1348 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



colors ; liut it is better to use woods which iKitiirally have 

 the desired colors, because stains and dyes may not pene- 

 trate much beneath the surface and after a little wearing- 

 down by use, the real tones of the woods may appear and 

 betray the counterfeit. 



Flo(jrs of i)arc|uetry may be built in place, block by 

 block, strip by strip, and border by border ; or they may 

 be made in factories, the pieces all matched ready for 

 laying in sections. One style of such flooring is called 

 wood carpet, 

 though it is 

 more i)roperly 

 a floor -cover- 

 ing t h a n the 

 floor itself, and 

 that is what is 

 ini]jlie(l when 

 the name car- 

 pet is used. 



Some floors 

 are not meant 

 to resist much 

 wear. Quite 

 soft woods an- 

 swer for .such. 

 Floors of that 

 sort are often- 

 cst see n in 

 large store 

 w i n d o w s in- 

 tended for 

 show, ;ui(l in 

 a 1 c o V e s and 

 on balconies 

 w h e r e mer- 

 chandise is dis- 

 ])layed and few 

 ])ersons e v e r 

 walk, except 

 window trim- 

 mers, decora- 

 tors and jani- 

 tors. Very soft 

 w o o (1 s I i k e 

 white i)ine and 

 basswcod will 

 stand all the 

 wear to which 

 they are com- 

 monly liable in 

 such situations. 



Factory and 



floors of which must be strong. To secure this condition, 

 sometimes the sub-floor is made of planks several inches 

 tiiick, and over this is laid a thinner floor of hardwood 

 to receive the immediate wear. I'>y that arrangement, the 

 MU-face is kept fairly sn)ooih. In many instances, the 

 llcioring in a factory or a warehouse is of edge grain 

 lumber, such being less liable than plain planks to split 

 and splinter under rough usage. 



Another kind of flooring common in factories, mills, 



breweries, tan- 

 neries, and sta- 

 bles, is made 

 of blocks, set 

 in a wa_\' to ex- 

 pose the end 

 grain to wear. 

 These bloc k s 

 are similar to 

 those used in 

 paving streets. 

 It is customary 

 to set such 

 blocks on ,'•. 

 ])lank floor as 

 a foundation, 

 and after the 

 blocks are in 

 place, they are 

 treated with a 

 dressing of tar, 

 l)itch. sand, as- 

 lilialt, or some 

 similar mate- 

 rial. This fills 

 tJK' inters])aces 

 between the 

 blocks a n d 

 makes the floor 

 solid and tight. 

 T h e e n d - 

 g r a in of the 

 blocks forms 

 the surface of 

 the floor. It 

 w e a r s better 

 than the side 

 of the block. 

 because the 

 ends of the 



Flooring is made in the South as well as in the North, and each kind has a field to fill. The above 



picture represents a forest scene in Georgia where trees of different kinds grow intermingled, and among bruise slio-htlv 



them are some possessing great value as flooring stuff. Softwoods and hardwoods grow side by side. ^ ' ^ ^* 



forming a corn- 

 warehouse floors are of a wholly different kind. They pact, felt-like mass, resembling a cushion, and this resists 

 must stand rough usage, and the w-ear is often excessive, wear in a remarkable manner, and at the same time it if 

 Heavy trucks and barrows trundle over them, and the sufficieiuly .soft to deaden and neutralize the jolts and 

 surface of the boards, if the floors are of lumber, are jars caused by passing trucks or by the dropping of 

 a])t to be splintered by the grinding and crushing action heavy objects. It is a yielding and semi-noiseless floor, 

 of wheels, or splintered or dented by the fall of heavy and for that reason it is popular for certain kinds of 

 bodies. 'I his holds true of warehouses in particular, the buildings. The employment of wooden blocks as flooring 



SOUTHEKX TI.VIBER KOR KLOORl.M, 



