HARDWOOD RECORD 



39 



Opportunity for Sale of American Furniture 

 in Venezuela 



Consul Isaac A. Manning of La Gualra, be- 

 lieving tbat American-made furniture would find 

 greater sale in Venezuela if certain simple points 

 were heeded in packing, etc., makes the follow- 

 ing reply to the inquiries of a manufacturer iu 

 this country ; 



"There has been but slight importation of fur- 

 niture during recent years into Venezuela owing 

 to the unsatisfactory economic conditions. 



"Germany leads in amount. Of the wooden 

 furniture from Germany the principal items are 

 imitation Vienna chairs and rockers, These ar- 

 ticles are not particularly attractive in appear- 

 ance nor lasting in quality, yet iu default of 

 more attractive articles of equal utility and 

 cheapness they seem to have a demand. The 

 discomfort and instability of the Austrian rocker 

 and light straight chair are so palpable that it 

 seems a sale might easily be established for 

 American chairs. But, of course, one thing must 

 be taken constantly into consideration, and that 

 is cost of goods laid down in Venezuela. 



"One thing that militates against cheapness in 

 the American furniture is its weight, and also, 

 usually (and this of itself is almost fatal to 

 the effort to overcome the competition), the ex- 

 cessive weight of the packing, on which not only 

 freight but duty must be paid. Thus our furni- 

 ture manufacturers must compete with a trade 

 which supplies a line of reasonably neat-look- 

 mg goods in chairs, round black frames, cane 

 seats, which can be retailed in this country by 

 the set, consisting of a sofa, two rockers, two 

 armchairs, and a dozen straight chairs, for $60. 

 These are shipped in the flat, baled in burlap, 

 and are sold so. If set up before delivery an 

 extra charge of $5 is made on the set. 



"A very cheap, poorly finished, straight chair 

 fs made in the country, there being three estab- 

 rishments in Caracas, none of which is well 

 equipped for the work. These can be bought for 

 from $2 to $3.50 each. They are not as attrac- 

 tive and in no wise compare with the cheap 

 <naple or beach wood chairs made in the United 

 States and retailed there for one-third the 

 money. 



"The United States has the lead in office and 

 bouse furniture of the better grades, as the con- 

 venience of the American product and its finish 

 appeal to the man wanting a handy and good- 

 looking office, etc. Sale of these articles could 

 be greatly enhanced, however, if in some man- 

 ner the cost of duty and freight could be low- 

 ered. In office desks and furniture of that char- 

 acter, if the goods could be shipped in bales, 

 knocked down, cost of importation would be 

 greatly reduced ; a minimum freight rate could 

 be demanded, and advantage taken of reduced 

 customs charges. The desire for this sort of 

 furniture is sure to grow, but its becoming a 

 demand must of course be dependent on the cost 

 of the articles as compared to the would-be 

 purchaser's financial ability. Where it is pos- 

 sible to use them, screws and bolts should take 

 the place of glue for the tropics ; or where glue 

 must be used, manufacturers should be careful 

 that it is prepared to stand the moist heat of 

 these countries. 



"The duty on furniture coming into Venezuela 

 is levied on the gross weight, including the 

 packing, and is as follows, the bolivar equaling 

 $0,193 and the kilo 2.2 pounds : Furniture of 

 iron and wood, or of common wood, of wicker, 

 of straw, rattan, or rush, 0.75 bolivar plus 55 

 per cent surcharge per kilo ; furniture of fine 

 wood, such as palisander, mahogany, rosewood, 

 walnut, or oak, such as may be upholstered, and 

 o£ common wood if gilded, 1.50 bolivars plus 55 

 per cent surcharge per kilo. 



The sale of office furniture and appliances 

 should be greatly extended in Venezuela, but 

 demonstration of the use of many new wrinkles 

 In this line is necessary to its fullest devel- 

 opment. During the past year the number of 

 typewriters in use has been greatly extended 



in this district, principally through the activity 

 of an American agent. He is also taking some 

 interest in showing the merchant and business 

 man some of the benefits of better office equip- 

 ment, which should naturally include typewriter 

 desks. One man, however, can not do it all 

 m an extended territory like Venezuela. It is 

 thus an open field, and should have greater 

 attention from manufacturers of furniture and 

 ai)pliaures than tliey have given it. 



Building Operations for 1909 and 1908 

 Compared 



official reports from some fifty building cen- 

 ters throughout the country, as compiled by The 

 American Coutractor, Chicago, show a gain in 

 the aggregate of 42 per cent for 1009 as com- 

 Ijared with the previous year, only five cities 

 showing losses, and these of little moment. The 

 cities scoring an increase of 50 per cent or over 

 are: Bridgeport, 79; Des Moines, 172; Man- 

 chester, 207 ; Newark, 95 ; New York, 50 ; Okla- 

 homa City, 233 ; Omaha, 56 ; Philadelphia, 50 ; 

 Rochester, 86 ; St. Paul, 5S ; Scranton, 68 ; 

 Salt Lake City, 70 ; Worcester, 79. The details 

 will be found in the following table : 



1909. 190S. Per Cent 



City. Cost. Cost. Gain. IjOss. 



Ualtimore $ 7,91S,298 $ B,374,703 24 



Birminghum ... 2,341,705 2,575, IIG .. '.I 



iiridgepurt .... -,900,559 1,048,490 79 



Butfala 9,b95,00O 0,847,000 47 



Uliicago 90,558,380 08,204,080 32 



Cleveland 13,028,294 a,7ai,S09 33 



Chattanooga ... 1,120,181 1,212,700 .. 7 



Ciuciuuati 7,794,529 0,428,988 21 



Columbus 3,598,001 3,400,273 



Dallas 3,393,083 2,300.098 47 



Denver 11,554,983 10,098,020 14 



Des Moines 2,399,758 883,049 172 



Detroit 14,300,450 10,082,170 34 



Dulutll 3,080,227 2,739,530 34 



Grand Rapids .. 2,872,427 2,181,758 31 



Harttord 3,440,925 3,107.348 10 



Indianapolis . . . 7,150,500 5,905,928 21 



Kansas City 13,308,738 10,502.041 20 



LoulsvUle 3,172,311 2,914,141 9 



Manchester 1,797,018 585,285 207 



iMUwaukee 11,770,083 10,005,009 16 



.Minneapolis l.S,O92,410 10,093,915 29 



-Meiupliis 4,324,377 3,300,508 31 



.Mubile 520,104 710,888 



New Haven 4,220,472 3,091,405 36 



Newark 14,177,159 7,101,008 95 



New Orleans 5,105,170 5,744,311 .. 10 



Manhattan ... 144,332,212 95,516,127 51 



Brooklyn 60,130,476 39,828,866 51 



Bronx 41,715,265 22,303,255 86 



organized in i-ebruary, 1890. On the original 

 board of directors were R. F. Sprague, T. J. 

 Potter, C. L. Hecox, W. D. Johnson and C. W. 

 Johnson, all of Greenville. 



The present officers are E. F. Sprague, presi- 

 dent ; L. W. Sprague, vice-president, and Paul 

 van Deinse, secretary and treasurer. They also 

 constitute the board of directors. 



The success of the Gordon hollow blast grate 

 has been phenomenal. It is used in sawmills 

 in all parts of the world, as well as iu plants 

 manufacturing veneers, hoops, staves, heading, 

 etc., and is conceded to be indispensable where 

 the boilers are overloaded or fine, wet sawdust 

 is employed as fuel. 



It gives perfect control over the fire, making 

 it possible to economize fuel on the one band, 

 at times when but little steam is needed, or to 

 crowd the boilers on the other, where they are 

 taxed to their full capacity. 



The grate further saves labor in firing. 

 Last, but not least, it is so durable that In 

 the end it is much cheaper than a draft grate. 

 The Gordon Hollow Blast Grate is suitable 

 for either plain furnaces or Dutch ovens. It 

 can be applied to any number of boilers, from 

 one up. The largest outfit can be installed with- 

 out losing a single hour — that is, it can be In- 

 stalled between quitting time Saturday and 

 starting up time Monday morning. A fire can 

 be maintained on it when the blower is idle. If 

 desired, as at night, without difficulty and 

 without injury to the grate. 



But the service the Gordon Hollow Blast Grate 

 Company has rendered the lumber trade is not 

 confined to its introduction of the Gordon hoUow 

 blast grate. 



It was also the first to place on the market 

 a gang edger for portable and small stationary 

 mills, and its Tower line of edgers and trimmers 

 is almost as well known as the Gordon hollow 

 blast grate. At the present time the company 

 is building seventy-two sizes and styles of edgers 

 and ten sizes of trimmers, which enables the 

 purchaser to select a machine perfectly adapted 

 to his requirements in every particular. 



Those who lack steam, who wish to burn 

 sawdust or other refractory fuel, or who are 

 in the market for an edger or a trimmer, would 

 do well to drop a line to the Gordon Hollow 

 Blast Grate Company, Greenville, Mich., stating 

 the situation. 



New York 246,177,953 



Oakland. Cal 5,318,512 



Oklahoma City.. 5,893,120 



Omaha 7,204,140 



Philadelphia . . . 42,881,370 



Paterson 2,529,944 



Pittsburg 16,549,526 



Portland, Ore... 13,470,280 



Uochester 8,272,132 



St. Paul 12,088,451 



St. Louis 23,733,272 



San Antonio 3,453,598 



Scrantou 3,987,943 



Seattle 19,044,218 



Spokane 8,760,220 



SuutU Bend 718,965 



Syracuse 4,861,674 



Salt Lake City. . 8,077.820 



Toledo 3,044,408 



Washington 15,887,478 



Wilkes Barre... 2,121,234 



Worcester 4,364,435 



Total $719,188,175 



157,648. 

 6,325, 

 1,734, 

 4,590, 



28,408, 

 2,024, 



12,108, 



10,405, 

 4,973, 

 7,025, 



21,190 

 2,382, 

 2,306, 



13,777, 

 5,927, 

 581, 

 3,317, 

 4,728 

 2,092. 



11,425, 

 1,000, 

 2,434, 



56 



233 

 56 

 60 

 24 

 36 

 29 

 86 

 58 

 12 

 44 

 68 

 38 

 47 

 21 

 49 

 70 

 45 

 39 

 27 

 79 



$506,386,005 42 



248 

 062 

 938 

 650 

 580 

 241 

 ,496 

 131 

 ,317 

 038 

 ,309 

 ,315 

 ,405 

 ,320 

 548 

 822 

 195 

 000 

 873 

 274 

 986 

 571 



A Live Concern 



"And he gave It for his opinion, that whoever 

 could make two ears of corn, or two blades of 

 grass, to grow upon a spot of ground where 

 only one grew before, would deserve better of 

 mankind, and do more essential service to his 

 country, than the whole race of politicians put 

 together." 



Thus spake Jonathan Swift. 



If his proposition is correct, as it undoubtedly 

 is, the sawmill world owes a debt of gratitude 

 not easily measured to the Gordon Hollow Blast 

 Grate Company of Greenville, Mich., whose won- 

 derful grate makes two boilers do the work of 

 three. 



The Gordon Hollow Blast Grate Company was 



The Last Yew Forest in Bavaria 



Consul George Nicolas I£Et of Nuremberg states 

 that a bit of primeval yew forest is still to be 

 found in the Bavarian highlands of Germany. 



This tree, he says, whose wood was so eagerly 

 sought in the days when the crossbow was still 

 a dangerous weapon of warfare, was, in the 

 middle ages, widely distributed over Germany, 

 but is today almost extinct, and even most Ger- 

 man foresters know it only as a very rare tree, 

 individual specimens of which are here and there 

 preserved. There is, however, a tiny yew wood- 

 land still in existence In the Bavarian moun- 

 tains, near the village of Paterzeil and not far 

 from the royal city of Munich Itself. It covers 

 an area of not much more than a half mile 

 square. Here along the peaty shores of the 

 dried-out lake of Zell grow the last of the yew 

 trees. 



It is primeval forest land and, according to ft 

 recent count, comprises some 845 large and 

 1,456 small trees. The larger trees are at least 

 200 to 500 years old, and, perhaps, hundreds of 

 years more. The smaller trees are all under 50 

 years. The largest of the trees, at a height of 

 tour feet from the ground, has a circumference 

 of S feet 8 Inches, and quite a number of them 

 are more than 6 feet in circumference, and have 

 heights varying from 50 to 60 feet. The larger 

 trees are much damaged by storm and still more 

 through the cuttlug away of the young sprouts 

 iu the spring. These dark-green, needled 

 tranches are much sought for wreaths and for 

 decoration. 



