HARDWOOD RECORD 



21 



stood there in the down-pouring dampness 

 he saw that the bolt had become an incendi- 

 ary, and without debating longer wandered 

 off to the 'phone. 



"Please give me the fire department, an- 

 gel," said he. 



' ' Line busy ! ' ' was the answer. 



Hanging up the receiver, he was about to 

 write out his resignation when an idea struck 

 him. Hastily running to the filing room, 

 he procured a nail and a hammer. Armed 

 thus he continued his journey to the main 

 buOding standing contiguous to the dry kiln. 

 He procured a ladder, scrambled up the 

 rounds to the roof, and by the illumination of 

 the ever-increasing blaze in the kiln, punched 

 holes in the tin gutter on the side nearest 

 the conflagration. The heat was not at all 

 pleasant; in fact, it was so humid and close 

 up there that Bill had to retire across the 

 tin roof to the far side of the structure sev- 

 eral times to catch his inhale' and exhale so 

 that he could continue his service. 



Having punched holes in the gutter at in- 

 tervals of two inches along the entire length, 

 he sat down in the rain to watch the result of 

 his plan. Naturally it proved a crackerjaok, 

 for where each hole was made the rain-water 

 that was by ' this time ■ pouring off the roof 

 ran and formed a sort of waterfall from top 



to bottom of the main building, thus making 

 a barrier which the conflagration had to con- 

 flagrate before doing any further damage. 



As Bill sat there, confident that he would 

 win out, the vice-president and yard foreman 

 came upon the scene. They were about out 

 of oxygen, having run all the way from their 

 residences at sight of the blaze. With what 

 breath they could command they asked Bill 



what in he was doing with a hammer at 



such a time and found fault with him vocifer- 

 ously. 



' ' Wait before using unpleasant language to 

 me," observed Bill, good naturedly, ."and 

 note what I have accomplished! With this 

 hammer I have knocked the incendiary light- 

 ning bolt in the head! " 



He explained what he had done to the gut- 

 ter and its magical effect upon the flames. 

 Having done this he was about to ask for 

 an increase in salary, when the yard foreman 

 told him that lie would be rewarded the fol- 

 lowing day with the ofiice of teamster, at an 

 increase of $2 per month. Bill thanked the 

 foreman heartily, accepted the tempting offer 

 on the spot, and coming- down off the roof — - 

 for the fire had almost spent itself — trium- 

 phantly went home to change his wet clothes. 

 G. D. Janes. 



Imitations of HardWoods. 



Probably no people are more wide awake 

 to the rapidly depleting lumber supply than 

 are the manufacturers of furniture, and they 

 are preparing themselves as fast as they can 

 to meet the exigencies of the future by per- 

 fecting to a high degree methods of imitat- 

 ing oak, walnut and the other expensive and 

 rapidly disappearing hardwoods which are 

 so popular for high-class furniture work. 

 Kot only do they practice economy by the use 

 of imitations wherever possible, but they em- 

 ploy veneer to a great extent, thus not only 

 actually improving the quality and stability 

 of their manufactured articles, but effecting 

 a marvelous saving in the use of expensive 

 woods. 



During the last few years the great in- 

 crease in the price of hardwoods, which has 

 become necessary on account of their grow- 

 ing scarcity, has created a strong demand for 

 satisfactory substitutes which can be used in 

 manufacturing imitations. The two kinds 

 most often successfully imitated are mahog- 

 any and quartered oak in the golden and 

 darker finishes, but comparatively little de- 

 ception is attempted by manufacturers, and 

 they market the goods for exactly what they 

 are, or under some special trade name which 

 they have coined. 



For imitating mahogany, cherry was 

 formerly used almost entirely, but of course 

 that wood itself is now one of the scarce 

 ones, and its consequent increased price has 

 led manufacturers to seek a material which 

 lends itself more readily to the stain, shows 

 the grain, and holds the gloss. Birch best 

 fulfills these requirements, although in some 



parts of furniture maple, beech and gum are 

 used as substitutes for mahogany. Even in 

 the better grades of furniture, birch is often 

 used for posts and frames — panels, tops and 

 other parts being of mahogany veneer. It 

 is indeed a pity that birch finds its chief 

 function in furniture work and even inside 

 finish, as a substitute for mahogany, for its 

 beautiful grain, color, and the high finish 

 which it will take, eminently fit it for a high 

 place of its own in work of this character. 

 In making imitation quartered oak many 

 woods can be used, as the original grain is 

 first covered with a filler, and then the quar- 

 tering is imprinted in dark ink by the use 

 of actual quartered oak prepared by a special 

 process. Birch, maple and poplar are much 

 used for this purpose and after finishing 

 and polishing, it sometimes takes an expert 

 to detect the difference between the real and 

 the spurious. 



There are certain woods used in fine furni- 

 ture construction which are exceedingly ex- 

 pensive owing to the difiSculty of obtaining 

 pieces with a good grain, of sufficient size 

 for working. Such a wood, for instan.-'c, is 

 the Circassian walnut, which comes from the 

 Ural mountains, and which is so popular at 

 present. It makes handsome veneers for 

 table-tops, beds and dressers, and forms one 

 of the most costly furniture "novelties" on 

 the market today. The core or backing is 

 sometimes made of American walnut in the 

 natural finish, and again of red gum, or satin 

 walnut, as it is called by the English trade, 

 which has a texture very similar to Circas- 

 sian walnut, wliile its grain is also very much 

 like it. 



Department of Forestry at Pennsylvania 

 State College. 



The profession of forestry is rapidly becom- 

 ing a dignifled and important one. The United 

 States Forest Service, the large railroads, mu- 

 nicipalities, and even Individuals with extensive 

 interests are employing foresters every day, so 

 that the demand is now greater than the sup- 

 ply. 



A course in forestry is one of several given 

 by the School of Agriculture and Experiment 

 Station of the Pennsylvania State College, lo- 

 cated in Centre county, Pennsylvania. At pres- 

 ent twenty-four men have classified for the four- 

 year course in forestry. Throughout the entire 

 time special attention is given to a practical 

 study of the work. 



From three to five hours a week are spent by 

 students in the field, studying the characteristics 

 of trees, collecting seeds, in planting and general 

 nursery practice, scaling logs and lumber, study- 

 ing growth and natural production, estimating 

 timber, making field maps and plans for forest 

 management, etc. During the senior year at 

 least four weeks are spent in large lumber camps 

 in some of the principal forest regions. Fre- 

 quent excursions are made to nearby mills, wood- 

 working establishments and large nurseries, and 

 to sections in which active forestry operations 

 are being carried on by the government, the rail- 

 roads or individuals. 



Students of other institutions and special stu- 

 dents having the required qualifications are ad- 

 mitted to such courses as their preparation war- 

 rants, credit being given for work done else- 

 where, which is permitted to apply on the re- 

 quired course at the Pennsylvania' school. 



The presence of a large variety of forest trees 

 on the campus, and native timber in consider- 

 able quantities near the college gives a splendid 

 opportiiiiitv r.. -^tniVnts for becoming acquainted 

 with 111- , !m' I. 1. : -!irs of trccs and their re- 

 producii' It I. I ji , ih. One of the largest of 

 the Stan i ■ ■ i n-.:\ations is within four miles 

 of the ecliim.' an.t the State nursery is within 

 eighteen miles, while there are several small 

 shingle and sawmills very close by, with large 

 factories at Williamsport and other points along 

 the Susquehanna river. A small forest nursery 

 was established early in 1907, and it now shows 

 several thousand seedlings which will be trans- 

 planted this spring. 



The forestry department in Pennsylvania State 

 College is well equipped with all the necessary 

 paraphernalia for pursuing such a course. It 

 has fine classrooms and oflices, valuable speci- 

 mens and forest instruments, and a library of 

 over 150 volumes pertaining specifically to the 

 work. 



A New Hardwood. 



The DIeckmann Hardwood Company of San 

 Francisco, Cal., forwards the Hardwood Record 

 a handsome specimen of jenisero, the beautiful 

 Australian hardwood which it is now im- 

 porting in lavze quautities. The company re- _ 

 ports tliiu il- ci, iii;iii,i for this wood on the 

 Coast i-; iMi, i-iit: lapicily, and that it has all 

 the faLiliii \^ I'l -l.i|.|iiiig large amounts of well- 

 dried stuck ou shuii notice and for cutting thin 

 veneers. 



The wood takes a very beautiful finish and its 

 general appearance may perhaps be best imagined 

 by describing it as having the rich color of 

 "golden" oak, with the grain of Laguna ma- 

 hogany. The larger the piece, the more attrac- 

 tive the general appearance of the wood. Jeni- 

 sero is being extensively used where a handsome 

 material is required, minus the cost of the very 

 choicest varieties. The Dieckmann Hardwood 

 Company is enthusiastic over it and claims many 

 ooellent points in its favor, viz., that it is ex- 

 tremely durable, is hard yet easily worked, has 

 a fine, smooth texture, takes a high polish, glues 

 perfectly, does not dent or mar, and grows hard- 

 er with age. 



