj ^poKTi^ ^^^1 



t* r- \ 





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111 V.VIU. \yOnl> SlIOWtNiJ SI'INDSK 

 Sfl!I--A('E. 



