The Uses of Wood 



yew, and through the burls that stand out like excrescenses on 

 ash and other trees. Imperfections in the normal grain are 

 responsible for these figures and colouring. It is the sawing 

 that makes the most of these good points. In woods like oak 

 there are broad, radial bands of "medullary rays," which quarter- 

 sawing reveals. They are fully exposed by sawing through the 

 centre of a log, and when polished gleam with "mirrors," the 

 cabinetmaker's delight. The larger the log the larger proportion 

 of this valuable mirrored wood it will yield. 



White oak, which contains a large percentage of pith rays 

 and reveals these mirrors to perfection when "quarter-sawed," 

 is now largely used in veneering. So are the curly and bird's-eye 

 maples and birches, and the exotic woods, mahogany, rosewood 

 and satinwood. The layer glued on the cheap frames of piano 

 cases and all manner of furniture is often but a sixteenth of an 

 inch in thickness. Black-walnut stumps are bought for veneer 

 wherever they can be found. 



It IS hopeless to try to list the uses of wood even of our 

 native kinds ^with fulness and accuracy. The lumber trade is in 

 unstable equilibrium. Certain kinds of lumber are giving out 

 the black walnut, for instance. Substitution of cheaper woods 

 by furniture factories is a symptom that the supply of good 

 lumber is running low and prices high. A few years ago red 

 oak was discarded. Only white oak was suitable for furniture 

 and oak interior finish. To-day no distinction is made between 

 these two species. White oak is scarce and is used for the most 

 expensive work. Red oak is the bulk of the supply. To the 

 general public oak is oak, and the manufacturer and retailer 

 are not inclined to bother the buyer with hair-splitting distinctions. 

 In fact, most "oak" furniture that sells at low prices is elm, 

 whose coarse, muddy grain is a poor imitation of oak. 



Spruce forests were ignored by lumbermen and esteemed 

 worthless by the general public twenty-five years ago. Then the 

 pulp industry sprung up, and spruce wood made the best paper. 

 The pulp men bought tracts of spruce forests, and the mills 

 now consume thousands of acres a year. So great has been the 

 drain upon these forests that already pulp makers are looking 

 to Canada as the source of future supplies. Regenerative forestry 

 is being put into force in many thousand acres to maintain the 

 spruce crop on the same land. Spruce wood brings |6 to $7 



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