HARDWOOD RECORD 



51 



scatter the lire. It is recommended that all 

 inside hydrants have spray nozzles. 



In closing the bulletin gives a list of July 

 lumber property fires, showing various causes, 

 estimate of loss, etc. 



Southern Loggers to Meet 



The Southern Logging Superintendent's As- 

 sociation will hold its regular annual conven- 

 tion at the Hotel Grunewald. Xew Orleans, La., 

 on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, Sept. 23, 

 24 and 25. 



The association was organized in September, 

 1910, and bas a membership consisting of log- 

 ging superintendents whose employers have seen 

 the value to their operations of such meetings 

 of practical men to discuss every phase of the 

 logging business from a worliing standpoint. 

 The discussion includes new methods, devices 

 and improvements, and in many instances has 

 resulted in considerable saving to logging opera- 

 tions by reason of the employment of ideas 

 gotten at the meetings. 



Fancy Designs in Oriental Furniture 



The manufacturer of oriental tealswood and 

 Japwood furniture emplo.vs various and intricate 

 artistic designs in making up these articles. 

 The lotus and iris are popular designs for ladies' 

 dressing-tables and in such articles the handles 

 are often formed by part of the hand-carved 

 flower itself. Japanese owls with ivory eyes, 

 the famous Ho-wo bird, the carved Greelj key 

 border, dragons, jloud effects and similar intri- 

 cate and mysterious designs are favorably con- 

 sidered by usejs of these expensive articles. 



In teakwood, the curio cabinet is the popular 

 piece. In this line filigree work is often in- 

 dulged in by the most patient of the carvers. 

 Detailed patterns are worked out in these in- 

 stances which have remarkable effect upon the 

 soft tones of the woods. From the size and 

 general design of the cabinets they would easily 

 take the place of the usual china closet. 



Lacquer finish is often employed in the manu- 

 facture of teakwood goods, although the regular 

 finish seems to be more generaU.v preferred. 

 Stands of teakwood are often found with porce- 

 lain tops and inlaid designs. The effect of this 

 combination is remarkable. Turkey supplies 

 numerous beautiful taborcts made from Damas- 

 cus wood. They are both inlaid with mother- 

 of-pearl and plain. These and many other de- 

 signs and ideas of house finishing are carried 

 by the Orientals in such a way that many of 

 the articles can be easily harmonized with more 

 apparently modern pieces of furniture. 



A Growing Business 



A prominent, but not often heard of industry 

 in Memphis, Tenn., is the manufacture of boat 

 oars. Recently there was shipped from that 

 city three carloads of oars which were con- 

 signed to the East coast of Africa. This ship- 

 ment was but one of many which are made 

 annually from the same source. One of the 

 Memphis concerns manufacturing these articles 

 has a contract with the British navy whereby 

 it makes practically all of the oars used by 

 the British government. The ash growing in 

 the vicinity of Memphis has proven particularly 

 well adapted to oar manufacture. 



Why the Locust Leaves are Dying 



Communication from the Forest Service, deal- 

 ing with the question of the disease which is 

 affecting the leaves of the yellow and black 

 locust, tell of the cause of the drying up and 

 early death of this foliage. 



The condition is caused by the locust leaf 

 beetle, and is most apparent in Virginia, Mary- 

 land, Pennsylvania. Ohio and West Virginia. A 

 comprehensive study of its work has been car- 

 ried on by the Forest Service for the past twenty 

 years. Observations have shown that the drying 

 up of the locust leaves has occurred every sum- 

 mer. There does not seem to be any permanent 

 detrimental effect from the ravages of the inseci 



as the trees usually come out green the following 

 spring. 



The beetle is yellowish in color and flat, and 

 spends the winter among the leaves and litter 

 on the surface of the ground. In early May 

 it attains wings, thus flying to the leaves on 

 which it deposits its eggs. In a very short 

 time these eggs hatch and the larvae coming 

 from them feed upon the upper and lower 

 layers of the leaves, causing the injuries which 

 soon become apparent. When these larvae have 

 finally attained the adult stage, they feed on 

 the leaf itself, consuming everything but the 

 veining. 



Civilized Alaska 



The popular conception of Alaska is that that 

 country is a vast wilderness practically without 

 development. That it enjoys many of the lux- 

 uries in common use in the United States is 

 evident from occasional communications. One 

 of the most recent incidents tending to prove 

 the advanced state of development is brought 

 to notice by the Knox Automobile Company of 

 Springfield, Mass. This concern has recently 

 furnished a two-ton truck for operation on a 

 stage line which formerly required from 350 

 to 500 horses to operate. It is believed that 

 better and more economical service can be se- 

 cured by motor trucks. The route runs from 

 the northern terminus of the White-Pass & 

 Yukon Railroad to Dawson bearing and during 

 the closed season it follows along the Yukon 

 river. The roughness of the route combined 

 with many steep grades calls for a vehicle of 

 great strength and power, but so far the auto 

 truck has stood up under the service remarkably 

 well. 



Spanish Box Business 



A report from a consul at Barcelona, Spain, 

 states that millions of wooden boxes are used 

 every year in the export of fruit and vegetables 

 from ports in the Barcelona district. The re- 

 port further says that some of these boxes are 

 received in pieces and put together locally while 

 others are made in local factories. 



Notice is contained in the report that a New 

 I'ork concern has opened a branch in Barcelona, 

 and has acquired the right to manufacture and 

 sell in Spain boxes made under the patent 

 held by the American company. It is claimed 

 that these boxes will effect a material reduc- 

 tion in the quantity of wood used, and also a 

 reduction in the weight of the container, and 

 that an increase of strength will also be at- 

 tained. 



The capital of the company is $90,000. No 

 comment is made on the nature of the box re- 

 ferred to, but it presumably is a wooden box 

 of some patent design. 



The Coming Toledo Concatenation 



It is announced in Toledo that a concatena- 

 tion will be held on Sept. 9, at which time 

 applicants from Toledo and Northwestern Ohio 

 will be initiated in to Hoo-Hoo. 



Judging from the number of kittens the con- 

 catenation will be one of the largest ever held 

 in Toledo. An elaborate program has been ar- 

 ranged and the concatenation will embody var- 

 ious original and interesting features. 



Yew Timber in Favor 



According to a London contemporary, the de- 

 mand for the timber of the yew is so great that 

 the call exceeds the visible supply of this wood. 

 The article states that large consumers are 

 sending long distances for supplies of even 

 small trees in small numbers. The yew trees 

 are aln-ays scarce, but in many instances, owing 

 to lack of information, owners of these trees 

 have not been able to find a market for them, 

 and have used them for firewood. 



Yew wood is very heavy and beautifully 

 srained and colored. It is of a pleasing pink 

 shade, and is largely used for veneering pur- 

 poses. It is turned into bowls, dishes, ex- 



(>ensive toys and various household utensils. 

 Tlie wood has unusual lasting qualities, and is 

 particularly close grained and susceptible of 

 a high polish. The tree is of slow growth 

 w'herever planted, but observations seem to 

 l:ave proven that it attains its best propor- 

 tions on chalk. 



Fumed Oak Is Popular 



The American standard of fumed oak furni- 

 ture is conspicuous in all show-rooms and exhi- 

 bitions this season. There is no question hut 

 that it holds the most popular position of all 

 furniture made of oak. While early English 

 and old English oak are still somewhat in evi- 

 dence, and while there are still a comparatively 

 few samples of natural finished oak, the fumed 

 finish is gaining in popular favor constantly. 

 Golden oak seemingly has seen its best days and 

 is usually found now only in the cheaper lines. 



A furniture journal avers that there are two 

 extremes offered in finishes, namely, the light 

 enamels ranging from gray to white, and dark 

 finishes. In the latter case one manufacturer 

 has attempted to market lacquered stuff. It 

 seems there is a tendency towards a reaction 

 from such extremes in finishes. 



The same writer is of the opinion that reac- 

 tion against the darker colors has also made 

 itself manifest on the Continent, and states 

 that while manufacturers there are not attempt- 

 ing to do away with the soft shading which 

 can only be secured through the fuming process, 

 the color of the natural wood is now being more 

 nearly preserved than was once the case. 



Meeting of Canadian Foresters 



The fourteenth annual meeting of the Cana- 

 dian Forestry Association will take place at 

 Victoria, B. C, Sept. 4, 5 and 6. Sir Richard 

 McBride, premier of the province, and the Hon. 

 W. R. Ross, minister of lands, will both deliver 

 addresses before the delegates. It is expected 

 that a general discussion and the various ad- 

 dresses will cover all questions of national scope, 

 of interest to Canadian foresters. The usual 

 entertainment features will also be provided for 

 the visiting foresters and their wives and fam- 

 ilies. Judging from the program and prepara- 

 tions the meeting should be a distinct benefit 

 to those attending. 



Hardwood Flooring Requirements 



A requisition has recently been sent out 

 by the Western Electric & Manufacturing Com- 

 pany of East Pittsburgh, in which it states its 

 intention of purchasing 53,000 feet of 1%" x 4", 

 SIS tongued and grooved to 1%" x 3%" No. 1 

 end matched hard maple flooring. The flooring 

 must be inspected according to the rules of 

 the National Hardwood Lumber Assocation, al- 

 though the company makes the exception that 

 if possible seventy-five per cent must be over 

 8 feet and the balance not under 3 feet. It 

 has also suggested that if concerns can not 

 quote on the length specified, they can quote 

 on standard lengths. Delivery is desired at 

 the Western works between Dec. 1 and Dec. 

 15, 1912. 



Season's Effect on Durability 



.\ccording to the Scientific American, timber 

 cut in spring or in summer is not as durable 

 as that cut in winter, when the life processes 

 of trees are less active. Scientific investigations 

 sustain this statement. The durability depends 

 not only upon the greater or less density but 

 also upon the presence of certain chemical con- 

 stituents in the wood. Thus a large proportion 

 of resinous matter increases the durability, while 

 the presence of easily soluble carbohydrates di- 

 minishes it considerably. 



During the growing season the wood of trees 

 contains sulphuric acid and potassium, both of 

 which are solvents of carbohydrates, starch, 

 resins and gums : they are known to soften also 

 the ligneous tissue to a considerable degree. 

 During the summer months the wood of living 



