32 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



Effect of Moisture on the Strength and 

 Stiffness of Wood. 



The Forest Service has been making a thor- 

 ough study of the influence of moisture on the 

 strength of wood during the past three years 

 and is about to publish the results of its inves- 

 tigations in an exhaustive technical bulletin 

 eutitle.l "Effect of Moisture Upon the Strength 

 and Stiffness of Wood." 



The chief points presented by the study are 



1. The relation of moisture to strength fol- 

 lows a definite law which can be graphically ex- 

 pressed. Proper drying very greatly increases 

 the strength of all kinds of wood, the amount 

 of increase in strength depending upon the 

 species and the dryness. The strength of a 

 piece of unseasoned red spruce may be increased 

 over 400 per cent by a thorough drying at the 

 temperature of boiling water. Strength de- 

 creases again, however, as the wood reabsorbs 

 moisture. Air-dried wood, protected from the 

 weather and containing 12 per cent of moisture, 

 is from 1.7 to 2.4 stronger than when green. 

 varying with the species. Stiffness is also in- 

 creased by drying. These conclusions, however, 

 are drawn from small sized pieces not exceed- 

 in;; 4x4 inches in cross section, such as are 

 used in vehicle work, tools, etc. Large timbers 

 require years of drying before the moisture is 

 reduced to a point where strength begins to in- 

 crease. It must also be taken into consideration 

 that more or less checking always occurs when 

 large timbers dry ; and if this checking is ex- 

 cessive it may cause weakness to counterbalance, 

 partially or entirely, the strength gained in dry- 

 ing. Consequently, it is not safe to assume 

 that the average strength of large so-called sea- 

 soned timbers is much greater than that of 

 green or wet ones. 



2. The fiber saturation point of a number 

 of species has been determined. This point, 

 which varies with conditions and species of 

 wood, designates the percentage of water which 

 will saturate the fibers of the wood. It has 

 been found that, under normal conditions, wood 

 fiber will absorb a definite amount of moisture 

 beyond this the water simply fills the pores 

 of the wood like honey in honeycomb. Only 

 that water which permeates the wood 'fiber 

 has an influence upon the strength. For the 

 following species this saturation point occurs at 

 the given percentage of moisture based on the 

 dry weight of the wood : 



Chestnut, 25 per cent moisture 

 lied gum, 25 per cent moisture. 

 White ash, 20.5 per cent moisture. • 



3. Prolonged soaking in cold water does not 

 reduce the strength of green wood below that 

 of its fiber saturation point, provided it remains 

 in perfect condition. When wood has been dried 

 ami is resoaked it becomes slightly weaker than 

 when green. 



4. Wood soaked in heated water absorbs more 

 moisture because the amount of water which the 

 liber will contain is increased. This causes a 

 reduction iu strength and stillness, so in wood 

 that is heated or steamed for bending. 



Floors and Hardwood Doors in France. 



The activity iu the building industry in south- 

 ern France, according to reports from the con- 

 sulate at Nice, continues unabated. Vice-Consul 

 A. Piatti states that the grade of buildings is 

 continually improving and that there is a dis 

 position, which did not exist before, to intro- 

 duce materials of better quality as well as 

 modern. improvements hitherto unknown. As an 

 illustration, it may be mentioned that the use 

 of wood and parquet floors was a few years ago 

 confined to a very few luxurious and expensive 

 buildings, whereas today- "they are used to the 

 extent of not less than 30 per cent of all the 

 floors built there. 



As an instance of what the market there is 

 for American doors, the vice-consul states an 



instance of an architect who, upon examining 

 with him the catalogue of an American firm 

 manufacturing doors and windows, said, when 

 they came to the question of prices : "It is not 

 possible, I cannot believe it. There must be a 

 mistake." In this instance the vice-consul had 

 figured out that hardwood doors would cost 

 there, laid down, less than the most ordinary 

 thin pine doors sold locally. 



It must be borne in mind, however, that the 

 French buyer demands a catalogue in his own 

 language and wants to ascertain the rate of 

 freight and duty before buying. 



Refrigerators In France. 



In writing of refrigerators in France, Vice- 

 Consul A. Piatti states that their use, which 

 has hitherto been limited to southern France, is 

 now becoming general, owing to the increase in 

 the manufacture of ice. He states that the 

 refrigerators sold at Nice are of the most primi- 

 tive type and in appearance are little better 

 than an ordinary packing box. A sample lot of 

 five American refrigerators of various sizes and 

 qualities were shipped from New York and, when 

 they reached the importer, astonished him by 

 their 'quality. The total cost of the five, in- 

 cluding freight and duty, was about $24 each. 



The American article is not only a hand- 

 somer piece of furniture but is built more scien- 

 tifically, has a better system of isolation and 

 ventilation, and furnishes a higher maximum 

 of cold air and a lower minimum consumption 

 of ice than the native product. The consul calls 

 a I tent ion to the fact that owing to its unques- 

 tioned superiority, if the American product were 

 once introduced into the southern part of France 

 any other make now marketed there would be 

 practically unsalable at any price. 



Opportunity for American Sawmill and 

 Railroad Machinery. 



Consul F. D. Fischer reports from Tamsui 

 that the Formosan government has granted a 

 concession to a Japanese lumber company to cut 

 off the timber on an area twenty-five miles 

 square in Formosa, containing approximately 

 two billion feet, about three-fourths of which 

 is hinoki. The sum of $1,992,000 has been 

 invested in the enterprise, nearly three-fourths 

 of which will be required for the construction 

 of a railroad which will take about three years 

 to finish. A sawmill will be located at Kagi 

 and the first year's cuttings are expected to bo 



about 16, ,000 feet, which will be gradually 



increased lo 25,000,000 feet annually, although 

 on account of the rugged nature of the country 

 and the immense size of the trees, considerable 

 difficulty will be met with in the logging and 

 transportation at Kagi. American manufactur- 

 ers of sawmill machinery and logging equipment 

 can obtain information about the conditions of 

 supplying the machinery by addressing the Fuji- 

 tagumi, Osaka. Japan, and also the chief indus- 

 trial department of the Formosa government at 

 Taihoku. Formosa, giving in each case a full 

 description of the equipment they have to offer. 



Some Noted Trees of This Country. 



The elm tree at Philadelphia under which 

 William Penn made his famous treaty with nine- 

 teen tribes of barbarians. 



The Charter Oak at Hartford, which preserved 

 the written guarantee of the liberties of the 

 Colony of Connecticut. 



The wide-spreading oak tree at Flushing, Long 

 Island, under which George Fox, the founder of 

 the Society of Friends or Quakers, preached. 



The huge French apple tree near Fort Wayne, 

 Ind., where Little Turtle, the great Miami chief, 

 gathered his warriors. 



The elm tree at Cambridge in the shade of 

 which Washington first took command of the 

 Continental army, on a hot summer's day. 



The tulip tree on King's Mountain battlefield 

 in South Carolina on which ten bloodthirsty 

 Tories were hanged at one time. 



The tall pine tree at Fort Edward, N. Y., 

 under which the beautiful Jane McCrea was 

 slain. 



The magnificent black walnut tree near Haver- 

 straw on the Hudson at which General Wayne 

 mustered his forces at midnight, preparatory to 

 his gallant and successful attack ou Stony 

 Point. 



The grand magnolia tree near Charleston, 

 S. C, under which General Lincoln held a coun- 

 cil of war previous to surrendering the city. 



The great pecan tree at Villere's plantation, 

 below New Orleans, under which a portion of 

 the remains of General Packenham was buried. 



The pear trees planted, respectively, by Gov- 

 ernor Endicott of Massachusetts and Governor 

 Sluyvesant of New York, more than 200 years 

 ago. 



The Freedman's Oak, or Emancipation Oak. 

 Hamptou Institute. Hampton, Va., under which 

 the slaves of this region first heard read Presi- 

 dent Lincoln's emancipation proclamation. 



The Eliot Oak of Newton, Mass., under which 

 the apostle, John Eliot, taught the Indians Chris- 

 tianity. 



The old Liberty Elm of Boston, planted and 

 dedicated by a schoolmaster to the independence 

 of the colonies, and the rallying point for patri- 

 ots before, during and after the Revolutionary 

 War. 



The Burgoyne Elm at Albany, N. Y., planted 

 the day Burgoyne was brought there a prisoner. 



The ash and tulip trees planted at Mount 

 Vernon by Washington. 



The elm tree planted by General Grant on the 

 Capitol grounds at Washington. 



The Cary tree, planted by Alice and Phoebe 

 Cary in 1832, a large and beautiful sycamore 

 seen from the Hamilton turnpike, between Col- 

 lege Hill and Mount Pleasant, Hamilton county, 

 nhio. 



Need of American Goods in France. 



Consul J. Martin Miller, writing from Ithelms, 

 France, states that American enterprise prop- 

 erly directed might introduce into France re- 

 frigerators, washing machines and other modern 

 household articles of American make, where the 

 need for such goods is most urgent. He says : 



"That a demand should be created in France 

 for scores of articles of American inventive 

 genius and mechanical skill is reasonable to 

 suppose. For instance, the common household 

 refrigerator so universally used in the United 

 States is unknown in France. Only the very 

 wealthy families can afford the expensive re- 

 frigerators to be had. It is the same with water 

 filters — the plain people do not use them. Wash- 

 ing machines and clothes wringers, such as are 

 iu common use iu the United States, are not 

 known here. In fact, the conditions do not 

 seem to be favorable for their introduction. 

 The family wash in France is done away from 

 the home, at one of the lavoirs publiqucs pro- 

 vided in every town and city. 



"One of these establishments is owned by the 

 city of Rheims and there are others conducted 

 by individuals. The lavoir municipal accommo- 

 dates about 300 washerwomen at one time, and 

 the others from twenty to fifty each. Each 

 woman has a stall, which is rented, including 

 water, at 5 centimes, or 1 cent, per hour. Here 

 she lays the garments on a piece of wood, beats 

 them with a club, the same as did the washer- 

 woman of a century ago. In some cases she 

 may scrub the clothes with an ordinary scrub 

 brush, using soap. Some of the municipal es- 

 tablishments have large machines for washing 

 and for drying, for which they charge the wash- 

 erwoman a nominal price by the piece. They 

 are run by steam or electric power, but are in 

 use only in the larger cities. A revolution in 

 laundry methods must take place before there 

 can be a market in France for our washing ma- 

 chines." 



