REDWOOD LUMBERING. 7 



this particular redwood stands highest of all building material, 

 particularly after it has been given a fair opportunity to 

 become seasoned. 



Of late years our wealthiest people have become im- 

 pressed with the fact that redwood in its natural state fur- 

 nishes the best rraterial for interior finish ; not because it is 

 comparatively cheap, but because of its beautiful color when 

 polished. Some of the most expensive and richly furnished 

 houses erected within the past two years in San Francisco 

 have been finished in redwood. The color of the wood 

 varies, when polished, from a light cherry to a dark mahogany. 

 The darker colors come from trees grown upon bottom lands*' 

 and the lighter colors from the lighter soils of mountain and/' 

 hillside. Variation in color, therefore, partakes of the rich- 

 ness of the soil, as also does the size of the tree itself. The 

 bark of the tree grown on the rich bottoms of the Eel, Van 

 Duzen, Elk and Mad Rivers, as well as in the larger creeks 

 tributary to them and the sloughs extending inland from Hum- 

 boldt Bay, are very dark and thick, while on the side-hills they 

 have thin bark and are very light in color, varying gradually 

 from the foot of a hill to its ridge, the wood itself being soft- 

 er and lighter as a higher altitude is attained. 



Speaking of the uses of redwood, no better article on the 

 subject has found its way into print than the following from 

 the S. F. "Bulletin" of September 8th, 1884. This influ- 

 ential journal has justly earned the reputation of a close ob- 

 server of passing events and their bearing on future results. 

 It says: 



