THE USES OF WOOD 



741 



The real efficacy of cedar's odor in ridding premises of 

 insects is a matter of opinion, but the concensus of 

 opinion seems to be that its reputation is well founded. 



Furniture makers consume great quantities of veneers. 

 It has not been so always, though some veneer has been 

 worked into furniture "since a time whereof the memory 

 of man runneth not to the contrary ;" but until a few years 

 ago, an occasional band or strip of inlay constituted the 

 principal employment of veneer by the makers of furni- 

 ture. It was once commonly 

 believed that the use of thin 

 sheets of wood glued upon 

 surfaces indicated sham and 

 cheapness. The belief was er- 

 roneous, but it did not disap- 

 pear until quite recently. 



At the present time most 

 good furniture is veneered, 

 but all is not; and instead of 

 regarding veneer as something 

 snide, sleazy, and cheap, it is 

 now accepted as an indication 

 of quality. The use of these 

 thin sheets has been responsi- 

 ble for the division of furni- 

 ture in two classes, "veneered" 

 and "solid," and it has led 

 likewise to much controversy 

 as to what is the precise mean- 

 ing of these terms. Solid 

 furniture may be made of 

 thick lumber without veneer 

 facing or laminated panels ; or 

 it may be constructed of built- 

 up sheets of veneer, all of the 

 same wood. These are the two 

 ways of looking at it ; some 

 hold one view, some the other. If furniture which is 

 built up of veneer sheets is to be considered as "solid," it 

 is held that it must consist of one wood only. Thus 

 a table made of thin sheets glued one upon another, may 

 properly pass as solid mahogany if no wood except 



for 



STYLE OF RUSTIC FURNITURE 



Householders on the frontiers used to make rustic furniture 

 their own homes, or go without. In recent years factories have 

 revived the backwoods styles and they have become quite popular. 

 This chair is of hickory and the picture is from the catalogue of 

 the Old Hickory Chair Company, Martinsville, Indiana. 



mahogany is used; but some persons do not consent to 

 that interpretation of the term and insist that solid fur- 

 niture must be made of lumber and contain no veneer. 

 By the use of veneers to cover the outside, visible 

 parts, fine furniture may be had at less cost than would 

 be possible if the whole article were made of lumber; 

 because the hidden parts may be constructed of cheap 

 material while the thin sheet of costly wood forms the 

 outside layer only. For example, a finely figured walnut 



board one inch thick is re- 

 quired for a table top, if lum- 

 ber is used; but the same 

 board may be sliced into 

 thirty sheets of veneer, every 

 sheet as handsome as the 

 original board, and the prod- 

 uct is sufficient to give a fig- 

 ured walnut finish to thirty 

 table tops, instead of only one, 

 as would be the case if thick 

 boards were used without 

 slicing. 



The use of veneer for fur- 

 niture is economical, because 

 a little fine wood can be made 

 to go a long way. The built- 

 up panel, with costly wood on 

 the surface and cheap kinds 

 in the hidden part, are as good 

 as solid lumber, and often bet- 

 ter, for the reason that 1am- 

 minated panels are less liable 

 to warp, crack, swell, or 

 shrink. 



The wood upon which ve- 

 neer sheets are glued is called 

 backing or core stock. It 

 may be cheap, but it must be well suited to its purpose, 

 and must be seasoned before it is used. Numerous woods 

 are employed as backing, but if manufacturers were 

 asked to choose by ballot the best, the vote would prob- 

 ably designate white pine, chestnut, and mahogany. 



DONATIONS TO THE WELFARE FUND FOR LUMBERMEN AND 



FORESTERS IN WAR SERVICE 



AMERICAN FORESTRY will publish each month the list of those making donations to this fund. Many of the donations 

 from members of the American Forestry Association so far received were made without solicitation and were inspired by 

 reading in the magazine that a relief and comfort fund for men of the forest regiments was being collected. Many substan- 

 tial contributions are being received from the Forest Service and from lumber companies and lumbermen following requests sent 

 to them by the Secretary of the Welfare Fund for Lumbermen and Foresters in War Service, by the lumber organizations of 

 which they are members, and by the committees of lumbermen which had charge in various sections of the United States of 

 securing enlistments for the forest regiments. Contributions should be sent to P. S. Ridsdale, Treasurer, 1410 H Street, N. W., 

 Washington, District of Columbia. 



Contributions to the Welfare Fund to December 5, 1918, are as follows: 



Previously acknowledged $20,684.06 



Daniels, C. D., Hoquiam, Washington 2.00 



Kellogg, R. S., New York City 10.00 



Simmes, Frederick R., Kent, England.. 

 Thorn, M., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 



6.50 

 25.00 



Total $20,727.56 



