HARDWOOD RECORD 



very small quantities, but perfectly permeate the cell walls and 

 commonly appear together with more or less sharply „,arked 

 changes in color. 



Generally, trees with durable wood form a distinct heartwood 

 but their sapwood is no more durable than that of other kinds' 

 Since durability depends mainly on resistance to living organisms' 

 proper experiments to determine the relative durability of woods' 

 are exceedingly complicated, and satisfactory results are still 

 wanting. In the absence of better data, the "life" of railway 

 ties as commonly observed will in some measure answer thi's 

 purpose. 



An even color, a darker or lighter shade, are such important 

 elements m the appearance of wood that in all finishing work 

 color IS one of the chief considerations in the selection. 



STRUCTUKAL FEATURES 



Besides being intimately related to the mechanical properties the 

 structure also determines the texture and almost entirely the 

 beauty of the wood. Texture may be said to be coarse when larae 

 pores, ,n rows or scattered, appear as holes on the ends or as dark 

 streaks (troughs) on the sides, as in oak and ash; it is moderately 

 coarse if all its elements are large, as in pine, and it is fine it- 

 all the elements are small, as in cherry, and much more so in box- 

 wood. Apart from the appearance of the wood, the texture is 

 often in itself a property which fits or unfits the wood for a partic- 

 ular use. Thus, red oak is useless for tight cooperage or for a 

 delicate piece of carving, because in the one case it leaks, in the 

 other Its own coarse-texture lines will mar and distort the picture 



Structure is the firstelement of beauty in wood. Its uniformity 



35 



of structure makes white pine monotonous; the striking difference 

 ot spring and summerwood renders hard pine obtrusive- the 

 arrangement of vessels, fibers and pith rays characterize oak, and 

 he peculiar arrangement of the same elements gives to elm those 

 handsome figures of dark wavy lines on an even background of 

 brown \Vithout analy^ing or inquiring into their cause, the 

 se^eral patterns have become familiar to all, and the beautiful 

 turniture in oak and maple and cherry and walnut testify to their 

 recognition and importance. 



BIOLOGICAL PECULIARITIES 



Size, form and abundance of wood more than any other features 

 have influenced the development of our wood-using industries 

 Man IS indebted to a large degree to the large, long shafted, and 

 well formed conifers for assisting him in his progress. Occurring 

 on extensive areas and combining most useful qualities, they are 

 genera ]y sought for structural purposes. If a carpenter were 

 obliged to rely upon beech, birch, chestnut, oak, poplar, etc., and 

 had to use them in combination, house-building would be not only 

 much more difficult and costly, but unsatisfactory. While the 

 stringer and joist of pine would keep straight, its neighbor, the 

 oak, would sag down, the chestnut would warp out of line the 

 beech and hickory would soon be infested with boring insects, 

 and the whole would be a failure. Abundance in suitable size, 

 form and qualities made white pine the king of American woods 

 tor certain purposes and so fully are those properties appreciated 

 in practice that it required a severe struggle to introduce, for 

 instance, such excellent material as cypress as a substitute. 



H. S. S. 



The Trade Journal 



The follmvlnf; is an addiv^s (Ulivr..,! l.Koiv the I.ouisyi 

 A song which was heard at a recent meeting of the Rotary Club 

 was, "We're here because we're here." Some of the business 

 men of this country once believed that the trade journals had no 

 better excuse for existence than that; but the trade and technical 

 papers have proven their usefulness, and they are here to stay 

 Instead of being merely tolerated, they now' are welcomed and 

 made use of. 



What is a trade journal? It is a paper which is made to in- 

 terest but one class of readers. Technical papers, such as those 

 for architects, engineers, machinery men, etc., are usually included 

 lu the same class, though sometimes the distinction is made that 

 trade journals are for those engaged in the distribution of a given 

 class of goods, while technical papers cater to classes which con- 

 sume certain products. For example, the Clothier & Furnisher is 

 distinctly a trade journal; while Engineering News would be 

 classified in the technical field. 



I believe I am safe in saying that the dominating idea of the 

 present, as far as the commercial world is concerned, is greater 

 efficiency. The problem of doing the thing better, or more quickly, 

 or more cheaply, has been studied at every point, from the factor.v 

 to the consumer; and the science of management has been evolved 

 from a consideration of the details going into the production of 

 goods or sales in the best possible way. 



The trade journal, as I see it, has been more responsible than 

 any other thing for the increased efficiency of the modern business 

 man. 



^ This is of course a broad statement, and yet I believe considera- 

 tion of the facts will demonstrate its truth. In the first place, it 

 has provided a medium for the discussion of new ideas; and in 

 the second H has developed a lot of them of its own initiative. 



Whenever a new plan for improving methods of production or 

 management is evolved, the best place to get a clear, complete and 



Editor's Note 



(■ Itotaiy Cliih February 10. 1013, by G. D. Crain, .Jr. 



authorative statement of it is in the pages of the trade juornals 

 covering the fields affected. It will be there— you can count on 

 that. On the other hand, whenever anybody discovers that he has 

 a better system of cost accounting or a better method of handling 

 material than has been used in his line previously, he is quite 

 likely to tell the trade journals about it sooner or later, directly 

 or indirectly. 



This leads me to remark upon a peculiar and iteresting coinci- 

 dence, and that is that the live wires of every business are 

 invariably the men who read their trade journals most closely. I do 

 not say that they are live wires because they read trade journals; 

 It may be a cause instead of an effect. But at any rate it is 

 certainly significant that the men who are making 'the biggest 

 successes are those who are giving close attention to the business 

 papers in their respective fields, and are using them in a way 

 calculated to get out of them all thie value that they possess. 



The trade journal idea is a good deal like the basic principle 

 back of the Eotary Club, as I understand it. It is the thought 

 of everybody helping everybody else. In the Rotary Club men 

 come together for exchange of ideas and mutual benefit .-.nd 

 everybody profits. 



In the trade journal, when an ideal condition is realized as it 

 frequently is, members of the business pool their experiences, the 

 sum total being definite and established facts that can be relied 

 upon to help everybody in the business. 



If the trade journal is in the news class, perhaps giving mem- 

 bers of the trade in which it is interested timely information 

 en the movement of the leading commodities, it has correspon- 

 dents located in the principal cities, and these furnish a com- 

 plete and reliable story of the developments of the market up 

 to within a few hours of going to press. Many of these great jour- 

 nals maintain branch offices in the leading centers, with salaried 



