JOINERY.

JOINERY, the art of uniting wood of small dimensions, for the purpose of forming those fixed details of house- or ship-building which are not connected with the solid framework of the structure: and it is usually understood that the term joinery is applied to this particular branch of the constructive arts, in contradistinction to the other branches, carpentry and upholstery, the former of which deals exclusively with the wooden framework of buildings, and the latter with the moveable furniture. The articles ordinarily comprised within the province of the joiner's art are doors, windows, shutters, floors, staircases, cupboards, counters, shop-fronts, &c.; and the respective descriptions of work are either plain, framed, or panelled. In order to ensure their proper execution, it is necessary that the joiner should be acquainted-1, with the nature and properties of wood; 2, with the modes of putting the wood together, alike with reference to the economical conversion of the wood, the strength of the assemblage, and the resistance to atmospheric changes; and 3, the general principles of taste, in so far as they may influence the character of the work.

1. The woods most commonly used for joiners' work in England are the various kinds of fir and pine imported from the north of Europe and from America; oak, either native or foreign; mahogany, rosewood, cedar, maple, satin-wood, though perhaps the three last-named materials may be, more strictly speaking, regarded as furniture woods. Locally, poplar, chestnut, walnut, ash, beech, and some kinds of birch are used; but the practice of London joiners is almost exclusively confined to fir, oak, and mahogany.

The fir-woods used for joinery are technically known under the names of baulk, or of manufactured goods, including under the latter term planks, usually 11 inches wide by 3 inches thick; deals, 9 inches wide by 3 inches thick; and battens, 7 inches wide by 24 inches thick; but it is to be observed that it is only in country districts, or where very coarse work is admissible, that baulk timber is converted to these uses. The planks, deals, and battens are, again, either of white or yellow deal, from the Baltic or Norwegian ports; or they are of white, yellow, or pitch pine, or more recently of the Vancouver's Island wood, all of which are obtained from America. The best European yellow deals come from St. Petersburg, or Gefle; the best white deals, from Archangel or Christiania; but the Stockholm, or the Riga and Memel deals, of either description, are of very nearly equal quality. Yellow deal is more fitted for doors or other panelled work than white deals, because it is less subject to warp or shrink; but the white deals are harder than the yellow ones, and therefore are more used for flooring purposes. Both white and yellow deals require, however, to be seasoned, or exposed to the air in sheltered positions, for at least from four to six years, before being employed for superior descriptions of joiner's work. The ordinary American pine deals are of a very inferior quality, whether as to grain or durability, and their use has been almost entirely abandoned by English joiners since the differential duties upon foreign timber have been reduced; but the yellow pine is still largely used, on account of its uniformly soft character, the straightness and beauty of its grain, and its immunity from knots; and for these reasons it is employed for moulded work, and for pianoforte making. The pitchpine is a very beautiful variety of the fir woods, of a rather deeper and warmer colour than the yellow pine, and of much greater strength and durability; unfortunately, however, it is very costly, and is, therefore, only used in cases where particularly sound and durable work is required, as for ships' decks, floors, staircases in good houses, &c. But the Vancouver's Island timber seems to possess qualities of dura

ARTS AND SCI. DIV. VOL. V.

JOINERY.

bility, resistance to atmospheric changes, and colour, which place it in a very superior category to any other description of fir wood, for those joiner's purposes at least wherein it may not be absolutely necessary to work the wood against the grain. The use of this Vancouver's Island timber has not, however, been sufficiently proved by experience to warrant its application on a very large scale.

The oak used in England is either obtained in the country or is imported from Germany, or America, or Italy; and it either comes to market in the shape of baulk, log, or plank stuff, whilst in France short ends, known as merrains, are much used for flooring purposes. The baulk oak is used for making door- and window-cills for the best description of houses; and as those articles of joinery are exposed to alternations of moisture and dryness, it would be desirable to use for them nothing but English oak, which resists those destructive actions better than either the German or Italian oak, and infinitely better than the American oak. For the more ornamental descriptions of joiners' work wainscot logs are used, after having been sawn into plank stuff and properly seasoned. The best of these logs are obtained from the woods of the interior of Germany, and they are exported from Riga under the name of Dutch wainscot. This material, when properly seasoned, is not liable to warp or to shrink; it blackens with age, but is always susceptible of receiving either a varnish or a polish; its texture is by no means unfavourable for working mouldings, either with or against the grain; it is very durable, strong, and hard, but by reason of the latter property the labour upon it becomes considerably greater than the labour upon deal or pine. Wainscot has one great advantage over ordinary deal or pine-namely, that it does not require to be painted; and though the Vancouver's Island timber, or the pitchpine, may dispense with that mode of decoration or protection, their colours and flower (as workmen call the variations of tint or pattern in the different parts of the wood) are certainly not so pleasing as those the wainscot. For delicate wood-carving, the yellow pine is unquestionably superior to any other wood, because it is both softer and more uniform in its texture; but wainscot is very well fitted for such purposes, and the elaborate carving of the medieval pulpits, stalls, confessionals, &c., may be cited as affording illustrations of the success with which this wood may be applied to the higher branches of the arts. The very remarkable pulpits and confessionals of Belgium and of Northern Germany may be especially referred to on this score.

The best mahogany which is introduced into this country for joiner's work is the produce of the southern part of the island of Hayti; the mahogany from the northern part of that island is of an inferior quality, and approaches very nearly the character of the worst descriptions of Honduras wood. The logs exported from Cuba are often very beautiful, indeed almost equal to the best Hayti (or, as it is technically called, the Spanish mahogany); but it is not of such large dimensions as the Honduras wood, nor is it so uniform in the beauty of its flower as the Spanish. The best Honduras mahogany is very well adapted for ordinary works and for ship-building; but it is usually of a straight grain, without any varieties of tint, and is not therefore fitted for such works as hand-rails, doors, counter-tops, &c., where variety of colour is required. The commoner descriptions of Honduras wood are only used for carriage-builders' purposes, for interiors of drawers, or even for shipbuilding; and for all these purposes their low price, their great strength and durability, and their singular freedom from any tendency to warp or crack, make them very desirable. Mahogany of any description is worked evenly, but with difficulty, and on those accounts the labour upon it is expensive; for ornamental carving it is admirably adapted

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