HARDWOOD RECORD 



23 



•class interior finish belongs, constitutes the largest use of oak, 

 with furniture next in quantity. These were the two commodities 

 shown in the exhibit. Nearly tifty others were not represented 

 at all, and any one or two of them would have been sufficient 

 to equip an exhibit as large as that at the Coliseum. This con- 

 sideration makes plain why oak is so widely known as the king 

 of hardwoods aud the prince of cabinet woods. 



SOUTHERN CYPRESS MANUFACTXTKERS ' ASSOCIATION 

 The cypress pcopl.' h^ivc faith, Tlicy I.elicve in tlicir wood, and 

 their faith is not witliout works. In the muttci- of rciiiotc an- 

 tiquity their exhibit lai.l it over vvvvy other at the Coliseum. 



They had a section of a cypress log, witli the bark still on, and 

 the sample was claimed to be 10,000 years old, and decay had 

 scarcely touched it. The log was unearthed beneath fifteen feet 

 of silt while digging a canal near New Orleans. The log's age 

 was estimated by the depth of soil that had formed over it. The 

 California redwood people were caught napping, or they would 

 have beat all comers in the age contest by exhibiting wood from 

 the La Brae pit which is said to be 500,000 years old. 



The cypress display was liiich with so 

 many samples of wood that had lasted long 

 periods that a list would be monotonous for 

 its length. Some of the samples go back 

 much farther than any living man can re- 

 member. One in particular which attracted 

 the attention of every visitor at the exposi- 

 tion was tlie side and roof of a house which, 

 until six weeks ago, was standing, and was a 

 residence, near Berlin, | on the eastern shore 

 of Maryland. The house was shingled with 

 •ejrpress, both the roof and sides. 



This venerable house was built in 17<i."i 

 by Isaac M. Hill, and' the original shingles 

 are still on it, and though somewhat worn 

 by wind and weather, decay has made nu 

 inroads. The house was bought for the 

 purpose of showing it at the Forest Products 

 Exposition in Chicago and New York. 

 Eelics op Antiquity 



The cypress exhibit was in charge of 

 George E. Watson aud C. S. Reynaud. Tlieir 

 text was ' ' Cypress, the wood eternal, ' ' and 

 they submitted data to substantiate the 

 claim. Among the exhibits along that line 

 were the following: 



Telegraph crossarms after thirty years of 

 lines ; unaffected by decay. 



A fence post which is sound, except at the ground line, aft^r sixty 

 years. 



Shingles, sash and various other articles from the Limerick Plantation, 

 Louisiana, which were in use 154 years. 



An unpainted ornament from the unfinished Nutt house, near Natchez, 

 Miss., undecayed after fifty-six years exposure to the weather. 



A shutter from the house built at Oakley, S. C, in 1700 by Governor 

 Nathaniel Johnson. This !iou.~.e is still occupied, and the shutter was 



borrowed for the exposition with the promise that it be returned. It 

 will he hung in place again for more service. 



A door that was exposed 133 years at Ilig .liiiis Cluireh, Pineapolis, 

 S. C, was in the exhibit. 



There were several photographs of very old buildings in which 

 cypress, exposed to weather, has stood well. One such was the 

 Schweetman drug store, Charleston, S. C, built in 169.5. Another 

 was a cypress fence eightj' years old at Natches, Miss. This 

 fence was put together with small wooden pins in place of nails. 

 An example of pecky cypress was shown. This is a disease 

 peculiar to cypress and to the incense cedar of California. It is a 

 sort of decay which hollows out small pits in the tree's interior. 

 The pits are usually filled with brown pow- 

 <ler. The disease is due to a fungus which 

 destroys much cypress. A log .sawed down 

 the ini<ldlc exposed the pits and showed in 

 what way they aflfect standing timber. 



MODEBX UsE.S 



The value of- any wood tlepends largely 

 upon its present uses. The cypress bunga- 

 I '"• displa3'ed the utility of this wood as 

 uterior and exterior finish. What is known 

 I- sugi finish was largely in evidence. This 

 is a rough finish, produced by burning the 

 surface and removing the charred wood with 

 a steel brush. Cypress is peculiarly suited 

 to that style of finish. 



The bungalow had a beamed ceiling, 

 paneled walls, and was wholly finished in 

 cypress, even to the sash in the windows, the rough jiorch siding, and 

 the posts and roof. 



The durability of the wood fits it for use as outdoor furniture, 

 and samples of such were shown. 



Models of a club house and of farm buildings were intended 

 to illustrate the practical use of cypress for eonstructiou pur- 

 poses. 



A little wine cask was displayed with evident pride. It was 



TltEATI.NG PLANT— AMERICAN WOOD PRESERVERS' ASSOCIATION 



Western 



hooped with silver, and had a capacity of two or three gallons. 

 The history of the diminutive barrel tells that it was presented 

 as a prize to the cj-press people by the California Wine Associa- 

 tion, after a series of tests to determine the best substitute for 

 white oak in the manufacture of wine barrels. Cypress won. 



There were numerous samples of panels, ornaments, and mold- 

 ing, intended to show the smooth finish and other desirable quali- 

 ties of cypress for mill work. 



A pergola was an attractive feature of the exhibit. It was 



