326 PLANTS AND MAN 



for the packing of citrus fruits, apples, pears, canned goods, 

 vegetables, and fish. Practically every wood species mentioned in 

 the preceding chapters, except black walnut, cherry, ash, hickory 

 and locust, is used for box shooks, as the parts are called, or 

 crating materials. The leading species are southern pine, pon- 

 derosa pine, northern and western white pines, hemlock, 

 spruce, gums and yellow poplar. Much mill waste in the form 

 of slabs, edgings, trimmings, defective boards, and low grades 

 of lumber are utilized in the manufacture of wood containers. 



4. Furniture 



In several states the remanufacture of lumber and veneers 

 into furniture constitutes an important industry, since most of our 

 furniture is of domestic make. This is manufactured mostly of 

 native American woods, the few foreign woods being used in the 

 form of fancy or beautifully grained veneers overlaid on domestic 

 wood cores. It is a curious thing that much public opinion, in the 

 past, has held veneered furniture to be inferior to that built of 

 solid woods. While it is true that much antique furniture is of 

 solid walnut, cherry, or mahogany, such pieces do not last 

 as well under the abuse of temperature and humidity extremes 

 found in modern homes as do pieces manufactured of built up 

 veneers. Especially with fancy-grained woods, burls, crotch and 

 swirl figures, birds-eyes, and the like, warping and cracking is 

 almost unavoidable in large solid pieces such as those needed for 

 table tops and cabinet sides. However, a thin slice of such a 

 beautiful wood glued under pressure to a base already built up of 

 three or four cross-grained wood sheets, will resist all but the 

 most violent changes of moisture and temperature. 



Oak and maple lead in the manufacture of American 

 furniture, because of the abundant supply of these woods in 

 the forests of the United States, as well as for their strong and 

 durable character. Both are capable of taking natural finishes, 

 as well as finishes to imitate other woods. Oak sawed on the 

 radial section, exposing in surface view the broad, light staining 

 wood rays is known as "quartered oak," and was in great de- 

 mand twenty five years ago, but present day oak furniture uses 



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