38 
House & Garden 
HOMES THAT WERE BUILT OE PINE 
Wherein Are Proofs of Our Ancestors’ Good Sense in 
Using Wood That Withstands Every Test of Time 
MARY H. NORTHEND 
ing it with the house of today, one 
realizes the superiority of the old 
timber. There is a picturesqueness 
in the old mansions that was 
brought about by the mellowing 
influence of time. Often they are 
vine clad, and the color scheme of 
green and soft gray never fails to ap¬ 
peal. It is then that one stops to think 
of the wonderful material that must 
have been incorporated in both 
frame and shingle to have them re¬ 
tain such a splendid condition. 
Many of these houses, even the 
earliest ones, have been carefully 
cared for, as is shown in the John 
Ward house at Salem, where the 
siding on the main portion of the 
house is from one hundred and 
fifty to two hundred years old. It 
has stood all this time, and while 
that on the lean-to is of consider¬ 
ably later date, yet there is no ap¬ 
preciable difference between it and 
that on the main portion of the 
house. In both cases pine was used. 
We have read that almost every 
garden had its green-arbor or sum¬ 
merhouse in the days of our great¬ 
grandmothers. They were not 
elaborate affairs, and yet some of 
them showed good lines and pro¬ 
portions and are worthy of copy even to¬ 
day. A square, unpretentious little sum¬ 
merhouse is still standing in Salem that 
was built about 1800, of the one material 
that in those days possessed the proper 
qualifications for inexpensive building. It 
must be remembered in studying these 
designs that they were wrought out by 
men who had little chance of obtaining 
suggestions save through their own 
brains. This accounts in a way for the 
delicacy of design which is shown in the 
ornamentation. The plain boards used on 
the weather side insure protection from 
rain, while the lattice work was 
built to obtain good circulation 
of air. The columns are par¬ 
ticularly interesting on account 
of their odd carving. 
The green-arbors vary in 
build. Many of them are per¬ 
fectly simple, showing an arched 
roof with seats along both sides. 
They are generally the central 
feature of the garden, and over 
them were trained the old-fash¬ 
ioned vines. Many of these 
old-time structures we find in 
the gardens of today, for the 
lasting quality of the wood used 
in their construction has kept 
them in such perfect condition 
that they are still standing as 
memorials of the old-time art. 
Their graceful design and their 
simplicity of construction lend 
themselves admirably to 20th 
Century work. 
Fortunately for us many of 
{Continued on page 84) 
In New England many of the old Colonial fences still stand. Since 
they were built of white pine, they are still in good condition 
W HEN we look back to the 
homes of our early colonists 
we discover two facts: their own¬ 
ers believed in the doctrine of 
Safety First, and they knew good 
wood when they saw it. 
For present purposes we may dis¬ 
miss the first of these conditions 
with the remark that of all precau¬ 
tionary measures the world has 
known, few have excelled those 
overhanging second stories from 
which our ancestors were wont to 
drop boiling water, hot pitch, rocks 
and other defensive weapons on the 
heads of unwelcome visitors. As to 
the second fact, proof of it is found 
in the old Fairbanks house at 
Dedham, Massachusetts, built 1636 
and, like a certain character in mod¬ 
ern advertising, “still going strong.” 
What building wood did they use, 
those level-headed ancestors of 
ours? Quite simply and naturally, 
the most easily procured and the 
best for their purpose—white pine. 
Hawthorne immortalized white 
pine in the first American novel, 
“The House of Seven Gables.” 
Louisa M. Alcott was sheltered in 
the little pine house that still stands 
close under the hill at Concord; 
John Alden wooed Priscilla in a cabin 
made of enormous white pine logs, so 
romance is truly linked with the history 
of this very practical wood. 
The forests that grew in the early days 
on our shores have disappeared, but they 
fulfilled their mission, as is shown in the 
17th and 18th Century houses now stand¬ 
ing. There is enough white pine left, how¬ 
ever, to meet all demands, and it can be 
furnished, quality considered, at reason¬ 
ably low prices. 
White pine has been commonly consid¬ 
ered too costly for ordinary building pur¬ 
poses, but the great majority of 
those who hold this opinion 
have neither investigated the 
subject nor have they realized 
the worth and the lasting qual¬ 
ities of the splendid wood. The 
cost of white pine is really 
higher than that of its substi¬ 
tutes, just as mahogany is 
higher than other woods used 
for interior finish, yet no one 
questions their relative worth. 
It does not shrink or rot after 
years of exposure in the most 
exacting climatic conditions. 
The seasoning of wood is a 
very important consideration in 
house building, for poor season¬ 
ing results in leakage, caused 
by the shrinkage of the timbers. 
White pine is particularly valu¬ 
able because it seasons very 
quickly and also because it is so 
light and soft that it works easily 
under the carpenter’s tools, offer¬ 
ing little resistance to nails and 
screws, but instead closing over them and 
holding them fast. This is on account of the 
close grain and freedom from objectionable 
acids and oils, and these qualities also allow 
it to take paint and stain perfectly. 
For Exterior Use 
Let us consider the exterior value of 
wood in the sidings, corner boards, frames 
and casings of a house. We find many an 
old dwelling, particularly in the rural dis¬ 
tricts, which has been untenanted for 
years. Few, if any, repairs have been made 
since the early building and yet, compar¬ 
[n the very simplicity of the old-time paneled and wain¬ 
scoted rooms are found a certain richness and dignity 
