Page:Architectural Review and American Builders' Journal, Volume 1, 1869.djvu/652

 52S The Architectural Review and American Builders' Journal. [Feb., ble, and said to be susceptible of a high polish. But the Japanese employ a spe- cies of cedar, which, however, Thiinberg describes as a kind of Cyprus; a beauti- ful wood, that lasts long, without decay, in building bridges, houses, and even ships. Cedar is now seldom employed in England, or the Continent, for build- ing purposes, although there is a species, indigenous to Spain, and the south of France, which possesses many of the es- sential requisites. Indeed, there seems to be a great difference between the va- rious qualities of Cedar, as there is be- tween the Scotch Fir and the Norwegian Pine ; and it is obvious, that the ordi- nary tables of strength of materials must be grossly defective, when they speak of Cedar as representing a con- stant quantity, as most of them do. The fact is, in many of its physical qualities, particularly in its powers of resisting strain or compression, it is much inferior to the most ordinary description of Yellow Pine. It is seldom fine-grained enough, or sufficiently compact to take a high polish, and the green timber is extremely prone to crack and rend, in the process of drying. Its color, indeed, is varied, and often beautiful, and its capacity for being easily worked is very great. But it possesses one simple fea- ture, which distinguishes it, and gives it a value above all other trees of the pine tribe, and that is the important quality of durability. Pliny tells us, that the durability of Cedar was proved by the duration of the Cedar l'oof of the Tem- ple of Diana, at Ephesus, which had lasted four hundred 3'ears ; and at Utica, the beams of a Temple of Apollo, con- structed, however, of Numidiah Cedar, lasted four hundred years. It was on this account — propter returnitatum — that Vitruvius recommended it to be employed in the construction of temples, and other public buildings, and, particu- larly, in the formation of statues to the immortal gods. It is not so much prized for those sacred, or ecclesiastical pur- poses in the present day ; but that is not owing, as we shall see, to its properties of durability. This unrivalled quality is, undoubted- ly, owing to the essential oil of its resin. The wood, cones, bark, and even leaves of the best species of cedar, are satura- ted with resin, of a peculiar and power- fully aromatic odor, a slightly bitter taste, and a rich yellowish brown color. It renders the timber proof against the attacks both of the worm and the moth. This cedar resin, which is sometimes called cedrin, flows spontaneously from the trunk, upon incision. It somewhat resembles mastic, and was often used U3 7 the ancients, along with other aromatic gums and resins, in the embalming of the dead. It was burnt, as a perfume, at the funeral pyre ; it was also used in certain diseases as a medicine. It is proper to mention, however, that Pliny, to whom we are indebted for these facts, comprehends under this name the lesser Cedar, (orijcedrus,) or Phoenician Juniper, which is still common on 1 Leb- anon, and the resin of which is also ar- omatic. Cedar oil, a kind of turpentine, was likewise prepared from the wood, and was applied to the rolls of papyrus, in order to preserve them. Hence the celebrated sentence attributed to Per- sius, that in order to deserve fame, one should leave words, which were worthy of being preserved in Cedar ! The resin, or oil of Cedai', is almost unknown in the present day. We wish it were other- wise ; for, in that case, we might present a striking contrast to some (most, in- deed) of the modern chemical processes of the destructive distillation of resin. The Essential Oil of Cedars, we ma}' add, belongs to a family of lwdrocar- bons, which are all celebrated for their antiseptic properties. The Oil of Juni- per, the Oil of Cloves, the Oil of Nut- meg, and some others, belong to the same family, of which, however, the most perfect chemical type is the Essen- tial Oil of Bitter Almonds. The next important purpose, to which the timber of Cedar is applied, must