Page:Architectural Review and American Builders' Journal, Volume 1, 1869.djvu/653

 1868.] Cedar. 529 come under the wide category of inte- rior decoration. But to whatever extent it may have been applied in this direc- tion in Eastern countries, it cannot be said to have taken root in Europe. For wainscot or paneling, it cannot be com- pared, for a single moment, with Oak, or even, in certain respects, with Red Pine. The fact is, being a very porous wood, it is liable to absorb moisture, and so become extremely sensible to changes of temperature ; in other words, to split and crack. Although it is very easily cut, it does not preserve its form when wet ; and, besides, we are half of Mr. Ruskin's opinion, that carving in Cedar is too easy to be valuable. Some of the American river steamers, we are informed, have their large and handsome saloons fitted up with Cedar, carved and heavily gilded ; but even here it cannot compete with Mahogany. Certain Me- diaeval Greek Churches, as we learn from the Ecclesiastical historians, had their rood-screens, and sometimes their altars, constructed of this material; but it was seldom or never employed for the sedi- lia, or other internal fittings. The best example we remember to have heard of with regard to the application of cedar to interior decoration, was a very hand- some library, fitted up in the Cinque- cento style, by the late King of Bavaria ; but, whether the material was derived from Lebanon, or from South America, we do not, at this moment, recollect. No doubt but, for this purpose, Cedar is a highly useful and proper material. Book- shelves, constructed of Cedar, would have the very same conservative influ- ence on books, that Russia leather bind- ing exercises, and their common effect springs from the same cause — in each case, from the antiseptic properties of the oil. Besides, as -We have seen, there is the antiquity of the practice to recom- mend it. If the ancients kept then- writings in cabinets of Cedar, why should we moderns not follow their ex- ample, with regard to our books ? We must not overlook entirely, in our cursoiy survey of the subject, the tablets of Cedar mentioned by Vitruvius. These consisted of wax tabulae, that were writ- ten upon with a stylus, and furnished with timber backs, and raised mouldings on the front edge, either composed of Citron or of Cedar. The wood tablet used by the Prophet Isaiah (iii. 22,) signifies perfume boxes. In Hebrew, it is literally " houses of the soul or breath." Many Eastern women still wear an ornament composed of Cedar, resembling a house or temple, contain- ing a small image, obviously at once a symbol of purity and of devotion. If we wished to institute a comparison derogatory to our modern sentiment, we must refer to the very popular applica- tion of Cedar to the manufacture of* cigar boxes. The boxes in which Ha- vana cigars are usually imported, con- sist, however, of a very common tree, a native of the West Indies, known, in the trade, as the Barbadoes Cedar. It reaches often to the height of eighty feet, and its trunk is remarkable for its circumference. The cones, bark, and leaves, have a bad smell, resembling that of assafoetida ; but the wood has an agreeable fragrance. Enormous quan- tities of the timber are annually con- sumed in the form of cigar boxes, and light packing cases, and it is sometimes used, in France and Germany, in making the cheaper sorts of black lead-pencils. This tree (Cedrosa odorato) is so com- mon and plentiful in the West Indies, that it is used for the most ordinary domestic purposes, such as shingles, and it has been even applied by the natives to the construction of their canoes. The next, and probably the most im- portant modern application of Cedar, we shall notice, is that of furniture. And here the same principles, of which we have already spoken, will govern the ex- tent of its consumption. It will not make a good chair, but will make an excellent work-box, or dressing-case. It could never, we think, supersede Mahog-