HARDWOOD RECORD 



47 



a discussion o£ tlio fact tliat the old line liabil- 

 ity companies opfniting in Wisconsn, took occa- 

 sion to fix their rates in combination when the 

 Wisconsin compensation law went into operation. 

 The commission says that, as published, these 

 rates are about twice as high for compensation 

 as for common law liabilit.y. The commission 

 lias no authority to fix rates, so this exorbitant 

 schedule still stands and ought to be an induce- 

 ment for the manufacturer to get in under the 

 new Wisconsin compensation act. Wisconsin 

 employers are advised by the Wisconsin Indus- 

 trial Commission to form mutual companies, 

 similar to the one operated at Wausau by sev- 

 eral of the large lumber interests and similar 

 to those now successfully operated in Germany. 

 The commission says : 



"The commission does not understand why 

 employers in this state do not seize the oppor- 

 tunity to reduce the expense of insurance. Un- 

 der the m\itual companies of Germany, the ex- 

 pense of insurance does not exceed fifteen per cent 

 of the premium, while under the old line com- 

 panies in this country, the expense of insurance, 

 together with profils, exceeds sixty per cent of 

 the premium." 



Chinese Blackwood Furniture 



A characteristic product of China known round 

 the world and admired in varying degrees by 

 foreigners generally is Chinese blackviwod furni- 

 ture, generally including cabinets, chairs, stools, 

 stands, pedestals, center and side tables, frames, 

 and most other drawing-room pieces, elaborately 

 carved and decorated and manufactured or sup- 

 posed to be made from a black wood. 



This furniture, if real in all respects, is pro- 

 duced from various dark woods, generally from 

 Dalbergia latifolia, a hard, heavy, close-grained, 

 dark-red wood known to the Chinese as "ka-hee" 

 or "furniture wood," or sometimes as "sun-gee" 

 or "dark-red wood." When exposed to the air 

 for a long time this wood turns dark and eventu- 

 ally becomes black, with more or less red streaks 

 in the grain corresponding to the amount of 

 resinous or other natural coloring matter in the 

 grain. It is imported as logs of as much as 

 eighteen inches in diameter and up to perhaps 

 twenty feet in length, but also as tree branches 

 and smaller pieces, the Chinese affecting pieces 

 grown crooked for use in natural shape in some 

 of their furniture. The wood is bought by 

 weight, an average wholesale consignment costing 

 three to four laels a picul or about one and one- 

 half to two cents gold per pound. 



The furniture is prominently displayed in 

 oriental shops all over the world, and is so 

 especially characteristic of Hongkong and South 

 China that there is unusual interest in it, and 

 one of the first visits paid by tourists traveling 

 in this part of the world is to blackwood shops 

 and factories. Furniture of this wood is often 

 referred to in the United States as teak furni- 

 ture. Blackwood has no relation to teakwood 

 and is distinctly different from it in nature and 

 characteristics. 



A few years ago there was considerable fraud 

 in the business and soft light woods stained 

 black were used in such goods Just as most of 

 the so-called cherry wood furniture now in .Japan 

 is soft white wood stained cherry before finish- 

 ing. The use of poor wood so injured the trade 

 that the Chinese guild concerned decided to use 

 only the real blackwood, and this in Hongkong 

 is characteristic of the trade, though of course 

 there is still need to guard against inferior 

 woods. 



Practically all this furniture — even planned 

 table tops and the most intricate and delicate 

 fittings — is handmade. Furniture is planned in 

 parts which generally dovetail together in order 

 to eliminate screws or nails, and the various 

 parts are shaped for the carver. The latter 

 squats on the earth floor and works with various 

 knives, chisels, and other tools of native work- 

 manship but with no other vise or bench than 



liis legs, toes, and the earth floor or, in excep- 

 tional cases, a log combination of seat and bench. 

 Workmen in these shops are practically bred to 

 the business. An apprentice serves three years 

 with no other pay than his rice. He then earns 

 perhaps $10 silver or $4.80 gold per month for 

 several years. A full-fledged carver will ordi- 

 narily receive $20 silver or $9.60 gold per month. 

 When carved, the article is usually stained a 

 uniform black by an alum preparation, then 

 waxed with a preparation of wood oil and black- 

 ing and polished, or sometimes finished with a 

 special preparation of Ningpo varnish. Foreign 

 oils and varnish are sometimes used for special 

 purposes, but as a rule only native materials 

 are employed. Of late a demand has grown for 

 the furniture in natural dark red of the wood, 

 furniture nearer real and likely to become mere 

 popular as it becomes better known. A strong 

 demand is growing for furniture manufactured 

 from this wood on plainer lines and to some ex- 

 tent for settees and chairs in Chinese styles. 

 The popularity of the furniture on the whole 

 seems to bo increasing, although there has been 

 no material change in average volume of ship- 

 ments. The high cost of this furniture in the 

 United States by the time freight and duty are 

 paid seems to be the chief factor against its 

 more general use. 



Late Liverpool Market 

 The market all round continues exceedingly 

 firm. Especially is this , so with the mahogany 

 position. There have been no public sales dur- 

 ing the fortnight, and it is not at all likely 

 that new sales will be held for at least a week. 

 There is little or no stock in brokers' hands, and 

 no visible reduction in market values seems 

 probable for some time to come. Buyers on 

 the American side are advised to keep stocks 

 fully up to their requirements as there is a 

 very strong likelihood of a big advance at the 

 next sales. 



Round ash logs have come forward with 

 moderate freedom, and though the quality was 

 far from the best, prices of al>out 2s were readily 

 paid. -One parcel of 800 logs was sold at 23 

 pence, which was only coarse brown wood and 

 which twelve months ago would not have brought 

 more than 18 or 19 pence. Round hickory logs 

 also are good. Very few logs have arrived re- 

 cently and those which have been sold brought 

 -ood figures. Some very fine wood has been im- 

 ported this year and shippers have very wisely 

 refrained from shipping bad wood to this port. 

 Shippers cannot be too strongly impressed of 

 the folly in sending bad hickory to this market. 

 It is not wanted, and shipments of poor quality 

 will find great diflBculty in covering freight ex- 

 penses. With ash it is different as there Is a 

 market for a poorer ash at a lower figure, though 

 here again prices will be paid for better quality. 

 Prime whitewood and walnut are exceedingly 

 scarce in the log, and shipments would find a 

 very ready sale. Large wood in both woods is 

 practically non-existant. The few logs which 

 are visible are of very poor quality. Birch is a 

 good spot in the market and this year shippers 

 have very wisely refrained from shipping too 

 extensively in the hot season. Satin walnut and 

 aum stocks are going well. A good order has 

 been placed for % planed satin gum in wide 

 widths, and it is stated that further orders are 

 still waiting to be snapped up. Oak is good at 

 the moment, though shippers must be asked to 

 put the brakes on round oak shipments, as they 

 are too heavy at the moment to give confidence 

 iu the market. Some large orders for dimension 

 oak have been placed at advanced prices on 

 large year contracts, though It should be said 

 that the advances are more than covered by the 

 advances in freight. -The market, however, has 

 l)een fairly good for this time of the year, and 

 with a continuance of these increases iu trade 

 volume, prices should be raised to a still higher 

 level. 



Timber That Germany Needs 



A British contemporary is of the opinion that 

 certain foreign woods are in constant demand in 

 Silesia because they do not grow in Germany, 

 and can not be replaced by domestic woods for 

 the specific purposes of manufacture. These 

 woods are hickory, rosewood, mahogany, cedar, 

 lignum-vitae, teakwood and pine. Hickory, of 

 course, is indispensable in the manufacture of 

 carriages; there is no domestic wood for wheel- 

 wrighting purposes comparable to it in strength 

 nud elasticity. The prices obtained are limited 

 1/y the price of the finished wheels that come 

 from America, but inland waterways enable local 

 industries to get their wood cheap enough to 

 lueet this competition. 



American walnut is used in large quantities 

 Iiy manufacturers of furniture and carriages, 

 while oak furniture is made almost exclusively 

 I f American lumber since Germany's oak is hard 

 to obtain for this purpose. Poplar is used for 

 the blind veneering for which German poplar 

 does not make a satisfactory substitute. 



New Use for Kedwood Sawdust 



While the utilization of redwood sawdust does 

 not intimately concern the manufacturer of hard- 

 wood lumber, it is interesting to note that a 

 considerable market for this line of waste is 

 being found in the West In the packing of Cali- 

 fornia grapes. It has been demonstrated by a 

 series of experiments on the part of the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture that a filler of redwood saw- 

 dust will preserve the grapes in a better condi- 

 tion for cold storage for a longer period than 

 when packed in ground cork. By picking the 

 grapes when ripe and packing them in redwood 

 sawdust, It is now possible to keep them in 

 excellent condition until January 10, thereby 

 enabling the growers to take advantage of the 

 Christmas demand. 



One of the specific advantages of using red- 

 wood sawdust is the fact that it is even more 

 nearly neutral in odor and flavor than ground 

 cork and therefore does not impart a taste or 

 odor to the fruit. So great has the demand for 

 this product become that some sawmills have 

 installed special machinery for sifting and pack- 

 ing. 



Most Expensive Wood 



The Scientific American avers that cabole 

 iamsophyJlia cabole, Henriq.) yields the most ex- 

 pensive wood in the world. Tills is a beautiful 

 tree belonging to the Mangrove family and is 

 a native of the west coast of Africa. It is 

 common on the Island of St. Thomas and is 

 generally found in low or medium elevated por- 

 tions. The ideal situation is on the southern 

 slopes of the mountains where in mature state 

 it forms large trees. Individual specimens are 

 found here from 120 to 140 feet high and 47 

 fect in diameter. The wood is highly esteemed 

 and is light chestnut-brown with dark streaks. 

 It is firm and durable and has the appearance of 

 teak. It is also easily worked and takes a high 

 polish, and when carefully filled and varnished 

 presents a beautiful appearance. 



The wood is used for high-grade furniture 

 and objects of luxury, such as fancy doors, 

 parquetry and interior finish in fine residences, 

 .Attempts have been made to introduce the wood 

 in English and German markets, ijut nave failed 

 im account of its high cost. It brings as much 

 ;is $3, .500 per cubic metre, which means a little 

 over a cubic yard, on the Island of St. Thomas. 



Miscellaneous Notes 



The Tri-Citifs Wagon & Buggy Manufacturing 

 Company has been organized at Florence. Ala. 



The Thomas Forman Company, Detroit, Mich., 

 recently increased its capital stock to $300,000. 



The veneer mills of Camp Brothers, New Ber- 

 lin, N. Y., recently sustained a $10,000 loss by 

 fire. 



The Alexander Lumber Company recently en- 



