," said Marco, "it is
so weak and brittle."

"It is valuable," said Forester, "because, for the purpose for which men
want the greatest quantities of wood, strength is not required. For
boarding the outsides of buildings, for example, and finishing them
within, which uses, perhaps, consume more wood than all others put
together, no great strength is required."

"I think people want more wood to _burn_ than to build houses with,"
said Marco.

"Yes," said Forester, "perhaps they do. They do in this country, I
think, but perhaps not in Europe and other old countries. But pine,
although it has no great strength, is an excellent wood for building, it
is so soft and easily worked."

Forester's remarks, upon the different kinds of wood, were here
interrupted by Marco's finding what he considered an excellent stick for
a cane. When he had cut it, however, he found that it was not so
straight as it had appeared to be while growing.

However, after some time spent in the selection, Marco and Forester both
procured excellent canes.

"This is good, hard wood," said Marco, as he was trimming his cane, and
cutting it to a proper length.

[Illustration]

"Yes," said Forester; "it is beech, and beech is very hard."

After finishing their canes, they took their seats in the wagon again.

CHAPTER VI.

EBONY AND PINE.

After riding along a short distance in silence, Marco introduced the
subject of the different woods once more. He asked Forester which was
the most _costly_ of all the woods.

"Costly is not an ambiguous term," said Forester; "that means, which has
the greatest _money_ value."

"Yes," said Marco. "I suppose it is mahogany."

"O no," said Forester.

"Rose wood, then," said Marco. "It must be rose wood. My mother has a
beautiful piano made of rose wood."

"No," said Forester. "Ebony is more costly than either rose wood or
mahogany. They sell ebony by the pound."

"Where does ebony come from?" asked Marco.

"I don't know," replied Forester.

"I should like to know," said Marco. "How much do they sell it for, by
the pound?"

"I don't know that, either," said Forester. "I know very little about
it, only that it is a very costly wood, on account of some peculiar
properties which it has, and its scarcity."

"What are the peculiar properties?" asked Marco.

"One is, its great hardness," said Forester. "It is very hard indeed.
Another is, its color."

"What color is it?" asked Marco.

"Bla