THE SYCAMORE. 19 



Among the many and various kinds of tim- 

 ber imported into this country from Norway 

 and Sweden, America, or any other country, 

 " none has yet supplanted the sycamore." 

 No foreign timber has hitherto been found as 

 a substitute for sycamore, for the uses of the 

 calico printer, for his blocks for printing, his 

 rollers, his squeezer bowls, nor excelled it for 

 the wood engravers. For kitchen dressers it 

 stands equally unrivalled. It is extensively 

 used in the fittings-up of our merchants' count- 

 ing-houses, wherever it can be obtained, and 

 its smooth surface and durability render it 

 most useful and valuable for all these purposes; 

 and it is again most seviceable from its being 

 so easily kept clean, and it is now more scarce, 

 and commands a higher price in the market, 

 than any other timber now required in the 

 manufacturing districts. It will at any time 

 command five shillings a foot if of very large 

 dimensions. Indeed, it is scarcely to be 

 found within any reasonable distance from 

 those districts wherein it cannot be dispensed 



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