16 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



October 10, 191.>' 



of something new that will hold a place iu the distant future. 



The War Industries Board on September 16, 1918, announced cei- 

 tain changes in furniture styles that must be followed by manu- 

 facturers. The changes will be enforced as a war measure, and 

 when the war ends, the styles may be dropped and probably most 

 of them will be; but if history continues to repeat itself, some of 

 the styles will return to favor in future years, and it will be at that 

 time that the name will be given, based on the period. 



The occasion is much more important than any which gave names 

 t<i period furniture in the past. Chippendale furniture was named 

 for the man who first made it. Louis XIV style was derived 

 from the French king whose reign saw the first furniture of that 

 style come into fashion. That named from Queen Anne passed 

 through similar history. Some of the most famous period styles 

 did not actually originate in the periods which gave them names, 

 but were in the height of fashion during the stated periods. The 

 styles wore in some instances copied from furniture dug out of tin- 

 ruins of Pompeii and Hereulaneum; but in no cases did those ancient 

 cities give names to the styles of furniture. 



A complete list of styles and changes in furniture, so ordered 

 by the War Industries Board at Washington, may be found in the 

 issue of Hardwood Record, September 25, 1918, pages 20a, 20b, 

 and 21. Persons interested in furniture styles, and who care to 

 exercise their prophetic powers iu an endeavor to foresee which 

 of these styles will most likely come into prominence in some future 

 time, will find plenty of material for consideration. 



Cordwood a Valuable Asset 



CORDWOOD heretofore has been considered questionable as a 

 source of revenue for sawmills. In fact, many mills have not 

 bothered very much with marketing this product. Business sense 

 and patriotism, however, dictate that sawmill offal be converted 

 this year to the last stick into fuel wood, so as to help relieve the 

 fuel shortage and conserve coal as far as possible and also as a 

 means of revenue for tlie mills. 



The following table shows the fuel value of wood as compared 

 to bituminous coal of average quality: 

 one Standard Cord Tons Coal 



Hickory % 



Red oak 1 



Elm % 



Chestnut -,i: 



Beech 1 



White oak 1 



Maple 4/5 



If you have not organized your potential production of cord- 

 wood, remember you owe it to your country as well as to your busi- 

 ness to carefully analyze the possibilities of developing this to the 

 fullest possible extent. 



Practice Strengthened by Theory 



A NUMBER OF I'OLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES announce 

 instruction in the uses of wood as a part uf their educational 

 work. Some will teach by correspondence, others will organize 

 classes in the regular way and employ instructors. 



The importance of the movement lies in the fact that it marks 

 a departure from old ways. The need of more education in the 

 use of wood is recognized. Time was when doctors, lawyers, preach- 

 ers, and other specialists learned by experience and observation only. 

 Now, they are trained in a scientific way. The users of wood arc 

 beginning to recognize the value of special training, and schools 

 are preparing to furnish it. The special training offered is of differ- 

 ent kinds, depending upon the purposes in view and the schools 

 which offer it. Some embrace the whole field of practical forestry 

 with all it comprises, while others cover less ground, some even 

 limiting their activities to a few lectures delivered by mail. But 

 the movement is in one direction only, that is, toward the better 

 use of wood. 



Some of the universities teach lumber grading and measuring; 

 others give courses in preservation and seasoning; methods of test- 

 ing strength, hardness, weight, and stiffness are taught in lectures 

 or by correspondence. 



The unusual demand for wood for war j)urposes, and the general 

 interest in kinds and quality, are largely responsible for the move- 

 ment for teaching these subjects in colleges. Few schools will 

 claim that their instruction will alone be sufficient to make a com- 

 petent lumberman of a man who has had no practical experience; 

 but it will help. No man by consulting books alone, or by listen- 

 ing to lectures, can become a proficient lumber grader. He must 

 have experience in order to apply intelligently the information 

 obtained from lectures and books. 



The movement to teach these subjects in schools is not confined 

 to any particular part of the country. It is all over, and good must 

 come from it. The old lumberman who learned by experience will 

 not be slow to understand that experience is a tedious way of learn- 

 ing, and that instruction given in a class may be a valuable time 

 saver. At any rate a change in methods of learning the lumber 

 business, and in putting wood to its proper and best use. seems to 

 be on trial, and time will tell how successful it will be. 



Resources that Surprised 



ONE UF THE SURPRISES OF THE WAR has been supplied by 

 til" forests in the countries near the scene of the fighting. 

 An example is furnished by England and Scotland. Before the 

 war began, no one had any idea that so much timber existed in 

 those countries. Forests were here and there, and patches and 

 licdges were scattered about the landscape. Cutting had been in 

 progress for centuries; but the users of timber in the British Isles 

 lU'pended upon other countries, and no one thought of anything 

 else. 



War demands came suddenly and have kept coming. The home 

 forests were drawn upon as never before. Enormous quantities of 

 wood were needed, and they came from home growth; and year b}"- 

 year I hey came; and now, in the fifth year of the war, the sup- 

 pli's still come. Exhaustion was looked for long ago, but it has 

 not yet arrived, and the agreeable surprise goes on. The people in 

 the British Isles have more respect for and a higher opinion of their 

 woods than they once had. 



It has been much the same in other countries directly affected 

 by the war. The cut of timber has surpassed all expectations. 

 France was known to have much timber, but no one was prepared 

 to believe that it could so long stand the strain without exhaustion 

 of its forest resources. The regions of France, Belgium, and Poland 

 occupied by the Hun armies have been cruelly exploited by the 

 invaders, not only to procure timbers for use along the battle fronts; 

 but the Germans have shipped vast quantities of stolen timber to 

 Germany where it has lessened, by that much, the demand on their 

 home forests. 



The end of the war will see the reserve of timber in several of 

 those countries lower than it ever was in the past; but, as a sort 

 of moral oflfset against that condition, the people will hold th?ir 

 forests in greater respect than ever before, because their value has 

 been proved. In the past the forests had a theoretical value, 

 worked out by arithmetic; but now the value has been proved by 

 the severest test possible. 



Our forests in America have not been put to that test nor has 

 the strain upon them been severe; but we ought to profit by the 

 object lesson beyond the sea and appreciate our forests accordingly. 

 Heretofore, there has always been prejudice in different quarters 

 against adequate forest legislation governing defense against fire 

 and excessive depletion of wooded areas, and against proper tax 

 laws relating to taxation of forest and cutover lands. Experience 

 in the war ought to increase public sentiment in favor of forestry 

 and of necessary measures for planting, protecting, conserving and 

 using our wooded lands. 



The new contract forms now to be ajiplied by the war department 

 in its purchases of all materials, definitely state that the use of chil- 

 dren under fourteen years of age is not permitted on any department 

 contracts. This is a practical and a wise decision and undoubtedly 

 will have a distinct bearing on future movements to eliminate child 

 labor. 



