HARDWOOD RECORD 



25 



tmich akin to the hard maple of the North. In appearance it quite 

 I'losely resembles the saj) growth of jioplar, especially the par- 

 ticular type of this wood iinown as hickory poplar. The wood is 

 com[)aratively light in weight, but somewhat heavier than j-ellow 

 poplar. Southern manufacturers regard the wood as much more 

 \aluable tluui >.ortli ('arolina i)ine, but it requires more expense, 

 time and trouble to put it oji the market in desirable form. Manu- 

 facturers, of necessity, luive to su|ij)ly well numufactured, thor- 

 oughly cured stock to nuike it a satisfactory lumber product. 



Tupelo gum is closely following red gum in demand and in 

 accretion of value. It must be remembered that it is the last 

 substitute wood that grows in any quantity in the United States. 

 Beyond doubt there will be a good increase in both price and 

 popularity of tupelo gum as the years progress. 



Natural Color in Wood Finishing 



During the last few years furniture makers have placed on the 

 market a large portion of their goods that have been stained and 

 filled in such a dark color as to practically obscure the original 

 grain and tone of the various woods. This has not only been true 

 of oak and birch, but also of mahogany, .\lleged mahogany finish 

 in furniture and even in house trim has been executed in a way 

 to absolutely "kill" all the original beauty of the wood. 



It must be confessed that the grain of the lower grade furniture 

 production has been darkened largely through economy in manu 

 facture. It is much easier and cheaper for the furniture maker 

 to smear wood to a dark and uniform color than it is to match 

 up lumber and finish the furniture in light and natural tones. 



Right now there is a renaissance for the finishing of furniture 

 in approximately the natural wood coloring, and it is a desirable 

 change that is coming about. The various woods are being filled 

 and stained in tones just deep enough to emphasize the beauty 

 of the grain, and the leading producers have ceased to fill the 

 wood with disfiguring pigments. 



It must be noted there is a manifest difference between staining 

 to improve the tone of wood and coloring and staining a wood so 

 completely as to obscure its natural color and distinction of grain. 



The only excuse for this excessive staining is when Ught woods 

 like maple or birch are to be made into furniture to imitate 

 mahogany or some of the darker woods, and where wood is im- 

 proved by heavy staining there is no objection to it. What good 

 taste does repudiate is the "doping" of mahogany, black walnut, 

 Circassian walnut or oak to an extent as to absolutely disfigure 

 the beauty of the grain. The renaissance of good taste in furniture 

 and interior finish is much to be commended. 



present tiuu'. It the misnaming of articles of food or medicines 

 is a logical basis for governmental legislation, it certainly would 

 be in the matter of lumber inspection, measurement, and the fraud 

 incident to the selling of one kind of wood for another. 



True Versus Spurious Mahogany 



The Record is in receipt of a letter t rom a leading foreign 

 cabinet woods house in which the writer says he has read with a 

 good deal of interest the article in this paper of Octobelr 25, writ- 

 ten by C, D. Mell of the Forest Service, in regard to true and 

 spurious mahogany. He states it is really too bad that something 

 is not done to prevent this wholesale substitution of inferior woods 

 of all kinds which are sold under the name of mahogany, many 

 times to unsuspecting buyers who really believe they are getting 

 the genuine article, and certainly are paying the price of the 

 genuine. 



The writer states that -Aiustralian mahogany, Philippine ma- 

 hogany, etc., are sold as mahogany, when in reality these woods 

 are not mahogany at all, their dull reddish color being the only 

 thing in which they resemble the true wood. 



The writer states that the pure food law forbids the adulteration 

 of foods and also the misnaming of same, and suggests that a law 

 be enacted to forbid the misnaming of lumber products in order 

 to sell them to people who are deceived. 



Another recent letter received by Hardwood Record advocates 

 National legislation covering the grading and inspection of lumber. 

 It may be that such legislation will be the logical result of the 

 vast amount of chicanery that prevails in lumber affairs at the 



Equitable Coast Rates on Hardwoods 



At a hearing tjclnn,' the Interstate (^onunerce (.'ommission on 

 November IL', in the case of the Michigan hardwood producers 

 versus the Transcontinental Freight Bureau, a demand was set up on 

 the part of the shii)i)crs tliat they were entitled to a return to the 

 seventy-five cent rate from the lower peninsula points that prevailed 

 up to a few years ago in lieu of the eighty-five cent rate now 

 charged by the railroads. 



The hardwood men of the lower peninsula insist that their busi- 

 ness is jeopardized and demoralized by reason of the seventy-five cent 

 rate prevailing from the northern peninsula and Wisconsin points, 

 and that they are discriminated against. Arguments of both the 

 shippers and railroads were presented, and the Commission took the 

 case under advisement before deciding the matter. 



In fairness to all parties interested, it is to be hoped that the 

 same rate will prevail irom all the various sections producing northern 

 hardwoods and majde flooring to Pacific Coast terminals. 



Prospective Demand for Furniture Lumber 



A few days ago the Kkcohd issued a circular letter to leaders in 

 the furniture manufacturing industry, asking them to analyze as 

 closely as possible their prospective needs in the way of lumber for 

 the next few mouths. The consensus of replies indicates that the 

 demand for lumber for utilization in the furniture industry will be 

 only moderate for some little time to come, and that but very few 

 furniture makers will be able to determine definitely on the voluife 

 of lumber required until after the .lanuary furniture sales period. 

 On the whole, it looks as though the demand would only be moderate. 



Some manufacturers report that business is fair, and they have 

 hopes of an increased demand; others consider that the outlook is 

 not very bright. 



Japanese Oak 



Recent references have been made in Hardwood Record to the 

 inroads that .Japanese oak is making in the oak lumber and flooring 

 trade in the Pacific Coast. ThLs situation has been brought about by 

 the excessive freight rates demanded by the trans-continental linea 

 for the movement of high-grade oak lumber and oak flooring from 

 the producing sections of the East and Middle West to the Coast. 

 This duty of the railroads has made it possible to import Japanese 

 oak of a satisfactory quality and at a nuu-h lower price than the 

 eastern ju-oduct can be purchased for. 



One Seattle hardwood house says that it has practically ceased 

 to handle eastern hardwood flooring, as .Japanese oak is considerably 

 cheaper and is much easier to sell, partially owing to price and par- 

 tially to the fact that it is exceedingly well manufactured and has 

 better average lengths than the eastern oak, and that the color is 

 very uniform. 



.-V Portland, Ore., house also announces that it is buying very little 

 eastern oak or oak flooring of late since a mill was established at 

 Portland for the manufacture of Siberian oak logs into lumber and 

 flooring, which is being sold at from eight to ten dollars a thousand 

 less than the eastern oak lumber or flooring can be purchased and 

 sold in that market. This situation is duplicated at San Francisco, 

 Los Angeles and otjier im]>ortant Coast points. 



The crux of the matter is that the railroads have succeeded in 

 aC2omplishing exactly what the Record has prophesied for the last 

 three years they would do by maintaining their excessive westbound 

 freight tariff on forest products. They have simply killed the goo.'e 

 that laid the golden egg and have not only lost their opportunity for 

 a profitable and substantial traffic in hardwood lumber from the East 

 to the Pacific Coast, but they have also destroyed quite a portion of 

 the business of eastern manufacturers of hardwoods. 



