AMERICAN LUMBER IN FOREIGN MARKETS 103 



to be influential and hearty factors in promoting personal and commer- 

 cial interchanges between Syria and the United States. 



Syria presents no greater material need to-day than that which might 

 be fully met by American forests, and if the dealers of such great pine- 

 growing States as Michigan and Georgia would venture so far from 

 their base of supplies they could open up a new and valuable market 

 for their lumber, which can easily compete with eastern woods for 

 ornamental purposes, and for cheapness and lasting service, such as 

 flooring, ceilings, and general housebuilding, is unequaled. Northern 

 and Southern States could all find a demand for their rich and abundant 

 forest supplies in a land where lumber is scarce and where fine wood- 

 work is appreciated as it is nowhere else. 



THE NATIVE WOODS. 



Syria is comparatively a poorly wooded country by reason of the 

 continued use through centuries of the native lumber and the utter 

 carelessness of most of the changing occupants of the land in replacing 

 the forests as they were destroyed by time and the hand of man. The 

 famous cedars of Lebanon, which were the chief glory of the mountains 

 in the time of Solomon, have nearly all disappeared, and of the old- 

 time forests naught now remains except a few groves which adorn the 

 southern slopes and northern valleys of these historic mountains. 



The special varieties of native woods known in this part of the Turk- 

 ish Empire are the cedar, nut, oak, apricot, mulberry, willow, poplar, 

 and pine. 



The cedar is very rare and difficult to obtain on account of the pro- 

 hibition placed a few years ago by the authorities on cutting or destroy- 

 ing any tree, shrub, or spray in the Lebanon cedar groves. 



The nut wood, which is valuable on account of its rich luster and 

 beautiful color, is used for making rare and fine household furniture 

 and for general ornamental woodwork. It is well adapted for carving 

 purposes, and is frequently set with mother-of-pearl and is also used 

 for coating objects made of common woods. 



The oak is usually devoted to the manufacture of agricultural imple- 

 ments. It is too rare in Syria for use in general house building, and does 

 not compare with nut wood for ornamental purposes. 



The apricot wood, which has a reddish shade, is of little use owing 

 to its poor quality. 



Willow and mulberry are, also, of inferior quality, but are used in 

 towns for making objects of little value, while in the country they find 

 frequent use as window shutters, blinds, and baskets. 



Poplar and pine beams, owing to their exceptional length, are spe- 

 cially used as horizontal supports for roof coverings in Damascus and 

 the mountain villages. Pine, oak, and wild cedar are also used in the 

 construction of the small boats used on this coast for hauling, fishing, 

 and pleasure craft. These woods make the native lumber, but other 

 varieties are imported. 



