2S 



HAKDWOOD RECORD 



.Innuirjr 2.\ Ii>. 



he iriTen of »vhnt m niMint by "vmccri-Hr' aiul "i»olid" ni applied 

 t. •« nro thin iiluftn of ni)O.I which may Iw ghipil 



t .to niiike thifk piiH-f», i-allod pniioU. Moro flir- 



lulurc i« iiirt.i.' ..I Slint . I thiiii put liufon-. niul to 



Ilia' oitpnt, viMMvn. nni i.. ..uii.l. Solid fiiriiitiiro iimV 



be made of boaids or liimlwr. llial t» what noiiio |H'oplo iiionn by 



>-.\" furniture. But thoro i» anotlicr nieauiu^ to "Holid"' an 



I to furniture. When »hwl8 of vcnwr nro «H|>criuipoiied and 



k<> iiniu'U, all of tho »heet» niav be of one kind 



,,; iiy or walnut, or the insido parts of the panel 



mmy be of one wood, aa gum, and Uio out!«ido or faces of another, an 



nak. 



When difforent woods are employed in a jiieoo of furniture, it is 



When thi- same wood is used throughout, if is solid 



_u the panels and other parts may Im- biiilt up fnim 



• neer sheets. Solid in this sense, means that the wood which appears 



II the surface is found all through; that a ].ie<'e of furniture is all 



f one wood, though veneers may be used in buiiilini; up certain parts. 



\ " . Liiy table, for example, if solid, is all mahogany — tho interior 



!lie outside parts. 



With this explanation it may bo stated that veneers are more largely 



ummI than ever before by furniture makers. At the Mimo lime, the 

 tendency in Htrong lotvnul <(olid furniture. \S1ien n buyer nskii for 

 a »olid walnut table, he diK>« not want ono eavere<l all over the out- 

 Bide by veneer walnut, wliile the interior is some oilier wood which 

 is totally hidden from sitjhi. 



Furniture made of woods inclined to wiirp mid liiH-k in chi'H^niL' 

 weather is ronstructed of built'U|> veneers. That lesKens chivkinn uuA 

 warping. Solid lumber might fail to stand up where veneer piuieN 

 of tho same wood would gixo no trouble. There arc woods, such nn 

 walnut and niahognny, wlii<'h nro not liable to warp or check after 

 they have lieen seasoned. Furniture of such woods eau bo aafvly 

 made of lumber, and it is often done. 



The .laniiary furniture shows reveal tho fact that the public de 

 niands niiich "solid" furniture: but miwh of this solid furniture is 

 of veneers liuill with panels, lops, and oven hciivy legs, as in tlu' 

 case of tallies. An .VuHlriaii nak library table, valued at ♦700, hiul 

 deeply carved logs, and tlieso legs were built up of half inch liiinlxT, 

 yet it was a "solid" table. Heavy "solid" church furniture is 

 often mode of thin lumber, glued together to form thick pieces. If 

 there is bending to do, as in jiew backs, tho bending is often done 

 with each piece of luinl)er separately, and they nro afterwards glued 

 together to form the pew. 



<gB5aB5B>!B>!a!jauxutiami«ai!JWiMai^^ 



Conditions Around Memphis 



(Scport received January 20.) 



The Mississippi river at Memphis continues to rise slowly. Tt was 

 expecteil that the crest would reach Memphis some time last week but 

 the appearance of further heavy rains in the upper tributaries of the 

 Mississijipi has caused more water to be taken care of and it is now 

 predicted that tho crest will not reach here until the latter part of 

 this week. It is estimated that the stage will run from 4U% feet to 

 ;> feet. Tho inside figure is that given by the official forecaster while 

 •lie outside figure is named by other river authorities. Already there 

 has been considerable interruption to the production of hardwood lum- 

 ber and lumber products along Wolf river in North Memphis as a result 

 of high water, while in New South Memphis some plants have found it 

 impossible to continue operations. .\t the same time some of the 

 luml>er companies in New South Memphis have found it necessary to 

 remove lumber to high grouml to ]>revent overflow. The levee system 

 .ind iiumping facilities in North Memphis will prevent overflow of 



.ny portion of the city, but will not prevent interference with wood- 

 uorkicg plants along Wolf river. Beports from the entire Mississippi 

 valley indicate that the levees are in good condition and that they 

 will hold all of the wafer in si^ht without giving way. Along White 

 river in .\rkansas, conditions arc not quite so favorable as there were 

 Ijreaks in the levees last spring which have not yet been wholly re- 

 paired. There is, therefore, a considerable area along that stream 



inder water. The high water in tributaries of the Missi^^sippi in 

 .\rkansas has interfered to some extent with hardwood manufacturing 

 as some of the mills on these have found it necessary to suspend opera- 

 tions at least temporarily. This is the highest water ever known at 

 this time of year and it has been the occasion of much surptise as 

 well as not a little chagrin on the part of lumber interests who are 

 naturally anxious to keep their plants going on full time because of 

 the large demand for lumber and because of prospects for a continua- 

 tion of such conditions. 



The log situation has undergone little if any change during the past 

 fortnight. Further rains have occurred in the Memphis territory 

 and both cutting and hauling have made comparatively little prog- 

 ress. A decided shortage of logs has been a conspicuous feature of 

 the situation for the last few weeks and members of the trade say that 

 conditions in this respect are gradually becoming more acute and 

 that a great deal of forced curtailment has already resulted from in- 

 ability to secure necessary raw material. The hope is expressed that 

 more favorable weather may soon prevail so that logs may be brought 

 out with greater freedom. However, this is the time of year when the 



weather is generally rather unfavorable and no very great conficlence 

 is expressed in the ability of lumber manufacturers to draw anything 

 like an adequate supply of lo(;s. Oflicials of the Gum Lumber Manu- 

 facturers' Association dealt with tho scarcity of gum logs and the 

 president of the Commercial Rotary Gum Association, in his annual 

 address here a few days ago, declared that gum logs were remarkably 

 scarce and that there was the veriest scramble for the available sup- 

 ply. The conditions which obtain with respect to gum also apply 

 to other hardwoods and it is conceded on all sides that production of 

 lumber is considerably below normal and that indications point to a 

 continuation of this condition until the weather is such that a more 

 adequate supply of timber may be secured. 



As a result of scarcity of logs and the high water in tho Mississippi 

 and its tributaries, both of which influences tend toward the restric- 

 tion of output, the market for hardwood lumber is extremely firm, 

 with a tendency toward higher prices. It is the consensus of opinion 

 among hardwood interests here that prices are altogether in favor of 

 tho seller and it is notable that this view is borne out by the fact 

 that buyers are far less independent than heretofore. They are going 

 around trying to buy lumber, whereas, for a long while, they sat in 

 their oflfices and let the southern holder of lumber do the sweating. 

 It was brought out at the meeting of the Commercial Rotary Gum 

 Association that prices on gum had advanced $3 to $.5 per thousand 

 within the past several months and information was given out at the 

 annual of the Gum Lumber Manufacturers' Association indicating an 

 advance of $4 per thousand on gum lumber within the recent past. 

 Lumber of practically every description is in good request and con- 

 ditions from a price standpoint are in as strikir.g contrast with a few- 

 months ago as could well be imagined. There seems to be, as already 

 indicated, very little prospect for any material increase in production 

 and meantime lumber is being shipped out at a rate that tends to- 

 ward a further decrease in stocks. Lumbermen therefore cannot 

 see how the situation can change and they logically expect somewhat 

 higher prices. John W. MeClure, president of tho Southern Hard- 

 wood Traffic Association, in his address before that body recently, 

 said that the year promised to be one of the most prosperous in the 

 history of the lumber industry, and S. B. Anderson, president of the 

 Anderson-Tully Company, in his talk before the Lumbermen's Club 

 of Memphis on January 15, asserted that the lumbermen were fac- 

 ing a profitable harvest if they only took advantage of tho conditions 

 which were distinctly in their favor. 



