Page:Architectural Review and American Builders' Journal, Volume 1, 1869.djvu/654

 530 The Architectural Review and American Builders' Journal. [Feb., any, as a table or side-board ; but it will make a splendid wardrobe, and the best of all book-cases. It must always be remembered, that the value of Cedar resides in its virtue of resistance to the parasites, which infest other timber; its general antiseptic properties; its pleas- ant odor, and its light agreeable tone of color. We understand, that Messrs. Morrison, of Edinburgh, under the direc- tion of Lord Lindsay, have ingeniously contrived a description of wardrobes, in which the best features of Mahogany, Eosewood, or Walnut, are combined with an interior skeleton of Florida Cedar, thus uniting the properties of both woods, in the same article of furniture, and we can easily imagine, that the con- ception is a sound one. The lining of wardrobes and drawers with Cedar, however, is of old date in Scotland. As a material for furniture, per se, Florida Cedar is by no means the best. That which is imported from the Northern States, although possessing less perfume, is harder, more susceptible of polish, and capable of standing greater wear and tear. This species of timber is also the best adapted for the cases of piano- fortes, although we cannot admit, that Cedar is the~1best, or even one of the best, forms of timber, for this trying purpose. Some of the finest specimens of Cedar, that can be applied to furni- ture, or such like purposes, may be seen in the Museum, at Kew Gardens; and we may add, that we saw in the Paris Exhibition, several highly creditable ex- amples of light Cedar bed-room furni- ture, for which purposes we think it will be found highly suitable. Its chief con- sumption, at this moment, however, consists in the lining and interior fittings of drawers, wardrobes, side-boards, and tables ; in which respect it is, owing to its low price and abundance, gradually superseding Oak, and even Black Birch. As we have said, it will never stand comparison, by itself, with Mahogany, or Black Oak, for dining-room furniture, or with Rosewood, or Walnut, in that of the drawing-room. But, in the library and the bed-room, there are grounds for believing, that Cedar furniture will gradually obtain a principal place. The last, and certainly not the least important application of Cedar, is that of its use in the manufacture of black lead-pencils. On this head, we shall be brief. We shall just state here, that its adaptation to pencils is three-fold. First, its free- dom of manufacture ; Second, its pleas- ant perfume ; and, Last, its property of easy cutting, along with the lead. Kes- wick pencils are worthy the produce of Florida Cedar ; and the kind which is best suited for the purpose, is the free, quick-grown wood ; there is a harder sort, of slower growth, which is more fitted for the purposes of furniture. The Red Cedar, so well known in the pencil trade, some twenty-five years ago, was chiefly derived from the Virginia Cedar, which is, in fact, a Juniper, (Juniperus Virginiana.) Like the Cedar, these Juni- pers are distinguished for their resinous qualities, and have been also applied to furniture and other purposes, but the chief consumption of their wood was in pencils. We began this article, with a descrip- tion of the Cedars of Lebanon, and we conclude, by once more expressing the hope, that these splendid historical trees will not be allowed to become extinct. Here, after all, resides the poetry of the subject. There are other woods, such as Spanish Mahogany, and Walnut, which are moi^e beautiful in their color. There are some, too, such as Rosewood, and Sandal-wood, which are possessed of a stronger fragrance, and a more agreeable perfume. But no other tree carries back our associations to the time, when Solomon, in all his glory, ruled the destinies of Israel, and no other was thought fit to be applied to the sacred purposes of the Temple Altar, and the "Covering of the Cherubim."