( 83 ) [MAT 



and the articles stored were within easy reach. The old 

 idea is retained in the modern and less picturesque " mantel- 

 piece." 



Mantel-tree. A beam that forms the head or front of a fire-place, 

 reminiscent of the days when fires were heaped on the floors 

 or hearths. It is a by no means solitary instance of " tree " 

 being used as a variant of " wood " or " timber." See 

 " Mantel-shelf." 



Maple (Acer). A hard fine-gvained wood similar, but harder 

 than sycamore. The tree attains no great size in this 

 country, and supplies are principally derived from North 

 America. A great part of the import to this country con- 

 sists of manufactured flooring, for which purpose it has few 

 rivals, minor supplies comprising planks and boards in lum- 

 ber form. Its uses are confined to objects used in the tex- 

 tile trades, to the manufacture of rollers and in a limited way 

 to articles employed in the printing trades. From this 

 American grown tree the beautiful bird's-eye figured wood 

 is obtained, and quantities of syrup that is afterwards made 

 into sugar are extracted in Canada and the United States. 



Margin. A variation, mutually allowed by custom or practice in 

 the precise conditions in a contract, generally expressed by 

 the word " about." Referring to quantities the margin is 

 generally understood to mean 5 to 10 per cent, more or 5 to 

 10 per cent, less than the quantity stated in the contract. 

 The percentage of margin varies according to the custom of 

 the particular port of shipment. In f.o.b. and c.i.f. business 

 the margin is understood to be allowed for convenience of 

 chartering, and when several vessels are loaded under a 

 particular contract it only applies to the last vessel loading 

 under such contract. In present-day contracts for North 

 European wood goods the margin allowed is expressly de- 

 fined and limited to a certain quantity irrespective of the 

 quantity sold. 



Marquetry. The art of inlaying wood with wood of other colours, 

 or with various other materials, as metal, ivory, shell, etc. 



Mast. (1) A piece of timber elevated perpendicularly on the 

 keel of a ship, from which comes the term " mast-piece," a 

 suitable piece for a mast, and " mast-hunter," a pioneer in 

 a fir- wood forest marking or " blazing " the cream of the 

 trees. (2) The fruit of certain forest trees : acorns, nuts, etc. 



Match. A splint of wood, capped by a combustible composition : 

 much reduced in size from the old " brimstone-match " by 

 the introduction of the Congreve and Lucifer matches in 

 the first half of the nineteenth century, of which the " safety 

 match " is an outgrowth. 



