104 AMERICAN LUMBER IN FORFIGN MARKETS. 



IMPORTS OF LUMBER. 



The imported woods are fir, wild cedar, red pine, beech, mahogany, 

 nut, and pelissauder or ebony. The wild cedar and the fir are preferred 

 over all other varieties for building purposes, while the nut, beech, 

 mahogany, and pelissander are preferred for ornamental woodwork, 

 furniture, etc. 



Fir constitutes the largest amount of lumber imported into this coun- 

 try. It is imported from Austria. Special care is taken with this fine 

 wood and with forests generally in Austria, and it is their boast, after 

 observing the waste of wood and the wholesale destruction of forests 

 in the United States, that Austrian forests will some day be supplying 

 the United States with lumber. 



The annual imports of each foreign variety are approximately esti- 

 mated to be, on an average, as follows: Fir wood from Austria, 300 

 wagons or car loads j wild cedar from Garamania, 90,000 pieces; red 

 pine from Caramania, 25,000 pieces; beech from Anatolia and the Black 

 Sea, 10,000 pieces; mahogany, ebony or pelissander, and nut woods 

 from different parts of Europe, 40 cases, containing each 500 sheets, 

 leaves, or pieces. 



IMPORT DUTIES. 



The customs duty imposed on lumber imported from foreign countries 

 into Syria is 8 per cent ad valorem. Lumber is also subjected to other 

 local duties upon landing, viz, municipal duty, 2 paras (2 mills) per 

 piece j and wharf duty, 4 paras (4 mills) per piece. 



PRICES. 



Fir boards or planks, which usually measure 4 meters (4.3745 yards) 

 long by 25 centimeters (9.84 inches) wide, and 25 millimeters (0.984 

 inches) thick, are worth from 7f to 11J piasters (27 to 42 cents). 



Wild cedar wood costs from 70 to 80 cents per piece. Bed pine is 

 worth from 53 to 67 cents per piece. 



These two last varieties are imported in the shape of either rafters 

 measuring 5.468 yards long by 6.299 to 7.086 inches wide and 3.149 to 

 3.54 inches thick, or laths measuring 3.2S1 yards long by 9.84 to 11.811 

 inches wide and 3.937 to 5.905 inches thick. 



Beams of fir or red pine imported from Trieste and Caramania, 

 measuring 6.56 to 8.74 yards long by 9.842 to 11.81 inches wide, cost 

 from $2.90 to $3.86 each, while the beams having 9.84 to 10.936 yards in 

 length and 13.78 to 15.748 inches in width, are worth $9.65 to $11.58 

 each. 



Beech laths, measuring 4.374 yards. long by 4.72 inches wide and 

 4.72 inches thick are worth from 96 cents to $1.12 each. 



The average price of a box of mahogany or nut wood containing 

 each 500 sheets is about $70, while the box of pelissander (ebony) is 



