96 AMERICAN LUMBER IN FOREIGN MARKETS. 



especially valuable and highly prized. The wood of the hinoki is gen- 

 erally very white, sometimes slightly pink, very fine grained, tough, 

 with little resin, and free from knots. The tree is found chiefly on the 

 mountain sides, and flourishes in a soil composed of granite or volcanic 

 rock. It has long been regarded as sacred, and is planted in many 

 places along the roadside, and forms beautiful avenues leading to tem- 

 ples. The trunks are straight, having a circumference of from 12 to 13 

 feet and a height of from 100 to 120 feet. The wood is used in the con- 

 struction of temples, for the ornamental decoration of the most expen- 

 sive houses, and is preferred for lacquer ware. 



There is another wood called kiaki, which by some is said to belong 

 to the family of the beech, by others to that of the oak, but the grain 

 is not so fine as that of the beech and the specific gravity is less than 

 that of the oak. The tree resembles the beech in the color of its bark 

 and general appearance, and resembles the oak in the grain of the 

 wood. The kiaki is regarded as furnishing the best building timber 

 in Japan, but, being expensive, is used mostly for joiner work. 



There are three varieties of the fir, which furnish the usual building 

 wood for houses, the sugi, inomi, and matsu; the latter, being the 

 strongest, is also used in bridge building. Extensive forests of these 

 woods are cultivated by private individuals, and as the trees grow 

 rapidly, the wood is much cheaper and more abundant. 



It is estimated in official reports that of the entire acreage of Japan 

 23 per cent is covered by mountain forests, owned entirely by the Gov- 

 ernment, and 18 per cent by cultivated forests, the property of private 

 owners. 



PRICES AND IMPORTS. 



The price of the above-named lumber is as follows per square foot: 

 Kia-ki, 54 sen; hinoki, 54; momi, 20; matsu, 25; and sugi, 21. 



At the present rate of exchange 100 sen (one yen) equal 53J cents 

 United States gold. 



Imports of lumber in 1893. 

 Imported from Yen. 



Great Britain 481.46 



United S tates 2, 071. 26 



Canada 5,186.84 



Germany 351.40 



India... 482.54 



The imports of foreign lumber at Osaka amounted to a little less for 

 the same period. Foreign lumber is used at both ports in relaying the 

 decks of foreign constructed vessels and in refurnishing their masts and 

 spars. A small amount of Indian teak and other high-priced woods 

 are imported for the manufacture of furniture. 



