HARDWOOD RECORD 



-D 



ash. mahogany, walnut, sycamore, cherry, rosewood, ebony, snakewood, 

 and cocuswood. They may be treated with fillers to develop grain 

 figure, but nothing is to be gained in concealing the natural appear- 

 ance of the wood under plaster or gilt. 



};ed gum is rapidly taking its place as a leading wood in the manu- 

 facture of picture frame moldings. It stands thii'd in the accom- 

 panying table, and some people predict that in a few years it will 

 stand first in the picture frame industry. It possesses most of the 

 desired properties. It was formerly objected to on account of its 

 slow seasoning qualities, but a better understanding of the wood's 

 characteristics has removed most of these objections. It has been 

 found that if the wood is subjected to a treatment of superheated 

 steam, the seasoning troubles largely disappear. The behdvior of red 

 gum while passing through woodworking machines is all that could 

 be desired. It can be made smooth enough for finish in the natural 

 grain, or it may be covered with gilt, enamel, plaster or paint. It 

 stands well — that is, it does not shrink, swell, or warp under the 

 usu:il atmospheric changes. This is a very important consideration 

 in selecting woods for picture frames. A little warping and shrink- 

 ing will pull the joints apart and may crack the enamel or blister the 

 gilr or other finish. 



About twenty per cent of the wood used by manufacturers of 

 picture frame moldings in the three states listed, is pine, consisting 

 of white pine, yellow pine, and Xorway. These woods commonly go 

 into frames of the cheaper sort, and they are often other than picture 

 fra,'nes, though placed in that class. Pine frames are largely used 



for advertising matter, such as is found in hotel lobbies, barber 

 shops, railroad depots, street cars, and similar places. Some of the 

 frames are ten feet square, others are less than one foot ; but lai'ge 

 quantities of wood are demanded for their manufacture. They con- 

 stitute the cheapest and conmionest output of the molding mill, while 

 the material for mirror frames, and those for fine portraits and oil 

 paintings are the best and most expensive. 



The makers of certain kinds of moldings select as far as possible 

 woods possessing the desired properties. Some expensive picture 

 frames are covered with gold leaf. It is laid on and is rubbed until 

 it adheres and presents a smooth surface; or it ma.v be necessary to 

 give the gold an embossed appearance. Much depends on the wood 

 on which the gold is laid, and the manufacturer will procure the kind 

 which promises best results. He may not need much, but no com- 

 promise wOl be made in quality. Other frames are finished in enamel, 

 and experience shows that woods differ greatly in the facility with 

 which they hold enamel. Though maple is often unsatisfactory for 

 frames of natural finish, it is excellent for enameled work. 



Many frames are ornamented with composition work resembling 

 carvings. This does not _ properly belong to the molding industry, 

 though closely associated with it. Such ornaments are fastened on the 

 frames with glue or with small nails. Other ornaments may be of 

 wood cu: out with scroll saws, or they may be carvings executed by 

 nifichinery or by hand. They often add much to the appearance of the 

 finished frame, and to that extent they may be considered to belong 

 to the industry which produces picture molding. 



^i ait;t%aate\^i'.:;K;x^^jiJc;itf;to>sti;gt»uw;t!^^ 



The Revised ISfewlands River Bill 



On Julv 14 an important bill was introduced in the United States 

 Senate by Senator Xewlands. It is a revision and enlargement of the 

 bill introduied by him in April, 1911, and reintroduced with amend- 

 ments in March of this year. 



The measure is as near national in its scope as it is possible to 

 make it, and its primary purpose is river improvement and flood 

 regulation; but a number of matters are included which heretofore 

 have been considered separately or not considered at all. The aim 

 evidently is to do away with the spoils system in river improvements, 

 commonly known as the ' ' pork barrel. ' ' Under that system appro- 

 priations were handed around in accordance with the pull of poli- 

 ticians and often without much regard for the actual needs of the 

 rivers to be improved. It was a common saying that with a sufficient 

 pull an appropriation could be procured for river improvement 

 wherever "the ground is the least bit damp." 



The proposed bill aims to sweep the spoils system away at one 

 stroke, and to enlarge the field so that work that ought to be done 

 can be done at the proper place and in the right way. The politicians 

 will have little to say in the matter; but plans will be drawn by 

 specialists and scientific men, and approval or rejection will be in the 

 hands of boards whose members will have no interest in local politics 

 or in sectional questions. 



The bill piovides for an appropriation of $60,000,000 a year for ten 

 years. If Congress fails to make the appropriations the president is 

 authorized to raise the money by selling bonds at not more than three 

 per cent, to run not more than thirty years. 



The most striking feature of the measure is that it recognizes the 

 fact, which scientists recognized long ago, that the regulation of floods 

 and of stream flow- should begin at the sources of the streams, not 

 , their mouths. The regulation should, of course, include the lower 

 reaches of rivers; that is, it properly embraces the whole stream, 

 with all its branches, and the entire drainage basin. Congress has 

 been slow to take this broad view, but the thinking men of the coun- 

 try, and that includes the leaders among business men, have under- 

 stood the question for years. Congress now seems to be about to 

 adopt the same view and to attack the great conservation problems in 

 a new place — the right place. 



The bill expressly guards against any attempt to spend the money 



in one region to the neglect of other regions. It is clearly stated 

 that each region shall have its share; and the beauty of it is that 

 the country is divided into regions, not according to politics, popula- 

 tion, power, 01 pull, but according to physical geography which 

 recognizes commerce but no politics, resources but not votes. The 

 appropriation for each year shall be apportioned as follows: 



The Atlantic and Eastern Gulf States get SIO.000.000 a vear. 



The uhio Valley gets .'510.000.000. 



The Mississippi above ^. Louis — including neighboring streams flowing 

 into the Great L.ikes or Canada — .$5,000,000 a vear. 



The Mississippi below St. Louis gets $10,000,000 yearl.r. 



The Missouri river, and the streams flowing into' the Mississippi below 

 St. Louis from the West, or directly into the Gulf of Mexico west of the 

 mouths of the Mississippi, .$10,000,000. 



The Colorado river and the great region which it drains, will receive 

 $3.1100,000 yearly. 



The Columbia river and its tributaries receive $.5,000,000. 



The rivers of California which flow to the Pacific ocean get S5, 000, 000 

 yearly. ' 



This omits no important region of the United States, for the bill 

 expressly stipulates that a ri^er includes all its tributaries to their 

 fountain streams, and all the lands drained by the streams. That is 

 a highly important recognition. Heretofore when river appropriations 

 have been made the intei-pretation has been that the expenditure 

 should go to the loner reaches of the streams — they were not sup- 

 posed to have any head stieams or water sheds. If the present bUl 

 passes, that view will become ancient history. Of course, the lower 

 stieams will be cared for, but the whole appropriation will not be 

 spent there. Control will begin at the heads of rivers, and some at- 

 tention there wiU render kss control necessary lower down. Boards 

 of health attack the causes of disease instead of waiting for diseases 

 to gain headwa.v. That is the method proposed for rivers. 



A list of the forces which the bill proposes to enlist in this work 

 shows the scope. Among the powerful organizations which will be 

 set to work will be the "H'ar Departmeut with its engineers ; the 

 Department of Agriculture with the trained ■ men of the Forest 

 Service, and the Bureau of Plant Industry ; the : Smithsonian In- 

 stitute with its investigators and scholais who will give advice on 

 special problems; the Geological .Survey with its vast accumulation of 

 information regarding drainage basins, stream gradients, slopes, 

 contours, the flow of streams, and other hydrographic data ; the 

 Reclamation Ser^'ice with its stores of knowledge concerning both 

 irrigation and drainage. 



