8 RKDWOOD LUMBERING. 



" ILLUSTRATIONS OF INDUSTRIAL ART. 



"It is notmany years since fences in some parts oflndiana 

 and Illinois were made of black walnut rails. The material 

 seemed to be a good substitute for the chestnut rails used in 

 other Northern States. The softer kinds of black walnut 

 could be split with ease, and when seasoned the wood was 

 light, and lasted very well. There were hundreds of miles 

 of this fence. At a later day, when black walnut timber be- 

 came scarce, these fences were drawn upon for lumber, which 

 was selling at sixty to seventy dollars a thousand feet, and 

 which has since advanced far beyond these figures. Every 

 black walnut stump finally came to be considered valuable. 

 They were dug up and converted into the choicest cabinet 

 lumber. 



" A similar experience will at no distant day be recorded 

 in California. One of the handsomest house interiors in this 

 State is finished largely with redwood in native colors. The 

 hall, especially,, is not only a work of art, but it is a capital 

 illustration of what may be done with this wood. The rough 

 material consisted of a number of butts and stumps of trees, 

 which were sent down to the proposed builder of the house 

 in Alameda county. When he saw the consignment he 

 was strongly tempted to order the stumps pitched into the 

 bay. They were finally sent to the planing mill, sawed into 

 the requisite boards and scantling, and returned to the builder. 

 The spacious hall is entirely finished, ceiling and allj with the 

 redwood which came from these stumps. The panel work is 

 in excellent taste, and the entire finish has produced an effect 



