Page:Architectural Review and American Builders' Journal, Volume 1, 1869.djvu/481

 1868.] Lumber and Lumler Yards. 387 LUMBER AND LUMBER YARDS. By F. H. Williams.* IN" connection with architecture and architectural improvements, the sub- ject of the manufacture and proper prep- aration of Building Materials is of par- amount importance; and experience has demonstrated the impossibility of suc- cessfully carrying out the artistic design of the architect, without both the intel- ligent co-operation of the Builder, and the presence of first-class Material wherewith to construct the Building. First in importance, among the innu- merable species of merchandise neces- sary in the erection of an edifice, large or small, is Lumber. It enters into the composition of the whole, from the com- pletion of the cellar walls, until the house passes out of the hands of the Builder. It is the article of all others the most indispensable, and although experience has hitherto shown, that Providence always provides a substitute for an article, which increasing con- sumption renders extinct ; yet it is diffi- cult for us to conceive where we are to find a conimodit3', that shall take the place of Lumber, should a time arrive, when our timber forests are exhausted. And here it is in place, to call atten- tion to the unjustifiable prodigality and shameless waste manifested in some dis- tricts of the United States, where the immense tracts of timber lands have rendered the inhabitants insensible to their enormous value. Lands having to be cleared for agri- cultural purposes are stripped of their growths by fire ; and millions of feet of Lumber, which, for the uses of manufac- ture and commerce, are worth fortunes, are thus ruthlessly and wickedly de- stroyed. Those who are now burning up our noble pines will discover their mistake, wdien too late. Just as the farmers of Indiana, who, a dozen years ago, made their post-and-rail fences of the finest black walnut, are now mourning over their indiscretion, when they behold the marvelous popularity, innumerable uses, and rapidly decreasing supply of this beautiful wood. In this paper, however, it is our pur- pose to rather deal with facts as they are, than to raise our voice against any abuses of past or present; and we will therefore proceed to an examination of the processes for preparing Lumber for market; and also of the proper manage- ment of a Lumber Yard. Persons not well informed on the sub- ject have very incorrect ideas of the length of time required for the thorough Seasoning of Lumber. The time that should elapse between the cutting and sawing of the log and the working of the boards for their final consumption varies very widely in the different woods, this difference being caused chiefly by the closeness of the grain, hardness of the wood, and the tenacity with which the pores retain the sap. So far as a matter so indefinite, and so dependent upon extraneous circum- stances, can be reduced to a statistical form, the following table vn&y be referred to as showing the average time neces- sary for the seasoning of the woods named : White Pine Boards 1 year. " " Plauk, 2 inches 15 to IS mos. White Pine Plauk, 3 inches 2 years. Southern Heart Pinp, 1 iuch 1 year. Southern Heart Pine, 5-4 inch 15 mos. Black Walnut, 1 inch 20 mos. to 2 years. " Black Walnut S-4 Plank 2., years. Black Walnut Plauk, 4 or 5 inch 4 years. Hemlock will dry out sufficiently to be used as joists in from five to seven months, while many Hard woods, such as Oak and Ash, approximate Walnut in the length of time required. The latter is the most difficult to judge of, with any degree of certainty. The writer has seen a 5 inch Walnut Plank, sawed eight years before, which, upon being cut into two equal Planks, was perfectly
 * Lumber Merchant, Seventeenth and Spring Gar en streets.