SOME SCIENTIFIC POINTS IN CABINET MAKING. 
them it is stated that Narcissus, the multi-millionaire secretary of the 
Emperor Claudius, possessed a very fine table of thuja wood valued at 
1,000,000 sestertii, which in actual gold currency of his day would 
equal 10,000 sovereigns. It was, however, only veneered, whereas an- 
other existed which was said to be solid and of much higher value. 
The timber was brought from the Atlas Mountains. We have other 
records showing that choice woods were held in high esteem, and we 
know that red cedar was regularly brought from the Orient in the form 
of packing cases bound with cords so that it might not be spoiled by 
nails. The practice lasted to our own times. 
There exist some drawings of ancient furniture of elegant form, and 
we have even specimens of woodwork so well preserved from Roman 
times that the system of construction can be perfectly followed. A 
carriage wheel in good preservation, found at the Roman fort of New- 
stead in .recent years, shows an elm hub, ash spokes, bent rim in one 
piece with its one joint cleverly protected, the iron tyre being rounded 
and shut on to the bent ash rim, just as in these days. For the axle is 
provided a double instead of a single box, whilst the whole workman- 
ship is light, elegant, and admirably proportioned. The spokes are 
neatly turned, and are mortised into hub and rim in the most approved 
style. The wheel could not be made better, and: would not be made 
as prettily, in the present day. Inasmuch as such perfection was 
attained in the time of Hadrian, himself a capable designer, born at 
Nemausus, a centre of advanced Gallic art, we can partly estimate the 
high quality of cabinet making at that epoch. For excellence in coach- 
building obviously must have been reflected in household furnishing, 
because both belong to the school of joinery. I found the museums at 
“Nismes to afford a delightful study in household objects of great beauty, 
and they have surely had an influence upon French taste during the 
centuries. 
Thus we see that the knowledge necessary to the art. of cabinet 
making and joinery in general has taken a long time to accumulate, 
whilst we can remain assured that in previous civilizations a high 
degree of proficiency was attained. 
