ENGLISH WOODS.
In regard to both these craftsmen it is a point worth some emphasis that both work in woods that flourish peculiarly in Britain : Mr. Rees in sycamore and Mr. Gardner in ash.
Sycamore is almost a weed, and it grows as well almost in the roughest country as in the richest. Those who have dealt with sycamore (as I have, and that not seldom) by agency of axe and saw and wedge, find it singularly amenable, not to say weak. A wedge or two will split a whole trunk with no trouble at all. The very whiteness of the wood suggests softness. But sycamore from the craftsman's angle is singularly hard. It is selected for utensils and adornments demanding hard use ; and in spite of its satiny, silvery texture it serves many purposes with not less endur- ance than oak. So sycamore, invaluable among other things for panels, becomes a really precious wood, and perhaps is likely to become more precious.
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