HARDWOOD RECORD 



linisli aud also into t'lirnitiire. The figure is 

 as haudsome as in eastern maple, but bird's 

 eye is less frequent. Counter tops for stores 

 and bar tops for saloons are sometinws 

 made of figured maple. It is seen also in 

 grill ivork and show cases, but in order to 

 show the figured wood to the best advantage 

 it should be irt'orked in flat surfaces. 



Oregon maple is converted into flooring 

 of the ordinary tongued and grooved kind, 

 and also into parquet flooring. Rotary 

 veneers are made into boxes and baskets. 

 Solid logs are turned for rollers of various 

 sizes and kinds. Mill yards use them for 

 offbearing lumber, and house movers find 

 them about the best local material to be had. 



This maple has been successfully stained 

 in imitation of mahogany, and is said to pass satisfactory tests wiiere 

 the color is the principal consideration. 



The amount of this species available in the Xorthwest is not defi- 



23 



LEAF ANIi ritllT Or ul;i;i;().\ MAI'Li: 



nitely known, but it is a relatively scarce 

 wood. Xo attention has ever been given 

 to [ilanting it as a connnercial proposition. 

 It is not of very rapid growth, and unless 

 it is in dense stands, it develo])S a short 

 trunk and large crown. It is better suited 

 for shade and ornament, and is to Ije seen 

 as a street tree in some western towns. It 

 does not flourish in the ea.stern states, but 

 has found the climate of western Kurope 

 nuire congenial and is occasionally found as 

 an ornamental tree there. 



The relative importance of this maple in 

 the state of Washington is indicated by the 

 amount used annually compared with certain 

 other hardwoods. In 1911 the consumption 

 of willow was 2,000 feet, vine maple 10,000, 

 Oregon ash .jS,000, Oregon oak 197,000, western birch 315,000, Ore- 

 gon maple SSi'.oOO, red alder 1,S81,.500. and black cottonwood 

 32,572,200. 



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4m 



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Lumbermen's Interest in Toys 



The lumberman should not ' ' despise the day of small things. ' ' 

 Toys may seem trivial to a man who deals in forests, mUls and fac- 

 tories; but there is reason why he should take an interest in things 

 made for the amusement of the little people. The matter is im- 

 portant to him in a business way. The toy maker buys lumber and 

 puts wood to use. The quantity demanded in this country is not as 

 small as many suppose, though, of course, the quantity cannot be 

 compared with what is used by box makejs, furniture manufacturers 

 and the makers of vehicles. Complete statistics of the toy business 

 in this country have not been compiled. Toys are of various ma- 

 terials — metal, plaster, rubber, wood. etc. — but in the present instance 

 those of wood alone need consideration. 



Statistics have been collected in three states showing the quantity 

 and kinds of wood made into toys. These figures give a fairly good 

 idea of the business for the whole coimtry. However, the three 

 states are in the North, and it is not probable that southern states 

 use as much wood for toys, because the country 's toy business is 

 principally in the North. The three states are Massachusetts, ilichi- 

 gan and Illinois. Thirteen different woods go to toy factories in 

 Illinois, and the quantity is 673,000 feet a year; eleven woods are 

 used in Massachusetts, to the amount of 933,500 feet annually; and in 

 Michigan the quantity per year is 3,714,692 feet; it is supplied by 

 twelve woods. 



The wooden toys displayed in shops, particularly while the holiday 

 trade is on, are not all made in this country. In fact, most wooden 

 toys offered for sale here are made in Germany and Switzerland. 

 That applies particularly to toys which are not intended to be use- 

 ful, the primary idea being to amuse the child. Those which belong 

 in that class and are principally of foreign make imitate animals, 

 houses, building blocks, circuses, Noah's ark, and various other things 

 meant for indoor amusement. Most American made toys are in a 

 different class, and it is in these that the lumberman feels a business 

 interest because he supplies the material for their manufacture. 



The prevailing idea governing their construction is that they shall 

 be useful as well as amusing; at any rate, they belong more with 

 out-of-doors sports than in the house. They consist of toy sleds large 

 enough to ride and haul things on, and wagons of like dimensions; 

 swings and slides; tools with which a little work can be done by the 

 child, such as spades, rakes, hoes and brooms; tent poles, stakes and 

 toggles for erecting wigwams, and numerous other things of similar 

 size and kind. American toy makers excel foreigners in producing 

 useful toys, and pay less attention to things flimsy and grotesque. 

 Americans generally use better wood. The German and Swiss toy 

 makers have choice of comparatively few woods. Europe is exceed- 



ingly poor in kinds compared with America. The shop which makes 

 toys on tlie other side of the water depends largely on what they 

 call "fir." Some of it is fir. but more is spruce and pine. A little 

 hardwood, commonly birch or some species or variety of cottonwood. 

 is mixed with it. The manufacturers buy the cheapest woods that 

 can be made to answer their purpose, in order to keep the price of the 

 finished toy down, and still get something for their labor. They use 

 the refuse and scraps from shops where furniture and other com- 

 modities of considerable size are made, and they are able to utilize 

 pieces so small that an American match factory or shoe peg mill 

 would re.ieet them. As is well known, a large part of the wood used 

 in western Europe is produced by planted forests, and. though it is 

 usually poor stuflf, it costs more than good woods in this country. 



Americans can afford to use better woods and they are not stingy 

 n-itli it. They put good material into their product. Sleds, for 

 example, will stand all kinds of strains and collisions, and wagons 

 will stand up under long service and surprising abuse. In Jlichigan 

 the only softwood reported by toy makers was Norway pine, which 

 constituted less than four per cent of the total quantity used. Beech 

 was forty-five per cent, and the strength of the sleds made in that 

 state is due to the beech employed in their construction. It is a 

 strong wood; and though it is apt to snap square off if it breaks at 

 all, it is so stiff that it seldom breaks. Elm is used in ilichigan 

 toys to the amount of 900,000 feet, and that is fine material for com- 

 modities which are expected to stand rough usage. Elm is tougher 

 than beech, but not as strong. The other woods reported by ilichigan 

 toy factories are_ basswood, sugar maple, bur oak, white oak. sweet 

 birch, white ash and soft maple. 



Woods used in Illinois by the makers of toys, in addition to most 

 of those reported in Michigan, were black walnut. Spanish cedar, 

 butternut, red gum, cottonwood and shortleaf pine. In JIassachusetts 

 nine hardwoods and two softwoods were reported. The softwoods 

 were hemlock and white pine, and the hardwoods chestnut, red oak, 

 white oak, black clierry, hard or sugar maple, paper birch, bass- 

 wood, yellow poplar and beech. Those used in largest amounts were 

 beech and birch. 



Foreign trade of this country for 1912 will exceed all records. 

 Figures just compiled at Washington show that imports will approxi- 

 mate .<fl,800,000,000 against $1,563,000,000 in 1910. Exports will 

 aggregate .$2,400,000,000 against $2,093,000,000 in 1911, the previous 

 high mark. The increase in import occurs especially in manufacturers' 

 raw materials. 



