HARDWOOD RECORD 



yip 



not found so much as an echo in Argentina. The 

 simplicity of such furniture would, at the pres- 

 ent time, at least, find moderate appreciation. 



It is doubtful if United States manufacturers 

 would find it profitable to compete for the 

 Argentine furniture trade in the lines where 

 European nations are now supreme and with 

 articles of a similar nature. Ornamental carv- 

 ing and inlaid work are little understood in this 

 country, and the attempt to turn out models 

 on French lines would probably result in the 

 production of articles of excessive cost. 



The matter of finish, already alluded to. is 

 also a point against North American furniture 

 as now largely made. The high-varnish finish. 

 so general in the United States, is little used by 

 European manufacturers, and suffers in com- 

 parison with the soft oil and wax finishes usually 

 employed for their best products. 



Imported furniture, as already noted, repre- 

 sents the more expensive sorts only, and is 

 not largely used except in the homes of the fairly 

 well-to-do. For this reason price is not so 

 much of an object as tiuality and coincidence 

 with popular taste. Generally speaking, im- 

 ported furniture in Argentina costs about twice 

 what it would sell for in the country of its 

 origin. This is partly due to the cost of trans- 

 portation for so great a distance, but more par- 

 ticularly to the result of a high protective tarifT. 

 which is forty-two percent ad valorem for the 

 most of it. This makes it an object to do the 

 upholstering in the country and as much of the 

 other finishing as possible. 



First Cost vs. Final Cost 



$12,000 Mauritania Model 



.\lexander H. Revell & Co., Wabash avenue, 

 Chicaeo, exhibited in their Adams street window 

 a model of the Cunard liner. Mauritania. This 

 model is an exact miniature of the ship and is 

 enclosed in a mahogany case. It measures IS 

 feet, 2iij inches in length, 3 feet, 5% inches in 

 breadth, and 5 feet, o\-> inches in height, and 

 weighs about 3.500 pounds. The minutest de- 

 tails, including quadruple screws, wireless sta- 

 tion, deckhouses, including captain's bridge, are 

 shown in the most costly ship model ever 

 brought to Chicago. 



It is a well-recognized fact among good busi- 

 ness men that the first cost of a thing does ni't 

 determine its true cost. 



Its utility and durability are of far gre.iter 

 importance. 



An article costing $100 and lasting twenty 

 years is really much cheaper than one costing 

 $50 and lasting only two or three years. 



This is so evident that it seems strange any- 

 <me could ever overlook it ; and yet many people 

 sometimes do, as is shown by their business 

 transactions. 



Taking its great durability into consideration, 

 the Gordon Hollow Blast Grate is so mncli 

 cheaper than an ordinary or draft grate that 

 there is absolutely no comparison. 



And when it comes to utility, the Gordon 

 Hollow Blast Grate gives excellent results with 

 fuel that refuses to burn at all on ^ common 

 ,i;rate. 



It is therefore evident that, as the manufac- 

 turers state, the Gordon Hollow Blast Grate is 

 not an expense, but an investment. 



Lumber in Natal 



The Consul Edwin S. Cuuuiugham, Durham, 

 reports as follows : 



The forests of Natal are limited, and timlier is 

 imported for practically every purpose for which 

 lumber is used, principally pine and poplar : 

 pitch pine is also imported in considerable quan- 

 tities. Besides these, various hardwoods, such 

 as oak. hickory, walnut, ash, spotted gum or 

 colonial hickory, teak, jarrah, mahogany, and 

 maple, are imported for wagon building, and for 

 use in the manufacture of various kinds of fur- 

 niture. Hickory was at one time imported, but 

 on account of its cost wagon builders have sub- 

 stituted Australian spotted gum or colonial 

 hickory therefore, at one-h;ilf the cost of Ameri- 

 can hickory. 



Bridge of Mahogany 



A singular bridge was noted in the state of 

 Chiapas. Mexico, which spans the Rio Michol 

 river. The entire structure is 150 feet long. 1.5 

 feet wide, and composed of solid mahogany logs. 

 Certainly this would cause any manufacturer to 

 hesitate, because of the known scarcity of ma- 

 • hogany, also because these I>oards are counted 

 like a merchant would count his gold. The 

 bridge is used both by teams and by foot pas- 

 sengers, and though roughly constructed, is very 

 substantial. These massive timbers were never 

 sawn, as there is not a sawmill in the region, 

 but all were hewn out from the logs with the 

 axe. On a New York valuation there was ap- 

 proximately $2,000,000 worth of material used 

 in its building. 



GKATE MANUFACTURED BY GORDON HOL- 

 LOW BLAST GRATE CO., GREENVILLE. 

 MICH. 



It enables the fireman to control the supply 

 of air absolutely, and hence to regulate his fire 

 to suit the weather and the demand for steam. 



In fact, so extremely useful is this grate that 

 in many sections of the country every mill is 

 fitted with it, and no one pretends to plan one 

 with anything else. 



The Gordon Hollow Blast Grate is manufac- 

 tured by the Gordon Hollow Blast Grate Com- 

 pany, of Greenville. Mich., likewise known as the 

 manufacturer of the celebrated "Towor" line of 

 edgers and trimmers. 



.Ill' about to be erected there is an excellent 

 opportunity for the sale of American sawmill 

 machinery. 



The principal wood exported from Antung is 

 n variety of fir. The logs, as a rule, are com- 

 liiiratively small, averaging about two feet in 

 diameter. Light machinery would therefore be 

 suitable for use at this place. [Further infor- 

 nuition in regard to specific openings for the sale 

 ..f sawmill machinery in Manchuria may be ob- 

 tained from the Bureau of Manufactures.] 



Keeps Gum from Warping 



There is a new process for treating white gum 

 ibai stops the gum from warping after it has 

 i...en veneered. They first extract the sap by an 

 .b'ctrical process and then treat the gum to n 

 i.jith of chromate of iron. This gives the wood 

 III. color of mahogany and the toughness of 

 iMiiple. The intention of the company controlling 

 1 lie process is to put on the market a cored door 

 tliai will compete with the mahogany door and 

 ilipy claim that the chromate of iron will pene- 

 trate a piece of white gum three inches in thick- 

 ness. The first door factory is being built at 

 Klinira, N. Y., and is to be managed by William 

 l.awson, who is now located at 415 McCormick 

 iinilding, Chicago, 111. 



SawmUl Machinery for the Yalu Valley 



There is at present a considerable demand f"r 

 sawmill machinery at Antung, China. The tim 

 ber trade at this port is of great importance. 



As the commissioner of customs stated in a 

 recent report, "timber continues to be the chief 

 lever operating to raise Antung to a more im- 

 portant place in the business world." The value 

 of the wood exported from Antung during last 

 year was .$300,612 (United States currency i. 

 The wood from Antung is in close competition 

 with the wood from Japan, and it is necessary 

 for the local exporters to avail themselves of 

 every possible advantage. 



One difficulty encountered by the dealers in 

 the local product is the high freight rate, and 

 they have come to realize that the timber must 

 be cut before shipment and that sawmills at 

 Antung are necessary for the purpose. At pres- 

 ent the wood is sent out in the form of logs or 

 rough beams. As the shipping companies charge 

 tor the cubic space which the wood occupies, 

 ind since the logs cannot be closely packed, a 

 •ireat saving could be effected if the wood were 

 cut and packed closely together. Much waste 

 material would thus be eliminated and the ship- 

 ments would be much more valuable in propor- 

 t.'on to the space occupied. There are at present 

 no sawmills at Antung. and as two such r iV- 



Safe Boiler Appliances 



Ihere are four essential adjuncts to a boiler 

 1 li.it are necessary for its safe operation : 

 Tiainely, a blow-off valve, safety valve, water 

 .olumus and gage glass, and steam-pressure 

 gage. All of these devices .are shamefully 

 abused in many small steam plants, and. if 

 tlie truth were known, the same criticism might 

 lie applied to a good many large plants as well. 



The safety valve is generally left to take 

 .;nf of itself, if it will but operate when the 

 st.-am pressure reaches a certain predetermined 

 lic.int. The blow-oft valve is often allowed to 

 leak so long as it does not lower the water 

 lu the boiler enough to cause trouble. The 

 watir column and steam gage are the two 

 safi'ty factors which require watching, and yet 

 Tli.y are often the ones most neglected. 



I In vertical boilers the water glass is fre- 

 quently so poorly illuminated that even an ex- 

 pert could not tell to a certainty the exact 

 location of the water level. Under such cir- 

 cumstances the boiler attendant depends upon 

 the high and low-water alarm, and this device 

 is frequently heard operating in many steam 

 jilauts, which is a reflection upon the method of 

 liaudling the plant. 



A good engineer or chief fireman will keep the 

 water glass on each boiler under his charge 

 rlean. both inside and outside, and a light prop- 

 • rlv placed so that the water tender or fire- 

 man can readily see the water level from 

 \arious points of view. 



The proper method of determining the water 

 !• vel i" a boiler is to try the gage cock and not 

 ti. depend upon the water level. There are few 

 liiemen. however, who do not place almost 

 implicit trust in the water glass: hence it should 

 I"' kept clean and in proper working condition. 



The pressure gage is by no means of sec- 

 ondary importance, and yet tew register eor- 

 r.itly after a few years' use. Frequently the 

 face is so dirty or the gage is so located that 

 it is almost impossible to read the steam pres- 

 sure. This is, of course, bad engineering, 

 and should never be countenanced by an 

 I'ligineer. 



Placing a steam gage at a distance from 

 the boiler is not good practice, because the long 

 pipe is almost certain to become clogged with 

 — (liiu.nt. Connecting the steam gage to the 

 ui' tal front of a boiler, where heat from the 

 lioiler setting is transmitted to the gage, is a 

 practice not to be commended. 



.\ false steam gage is a dangerous thing, 

 ;iijil if it and the safety valve are both defective 

 at the same time, a boiler to which they are 



