ON THE FURNITURE WOODS OF COMMERCE. 463 



maple, satin, walnut, ebony, and cedar, and a few such as box, bar- 

 wood and camwood, brazilleto, &c, which are chiefly used for other 

 purposes. There are, however, some very beautiful woods which, being 

 scarce, are imported in but small quantities. 



Oak, ash, elm, beech, birch, &c, are designated hard woods ; whilst 

 mahogany, rosewood, zebra, tulip, kingwood, satin, and other furniture 

 woods, are usually sold under the denomination of fancy woods. From 

 the most common description of pine to the finest variety of satin-wood 

 or calamander, from mahogany to walnut, from wainscot to ebony — all 

 are in some way or other made to do service in their respective places 

 for the cabinet-maker. 



The elements of beauty in wood may be considered as consisting in 

 lustre, figure, and colour ; in the degree of which there are, however, 

 numerous modifications as well as limitations. 



The medullary plates contribute essentially to the character of orna- 

 mental woods, not only from being the secondary cause of the lustre of 

 most of those woods that are remarkable for this quality, but likewise 

 by their own inherent properties. In nearly all the coloured woods the 

 colour of the medullary plates is much deeper than that of the fibres, 

 sometimes varying even in kind, so that when viewed in different lights 

 they present different colours. The plane or sycamore is remarkable 

 for the size and distinctness of its medullary plates, these being of 

 a rich chestnut brown, with a considerable lustre, while the fibres are 

 nearly white and almost dull. 



There is another source of variety in wood, both in figure and colour, 

 depending on the comparison and contrast of one annual layer with 

 another. Much irregularity takes place in this respect. But this very 

 irregularity is a source of beauty, and is capable of being indefinitely 

 varied by making the section more or less oblique to the axis of the 

 tree. An alternation of colour not unfrequently accompanies these con- 

 centric rings, but is not indicative of any change of structure ; and 

 when the colours are lively, well defined, and well contrasted, their 

 effect is very agreeable : kingwood, tulip-wood, Amboyna-wood, yew, 

 lignum vitae, and partridge-wood, are, perhaps, some of the most re- 

 markable. 



This symmetrical distribution of colour passes by insensible degrees 

 into the striped, the veined, and the mottled, of which walnut affords 

 the best example among the more common woods ; and spotted and 

 veined ebony, rosewood, zebra wood, and Coromandel-wood, among the 

 more valuable ones. The three latter are particularly beautiful, 

 especially the Coromandel-wood, whether we regard the harmonious 

 tone of its colours, passing from brownish white to rich chocolate, and 

 nearly black, or the broad masses in which these are arranged, giving it 

 more the appearance of brecciated marble than of wood. 



One other variety in the figure of woods is the occurrence of eyes, 

 zoned spots and small curls, of which the bird's-eye maple, Amboyna- 



