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HARDWOOD RECORD 



May 25, 19in 



Designing Ant-Proof Furniture 



It is well known that a large market for furniture could be found 

 in South America and in other tropical countries, provided an 

 article ant-proof and otherwise satisfactory could be furnished. 

 White ants are an abomination in most tropical countries and de- 

 vour anything and everything made of wood, if it is not proof 

 against their attacks. 



Some woods that grow in the tropics are immune to attack by 

 these insects; but the cabinet woods of the United States enjoy 

 no such immunity. The great objection to furniture made in this 

 country for the South American trade is that white ants eat it 

 immediately after its arrival in those countries. 



The Forest Products Laboratory at Madison, Wis., has planned 

 an investigation of the furniture question in relation to the South 

 American trade. The purpose is to make ant-proof wooden furni- 

 ture in this country to supply trade with tropical countries. 



Our woods can be rendered unattractive to white ants by treat- 

 ing them with poisonous preservatives. That alone would promise a 

 solution of the problem, except for the fact that the oils and other 

 liquids used in treating the wood, discolor it and spoil it for fine 

 finishes such as good furniture must have. It cannot be treated 

 after it is finished, and it cannot be finished after it is treated. 

 The two processes — finishing and treating — cannot go together. 

 Consequently, it appears to be impracticable to poison our cabinet 

 woods and still use them as cabinet woods in the manufacture of 

 furniture. 



It is easy, however, to so treat interior and hidden parts. Dis- 

 coloration does not matter, since such parts are not visible in the 

 finished article. They are overlaid and concealed by veneers of 

 cabinet woods. Mercuric chloride, it is believed, will render the 

 interior parts proof against attacks by white ants, and the remain- 

 ing portion of the problem will be to find an outside wood of satis- 



factory appearance and which, at the same time, is safe from at- 

 tack by ants. 



It is proposed to obtain ant-proof cabinet woods in South Amer- 

 ica, or in other tropical countries where such woods grow; bring 

 the woods to the United States and here reduce them to veneers 

 and use them as the outside parts of furniture. They should be 

 glued upon the cores or interiors made of American woods that have 

 been proofed against ants. Furniture thus finished would be ready 

 and suitable for the tropical trade. The actual proportion of im- 

 ported wood under that plan would be small, for only thin sheets 

 of veneer would be needed, while the bulk of the article would be 

 American wood. 



There are said to be a number of cabinet woods in South America 

 suitable for the desired purpose. No obstacle stands in the way 

 of their importation into this country and their manufacture into 

 veneer. Neither does there seem to be any serious obstacle in the 

 way of making furniture with interiors of treated woods; but it 

 is desirable to work out some of the details and make certain tests 

 and experiments. 



The idea is not new, and the plan is not untried. It is said that 

 certain furniture manufacturers in Europe before the war were im- 

 porting ant-proof woods from South America, in the log, and work- 

 ing the stock into furniture which was being sold in the South 

 American countries where the timber grew. The European manu- 

 facturers, however, were importing all the wood for the furniture, 

 while it is proposed that only enough for the outside layer of 

 veneer be imported into this country, the remainder being home- 

 grown. 



The South Americans might use their own ant-proof woods and 

 make their own furniture; but in the past they have not done so 

 on a large scale, and they do not now show a disposition to do so. 



Walnut and Cherry in Early Furniture 



An old book of travels, published in 1808, under the title of 

 " Gumming 's Tour of the West," throws an interesting sidelight 

 on local furniture making and the use that was then being made 

 of walnut and cherry. The author was discussing the industries of 

 Lexington, Ky., at that time, and said; 



There are four cabinet maker shops, where household furniture is manu- 

 factured in as handsome a style as in any part of .\merica, and where the 

 high finish which is given to the native walnut and cherry timber, pre- 

 cludes the regret that mahogany is not to be had but at an immense 

 expense. 



Gum Furniture for South America 



Trade Commissioner Harold E. Everly, who has been investigat- 

 ing furniture prospects in South America, has made a report to 

 this government, from which the following extract is taken: 



Whether or not it is advisable to use certain materials for the manu- 

 facture of furniture to be exported to tropical countries of South .America 

 depends largely upon three factors, namely, their suitability to the 

 peculiar market demands, their reaction to climatic conditions, and their 

 resistance to wood-destroying insects. 



Gumwood is an excellent material for the manufacture of a certain 

 grade of furniture to be used in the United States, but it is doubtful 

 whether it would serve for furniture that is to be exported to tropical 

 countries of South America. At present imported furniture is pur- 

 chased by a very small percentage of the population of Latin America, 

 and, as a rule, the demand is tor a product of high grade. People of 

 wealth wish and are able to pay for furniture made of genuine inahogany, 

 walnut, maple, and other tine woods, finished in their natural color. A 

 cheaper lumber that is stained or otherwise finished to imitate high-grade 

 materials will not find acceptance with critical buyers, and it is doubtful 

 whether the so-called "mahogany," "walnut," and "enameled" furniture 

 made of gumwood would be given very much consideration among the 

 present buyers of imported furniture. Possibly, it beautifully figured 

 gumwood were made into furniture of desired patterns, given a natural 

 polished finish, and sold under it.s real name, it would find some sale in 

 the markets under discussion. 



A considerable amount of furniture is manufactured in South -Ameri- 

 can countries, and usually it is of two kinds — that which is too costly 

 for the average person and that which is cheap hut almost worthless. 

 If American manutacturer-s could produce a type of furniture that would 

 be acceptable in design for a price that would not be exorbitant, even 

 after the duties, freight charges, retailer's profits, and other expenses are 

 added, it would be marketable regardless of the kind of wood of which 

 it was made. The chief requirements would be that it should be substan- 

 tially built, suited to the climate, and well finished. However, it is not 

 recommended that American manufacturers offer a product of an imita- 

 tion mahogany, walnut, or other finish to the present South American 

 purchasers of foreign-made furntiure who usually buy a high-grade, 

 genuine article. 



As regards the effects of the climate, there is no reason to consider it 

 inadvisable to use gumwood in the construction of furniture to be shipped 

 to the tropical markets of South America, provided it is properly seasoned. 

 The coastal districts of countries such as Ecuador, Colombia, and Vene- 

 zuela, and all of Brazil north of Santos are very hot and humid at 

 certain periods of the year. In some seasons rains are frequent ; the 

 air is laden with moisture, and everything in the house becomes damp 

 and moldy. Such weather is very trying on furniture, and, unless the 

 articles are properly constructed, preferably of solid wood, they soon 

 become worthless. Furniture made of solid wood Is most desired, as the 

 veneered product tends to oiien, blister, peel, crack, and otherwise become 

 disfigured. Furniture to be shipped to tropical countries should be finished 

 both inside and out in order to afford it better protection from moisture. 



Furniture can not be protected from the insects by a mere outer coating 

 of varnish or an enamel finish. The wood termites work on the interior 

 part, very seldom coming to the light, and in order to keep them from 

 destroying furniture the lumber of which it is to be made must be 

 impregnated through and through with some chemical that is poisonous, 

 or at least very disagreeable to the taste of the Insects. If the lumber 

 were to be saturated with such a chemical that would remain effective 

 even after the wood has passed through dry-kiln, the furniture would 

 resist termites. 



Since gumwood would be ^subjected to attacks of the termite, it is not 

 recommended as a material for the manufacture of furniture to be shipped 

 to countries infested by that insect, regardless of the kind of finLsh that 

 may be applied to the exterior, unless the lumber is first chemically 

 treated. 



