HARDWOOD RECORD 



19 



the combination of rough cement and smooth 

 finished surfaces of hardwood form a feature 

 at present. Some of the patterns are exceed- 

 ingly rich, the fine finish of the wood serving 

 to make the design very pleasing to the eye. 

 At the same time the presence of metal, con- 

 crete or brick work increases the strength. 



One is surprised at the numerous patterns 

 in hardwood, cement, stone aud metal which 

 may be found in modern building designs. 

 In Fig. 3 is shown another type in which 

 hardwood is employed. The black represents 



roon coloring matter. The cement in the 

 crevices between the stones, combined with 

 panels of finished hardwood, made an unusu- 

 ally handsome window for the interior of a 

 library or music room. 



Manufacturers and designers of this line of 

 work say they are receiving liberal orders to 

 create novelties in the finishing of artwork 

 for studios, arbors, dens, etc. In the latter 

 much hardwood grille work is used ; and the 

 prevailing style calls for a half door, so that 

 the swinging blind is now very popular. 



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a zig-zag form of hardwood which is set into 

 the masonry at the time of building, just as 

 plain cement bricks are used. The hardwood 

 bricks, so to speak, are stained to the tint 

 required. In the selection of the material 

 for making this line of work, thoroughly dried 

 stock is used, so as to avoid its warping, 

 shrinking or expanding. A design in the 

 form shown in Fig. 4 is what the workman 

 called a ' ' blind window. ' ' Instead of glass 

 in the frame there are panels of hardwood. 

 The effect is unique. The frame supporting 

 the wood panels is of ash and around this 

 were cemented cobblestones. They were im- 

 pregnated with green and other colors, just 

 enough to make an attractive contrast with 

 the cement which had been treated with ma- 



Considerable work like that shown in Fig. 5 

 is also used. The spaces between the short 

 posts are filled with concrete. In Fig. 6, 

 rubble stones are used in the panels. They 

 can be found on the beaches in various colors 

 and are carefully assorted before being placed. 

 When the cement dries and hardens the stones 

 become fast. 



Cement work is usually done by concrete 

 w-orkers, although some of the hardwood arti- 

 sans do it themselves. The wooden portion 

 of the combination shown in Fig. 7 is repre- 

 sented by the jiieces forming the squares. At 

 the upper left-hand corner of each square a 

 wood block is fitted in. The other portions 

 of the squares are packed with small stones 

 imbedded in cement. The entire frame is 

 fitted into a brick wall. 



Firewood Consumption in France. 



France, particularly the citj' of Paris, 

 consumes immense quantities of timber 

 every year for fuel. Eegardless of modern 

 heating methods, the Parisians still cling 

 to the use of wood for cooking and heating. 

 Coal is very scarce and high in price, and 

 not of the best quality; moreover the 

 French people have an eye to the beauti- 

 ful, and are loth to give up the glo-sying 

 log in the fireplace, which appeals to them 

 as much more cheerful and attractive than 

 the radiator or register. 



However, consumption has decreased ma- 



terially during the last twenty-five years, as 

 statistics show; the average annual burn- 

 ing for the first four years of the present 

 century for heating purposes alone was 

 nearly 9,000,000 cubic feet, which required 

 the stumpage on nearly 125,000 acres of 

 woodland. The trees cut range in age from 

 24 to 25 years, and extensive forests in sev- 

 eral parts of France are reserved to meet 

 this drain. Some of the provinces are fa- 

 mous for their picturesque beauty, of which 

 the great forests of beech, oak, chestnut 

 and elm form the most attractive feature. 



The trees are never allowed to reach a very 

 great age, however, for they are felled as 

 soon as large enough for good fuel. In the 

 autumn the superintendents go through the 

 sections selected for the winter's operations 

 and mark the available trees. Cutting be- 

 gins in December. The woodsmen build 

 rough huts, which they occupy during the 

 season. As the trees are cut down they 

 are sawed into logs perhaps five feet long 

 and piled on carts, wrhich take them to the 

 nearest stream, where they are built up into 

 great cross-wise piles to await the arrival 

 of bu3'ers, who usually come in October, 

 after the wood has lain in the heat and sun- 

 shine all summer. 



A firewood fair is held at Chateau Chinon 

 the first Monday in each November, each 

 buyer sending his axmen to brand his spe- 

 cial mark on every log which he has pur- 

 chased, that he may identify them when 

 they arrive at destination after their long 

 journe3' down stream. The water courses are 

 usually swollen by the fall rains, although 

 if not, water is turned into them from ponds 

 and reservoirs which are maintained for 

 this purpose. One of these ponds, at Set- 

 tons, can, if necessary, release about 700,- 

 000,000 cubic feet of water into the river 

 Cure. When such an operation takes place, 

 the banks are lined with men who see that 

 the logs start oif with a clean sweep. The 

 logs on the Cure are stopped at Clamency 

 by a dam, and then it is that men, women 

 and children commence work on them, hand- 

 ing them from the water, identifying them 

 by the owners' marks previously placed 

 upon them, and sorting them out for the 

 rivermen to form into huge rafts, which 

 are then sent forward again, to Paris. Many 

 of these rafts contain 7,000 to 8,000 cubic 

 feet of lumber. Under good conditions, 

 they reach Paris, more than 150 miles away, 

 in about twelve days. 



Pine from the shores of the Bay of Bis- 

 cay also reaches that city by water, since 

 railroad transportation is much too expen- 

 sive for the purpose. This lumber, however, 

 is loaded upon small vessels, which slowly 

 make their way along the coast to the 

 mouth of the Seine, and thence up that 

 stream to Paris. 



The bakers and restaurant keepers con- 

 sume enormous amounts of wood since they 

 will not, as a rule, employ coal. It is esti- 

 mated that they use 10,500,000 cubic feet of 

 pine alone. The public officers of the gov- 

 ernment consume immense quantities also; 

 the Department of .Justice uses approxi- 

 mately 2,000 cubic feet every winter; the 

 Department of Instruction 6,000, of the In- 

 terior 5,200, of War 10,000, of Finance 10,- 

 000. The government's supply is piled in 

 great yards along the shores of the river 

 Seine. Sawing is done there for both pub- 

 lic and private consumers of the wood, the 

 government doing its own in the courtyards 

 of the public offices each summer, to insure 

 a ready winter supply. 



