IO 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



Cheapness Spoils. 



For some time ]>M>t the fail in furniture finish has Ijeeu some 

 type of weathered oak, known by an infinity of other names. 

 Weathered oak finish, executed with care in an expert manner, is a 

 delightful variety of furniture finish, and lias especially appealed 

 to the artistic sen38 when employed in drawingroom, diningroom 

 and hall furniture. At the time of its n tlj be 



came popular, although the cost of this class of finish was high, and 

 the resultant good ivc Immediately following this output of 



substantial, artistic and well-finished furniture came the usual re- 

 of the inartistic, cheap and flagrant imitation of the 

 worthy merchandise, until today weathered oak means very little 

 beyond the cheapest kind of furniture, daubed with an inferior 

 filler and stain, and palmed oft" or, the buying public as something 



worth hav i 



rp ne . is manifest in the stained furniture put out 



in imitation of magnificently 

 colored and finished silver-gray 

 maple. The original silver gray 

 tone of maple was produced by 

 an expensive process of impreg- 

 nating the wood with dye; the 

 imitation is simply a stain ap- 

 plied to the surface of the 

 wood. It has not nearly the 

 beauty of the original product 

 and in no wise approximates it 

 in value. 



It is a singular element 

 furniture trade ethics that as 

 soon as a manufacturer places 

 upon the market a high-class, 

 artistic, well-finished and wor- 

 thy furniture product, just so 

 soon does the renegade of the 



in and foist 

 flagrantly cheap imitations 

 upon the buying public. This 

 fact alone is a sad reflection on 

 American trade morals. 



country that greatly enhances its value is that generally the land is 

 very rich, and after the timber has been removed it is readily con- 

 vertible into high class agricultural property. 



Cbe Prophecy of the tree. 



Welcome to the Job. 



It is alleged in circular and secular print that the forest Service 

 ol the United States government has recognized that a matter of 

 importance to every lumber producing and consuming concern in 

 the country is that of the unification of grades. Toward accomplish- 

 ing this end the Forest Service, through its forest products division, 

 is preparing to bring together >the specifications of the various lum- 

 ber and manufacturers' associations and to put them in such form 

 that they may be compared. 



The object of the study is not to define a system of standard 

 grades, but to make a compilation of those now in use, such as will 

 be of service to lumber producers and consumers, and it is hoped 



that a great deal of informa- 

 tion may be accumulated that 

 will be of value in preparing 

 the way for eventually stand- 

 ardizing grades. 



A universal base of inspec- 

 tion, notably to apply to hard- 

 woods, is a desideratum that 

 would prove so useful and 

 ' tile in ;ill concerned in the 

 lumbei industry that the man 

 or men who can accomplish the 

 i will at least be called 

 blessed. This subject has oc- 

 cupied the attention of many 

 versatile and intellectual lum- 

 :• n for more than a decade, 

 and 'i Ml has not been achieved. 

 A ureal and worthy work, 

 in which the Hardwood Rec- 

 ord wishes the Forest Service 

 unlimited success, is this effort 

 toward standardizing lumber 

 grades. 



Hardwoods of Georgia. 



While in the past Georgia 

 has been recognized as a yellow 

 -tate, there is just now 

 coming to the notice of timber 

 investors and lumbermen the 

 fact that the state possesses a 

 very considerable area of hard- 

 woods. This range of growth 

 extends to a considerable ex- 

 tent into the state of Alabama. 



It is estimated thai along not less than 1,000 miles of navigable 

 i their bi hern Georgia, there is a source of 



available of fully eight billion feel of hard™ Is of 



wi'li sigts of both white and red oak. Span 



ish oak, I ne ash. poplar, red gum, tupelo gum, black gum. 

 beech, magnolia, bay, birch, maple, cypress, eottonw 1, locust, buck- 

 eye and several othei types of forest growth of less commercial 

 import 



Most of this ai i th. The timbei grows both 



on high l mi swampy districts along the river bottoms. In 



view of the I the northern supply of hardwoods is fast 



being exhausted and stumpage values in the South are still com- 

 paratively low this district is naturally attracting the attention of 

 a great many investors. Again, since it is almost impossible to go 

 financially wrong in a low-priced timber investment, the prospects 

 his section are weli worthy a careful examination with a view of 

 purchase. 



the hardwood timber area of this section ol tin 



DEDICATED TO ROBERT I. STEARNS 

 A 



0, thou wondrous being- 

 made in Jehovah's image- ■ 

 Klbo calletb thyself man! 

 Ulitb a song tbou liftest thy brawny arms 

 And the axe sinks into my heart. 

 Know thou, vain and boastful one- 

 Ulbo laugbetb as T fall beneath thy stroke- 

 UJhen thy body shall have crumbled into dust, 

 T will form the threshold of a home 

 Where tender woman croons a lullaby 

 Co sleeping babes encradled in my arms. 

 UJhen the waving grass above thy head 

 Sighs in forgotten desolation, 

 my sturdy planks will stand between 

 thy sons and the horrors of the deep. 

 UJhen thy very name is banished from men's lips, 

 Trom altars, hewn from me, will incense rise 

 Co the everlasting God. 



Idah McGlonc Gibson, 



The Hardwood Dimension 

 Business. 



The Hardwood Record has 



in the past pointed out the un- 

 lactory condition prevail- 

 ing in the hardwood dimension 

 stock business, and desires to 

 call particular attention to a 

 forceful article on this subject 

 which appears in this issue un- 

 der the above heading. 



The weak points in this busi- 

 ness have been thoroughly and frequently diagnosed and leading fac- 

 tors in the tradi are c ing to a realization of the fact that it is 



ile to ameliorate c lit ions. It has been sug- 

 gested by several houses prominent in the hardwood dimension stock 

 industry, that a meeting of people into rested !»■ called at an early 



date at Chicago, for the purpose of organizing a hardu 1 dimension 



association. If individuals or companies producing this class of 



ii are interested in this movement, the editoi of this paper 



will be pleased to receive communications from them on the subject. 



The idea of the association Bhould be to ge.t rid of unintelligent 



competition in this line of trade; to educate manufacturers on the 



subject of cost, grading, standard sizes and relative values. If it is 



possible for such an organization to compass this result, it would 



mean much for the future of the dimension stock industry. The 



Habdwood Record is ready now, as it has been in the past, to foster 



and assist this movement in every way, and in no wise would it be 



presuming to ask the editor to put his shoulder to the wheel and 



ist in the formation of such an organization. 



