160 FIRST BOOK OF FORESTRY 



his work by having lumber of definite sizes and grades. 

 Thus, in building an ordinary frame house with walls 

 sixteen feet high, he need not shape the frame pieces, but 

 orders sixteen-foot studding and thus saves a great deal 

 of extra work. Moreover, the owner also saves a great 

 deal of material by this arrangement, since the sixteen- 

 foot pieces all fit, and but little of his lumber is cut into 

 short, useless pieces. Formerly hardly any hardwood 

 timber ever entered in the construction of an ordinary 

 house, but of late years much hardwood is used as finish- 

 ing lumber, i.e., for floor, ceiling, doors, etc. 



The carpenter's lumber should be light to handle, soft 

 to nail and saw ; it should dry without much warping, and 

 it should be safe against insects. On the other hand, 

 most of it need not be pretty, since it is covered up ; and 

 it need not be very strong or tough, since it is rarely 

 heavily loaded or jarred. 



The desirable combination of qualities for house-build- 

 ing material is found in most conifers, but in very few 

 hardwoods, and our frame house will cease to be common 

 wherever pine and other coniferous lumber becomes scarce. 



Most of our hardwood lumber is used for all kinds of 

 furniture and implements. In a table or chair the pieces 

 need not be long or broad, nor need they be light and 

 soft. On the contrary, they must be firm and strong, 

 quite tough, and, in addition, they should have a pleasing 

 appearance. 



