WOOD. 



97 



rasionally, yet not very often, the Honduras wood 

 is of singular brilliancy; and it is then eagerly 

 sought for, to be employed in the most expensive 

 cabinet work. A short time ago, Messrs Broad- 

 wood, distinguished English makers of piano-fortes, 

 gave the enormous sum of 3000 for three logs of 

 mahogany. These logs, the produce of one tree, 

 were each about fifteen feet long, and thirty-eight 

 inches wide. They were cut into veneers of eight 

 to an inch. A new species of mahogany has been 

 lately introduced in cabinet work, which is com- 

 monly called Gambia. As its name imports, it 

 comes from Africa. It is of a beautiful colour, but 

 does not retain it so long as the Spanish and Hon- 

 duras woods. 



The wood most in use for cabinet work, next to 

 mahogany, is rose-wood. The name of this species 

 of wood is derived from its fragrance ; and it has long 

 been known to the cabinet-makers of England and 

 France. It was first introduced, it is said, from the 

 isle of Cyprus ; though the great supply now comes 

 from Brazil. The width of the logs imported into 

 England averages twenty-two inches, so that it must 

 be the produce of a considerable tree. The more 

 distinct the darker parts are from the purple-red, 

 which forms the ground, the more is the wood 

 esteemed. It is ordinarily cut into veneers of nine 

 to an inch, and is employed, in this way, for all the 

 larger furniture, such as tables, but solid for the legs 

 of chairs, tables and cabinets. 



King-wood is generally used for small cabinet 

 works, and for borderings to those which are larger. 

 It is extremely hard. The tree which produces it 

 is small, as the sticks are seldom brought to Eng- 

 land more than five inches wide, and four feet long. 

 Its colour is of a chocolate ground, with black 

 veins, sometimes running into the finest lines, and 

 at others, more spread over the ground, as in rose- 

 wood. The botanical name of the tree which pro- 

 duces this wood is not known. It comes from Brazil. 

 And here we should remark the exceedingly imper- 

 fect state of our knowledge with regard to the spe- 

 cies of trees which produce the fancy woods, so ex- 

 tensively used in cabinet work. The attention of 

 botanists who have described the productions of 

 South America and Australasia, from which these 

 fine woods come, has not been directed to this point : 

 and the commercial dealers in these woods have paid 

 no regard to it. 



Beef-wood, principally used in forming borders to 

 work, in which the larger woods are employed, is 

 intensely hard and extremely heavy. Its colour 

 is a pale red, not so clouded as mahogany. The 

 timber arrives in England in logs of about nine feet 

 long, by thirteen or fourteen inches wide. The 

 tree which produces it is not known in botanical 

 description, but it is a native of New Holland. 



Tulip-wood would appear to be the produce of a 

 tree little exceeding the character of a shrub ; for 

 it arrives in sticks of about five inches diameter, 

 seldom more than four feet in length. It is very 

 hard, and of a clouded red and yellow colour. Its 

 principal use is in bordering, though it is employed 

 in smaller articles, such as caddies and ladies' work 

 tables. 



Zebra-wood is the produce of a large tree, and is 

 received in logs of two feet wide. It is a cheap 

 wood, and is employed in large work, as tables. | 

 The colour is somewhat gaudy, being composed of j 

 brown, on a white ground, clouded with black, and 

 each strongly contrasted, as its name imports, de- 

 rived, as it is, from the colours of the Zebra. 



VII. 



Coromandel-wood is used in large works, like 

 zebra and rose-wood. It is inferior to rose-wood 

 in the brilliancy and division of its colours, having 

 a dingy ground, and sometimes running into white 

 streaks. The tree which produces it is of a large size. 



Satin-wood is well known for its brilliant yellow 

 colour, with delicate glowing shades. It is now 

 not much used in cabinet work. The timber ar- 

 rives in logs two feet wide, and seven or eight feet 

 long. 



Sandal-wood is of a light-brown colour, with 

 brilliant waves of a golden hue, not unlike the 

 finest Honduras mahogany. It is about the same 

 size as satin-wood. 



Amboyna-wood is now very much used in cabinet 

 work. It is of various colours, and the shades are 

 generally small. It arrives in logs of two feet wide. 



Snake-wood is extremely hard, of a deep-red co- 

 lour, with black shades. It is principally used for 

 bordering and small work. 



Hare-wood something resembles satin-wood in 

 the arrangement of its waves, but its colour is dif- 

 ferent, being of a light-brown ground. 



Botany bay oak forms very beautiful furniture. 

 The ground is a uniform brown, with large dark 

 blotches. 



Ebony is also much used. Of the several cabinet- 

 makers' woods bearing this name, there are the 

 African cliff ebony, which is black, with a white 

 spot ; and the spotted ebony, a very beautiful 

 wood, and extremely hard, (more so than the com- 

 mon ebony), of which the ground is black, with 

 brown and yellow spots. 



Acker-wood is the produce of a large tree, and is 

 of a cinnamon colour. 



Canary-wood is of a golden yellow. 



Purple-wood, which has been lately introduced, 

 is of a purple colour, without veins. This appears 

 to be the produce of a thorn of tropical countries, 

 being only four inches wide. These three woods 

 have been little used in furniture, but have been 

 lately employed in mosaic floors. 



Bird's-eye maple (its appearance is described in 

 its name), which has also been so employed, is a 

 narrow and long wood. 



Calamander-wood. There is a very beautiful 

 wood of this name growing in the island of Ceylon. 

 The wood is very hard and heavy, and of singular- 

 ly remarkable variety and admixture of colours. It 

 is very difficult to describe this ; nay, impossible to 

 convey to those who have not seen it an idea of the 

 manner in which the shades run into one another. 

 The most prevailing of these is a fine chocolate 

 colour, now deepening almost into absolute black, 

 now fading into a medium between fawn and cream 

 colours. In some places, however, the latter tint 

 is placed in more striking, though never quite in 

 sudden, contrast with the richest shades of the 

 brown. The variations are sometimes displayed in 

 clustering mottles, sometimes in the most graceful 

 streaks. There is not, however, any thing in the 

 least gaudy or fantastic in the general result. It 

 certainly arrests the eye, but it is from the rich 

 beauty of the intermingled colours, not from any 

 undue showincss. This wood takes a very high 

 polish. It is wrought into chairs, and particularly 

 into tables, and even large folding-doors have been 

 made of it. 



Partridge, leopard, and porcupine woods are very 

 rarely used. Their names are derived from a sup- 

 posed similarity of their colours to those of the ani- 

 mals whose denominations they bear. 



