HARDWOOD RECORD 



37 



goldleaf. It is still bright after 150 years. Tlie lesson is valuable, 

 because it shows that white pine is an excellent material over which 

 to use goldleaf. The sign has a bullet hole through it, said to have 

 been the work of an American soldier marching against the enemy. 

 The Britisli coat of arms, swinging above the street, presented too 

 great a temptation for hini' to resist. General Washington was a 

 frequent guest at the tavern. 



A large window, with the surrounding cornice, frames, and orna- 

 ments, was built in 1732, also at Medford. The historical interest of 

 this relic of early white pine lies in the tradition that within the 

 house 's walls the battle of Bunker Hill was planned. 



Church fixtures were of white pine in 1755, according to a pew 

 door of that period from the old Ship Church at Hingham, Mass. 



The display of white pine siding contained many old specimens, 

 sound after a century or more of exposure to the weather. One from 

 the Royal house at Medford dates from 1732. A section of still older 

 siding from the Fairbanks house dates from 1636. The boards are 

 ten inches wide, and are beaded. Some early eighteenth century sid- 

 ing, the exact date not being given, was interesting on account of the 

 large amount of hand work expended on it. The boards were nearly 

 a foot wide, and were cut by hand to represent two boards, one 

 overlapping the other. 



The early Massachusetts builders used roofers which would grade 

 very much higher today. A board eighteen inches wide, on which the 

 shingle roof was nailed, came from the Cornish house at Hingham. 

 The house was built in 1650, and the appearance of the board, which 

 is unaffected by decay, indicates that it was whipsawed by hand. 



A carved cornice cap from Feneuil Hall, Boston, is 172 years old, 

 and a section of rafter from the same building is 12x12 inches, and 

 the wood looks bright and new. 



A pine window cap, dating from 1737, was taken from the Hancock 

 House in Boston. 



A section of weatherlwarding, 1732, from the Fairbanks house, 

 was cut to imitate blocks of stone. 



A curious piece of pine flooring, six inches wide, from the Royal 

 House, 1732, illustrates a method of woodworking of that date. The 

 boards constituting the floor were fastened together with flat wooden 

 dowels four inches wide. Of course, all the work was done by hand, 

 and must have been slow and tedious. 



A wliite pine gutter, 1732, from the Royal House, shows the lasting 

 properties of this wood in such situations. The original gutter was 

 thirty-eight feet long, hewed from a single piece. 



A ship chest on wheels, in which the sailor kept all his earthly be- 

 longings, was a prominent feature of the exhibit. It was made in 

 1785 at Medford. 



Present-Day Uses 



There would be no particular profit in displaying the early uses 

 of white pine if that were all. The purpose of such display is to draw 

 attention to the substantial qualities of the wood, and acquaint the 

 public with its availability for similar uses at the present time. 



The modern rooms at the Forest Products Exposition, built outside 

 and in of white pine, were visited by practically every one who 

 attended at the Coliseum. The Celling had its beams, the walls their 

 panels, the exterior its weather-boarding. Panels of clear stock t^Yenty 

 inches wide were proof that good pine can still be had. Doors of 

 today are of better design than those made generations ago, and the 

 stock is no less perfect. 



The siding and the garden fencing, forming part of the enclosure 

 of the exhibit, proved the splendid painting qualities of white pine; 

 and the posts and pillars were perfect in their stock and workmanship. 



THE ABSENT ONES 



The excellence of the exhibits which were pi'epared for the purpose 

 of pleasing and instructing the public was not wholly sufScient to 

 hush regrets that some old friends were absent. Black walnut was 

 present as a single log only. Hickory was not seen outside the show- 

 cases of the Forest Service booth. Tupelo 's name was unspoken. 

 Cottonwood 's ' ' picture was turned toward the wall. ' ' Willow had no 

 place. The best hardwood of the Pacific coast, red alder, was left out. 

 The magnificent yellow poplar was looked for in vain. Locust, the 



hardest and most durable of the hardwoods, had no nook or corner. 

 HoUy, the whitest wood, was not visible. Persimmon, the shuttle 

 wood of the world, was forgotten. In addition to these, there were 

 at least fifty minor hardwoods absent from the displays. Separately, 

 they are of small importance, but in the aggregate they are of great 

 value. 



CONCLUSION 



A positive conclusion is justifie<l after a consideration of the ex- 

 jiosition as a whole. The attendance was not all that could have been 

 desired, but as a beginning it was decidedly encouraging. The class 

 of people who attended was wholly satisfactory. The exhibitors de- 

 serve great credit for their efforts to advance the interests of lumber. 



The results are In the future, but all present indications point the 

 right way. Persons who went to the Coliseum to learn about wood 

 as material for building or for manufacturing purposes, were amply 

 repaid. An excellent impression was created. Many persons ex- 

 pressed the opinion that it was no longer a question of using wood for 

 houses, but of what kind to use. Where so many kinds are available, 

 aU of which are excellent in character and beautiful in appearance, 

 it is not always an easy matter to make final choice. At any rat«, it 

 may be accepted as a fact that wood stands higher in popular esteem 

 than before the Forest Products Exposition opened its doors. The 

 pioneer work has been accomplished. The beginning of the campaign 

 of advertising wood has been successful. 



Walnut and Pianos 



A field which is drawing quite extensively on walnut for its 

 raw material, and in fact the fiehl which is probably realizing 

 its possibilities in this direction more fully than any other line, is 

 the piano trade. In this line of manufacture there is a steadily 

 increasing quantity of walnut being used each year, but this is more 

 particularly true in the middlewestern states than in the East, the 

 reason probably being the fact that eastern concerns are naturally 

 more conservative in their methods and more slow to take up with 

 any changes in styles of raw materials. 



A walnut man recently made the interesting observation, and his 

 statement is unquestionably an absolute truth, that one of the big- 

 gest reasons for the continued absence of any quantities of walnut 

 in fixtures and piano work (the condition which the walnut men are 

 battling to overcome), is the wide spread mis-information regarding 

 the quantity of this stock available and the price for which it can be 

 purchased. This walnut man said that furniture and piano factories 

 will frequently send out inquiries for walnut stocks, and instead of 

 taking the trouble of looking up firms who make a specialty of manu- 

 facturing this line of lumber or veneers, will write to the manu- 

 facturer of other hardwoods asking for quotations in connection with 

 quotations on their usual line of manufacture. As a consequence 

 these concerns who probably have not a stick of walnut on their 

 yards, and have no means of getting it other than through walnut 

 specialists, write back quoting on someone's else stock at prices 

 ranging at $5 to $10 above what it could be purchased for direct. 

 The consequence is that the piano and furniture men get an entirely 

 erroneous idea of stocks available and prevailing values. They are 

 consequently discouraged when it comes to using any of this class 

 of material. 



Accurate information as to these two points is one of the first and 

 paramount differences in primarily and adequately broadening the 

 market for walnut. There is, and there will be for a long time to 

 come, sufficient walnut to fill in the reasonable demand that might 

 be created, and it is absolutely a fact that this stock can be had at 

 prices which conform very fully to prices for other high-class 

 cabinet woods. It is simply up to the walnut man to give the proper 

 publicity to his stocks and to eradicate the vast amount of mis-infor- 

 mation which has been pretty generally in the minds of those who 

 would be possible purchasers ; and this is now being done. 



In the second place It Is up to the- walnut man to educate the 

 furniture and piano man to the beautiful possibilities which are 

 dominant in walnut to be brought out by the proper finishing 

 methods. 



