NOVEL TREES AND FOREST PRODUCTS 



483 



caustic soda, after which they are immersed for a few 

 minutes in a dilute bleaching solution and washed in fresh 

 water. Then, in order to neutralize any alkali and pre- 

 vent discoloration, they are thoroughly wetted with acid 

 water, one part of sulphuric acid to a thousand. 



The wet shavings are then spread on a smooth laquered 

 toard or glass, and the edges lapped slightly to make up a 

 panel. The water is wiped oflf, glue put on, and the paper 

 backing applied. The sheets are then hung up to dry 

 and are later smoothed with a hot iron. 



Fancy figured paper in colors may be used for the 

 backing, as the designs show through the silvery tissue 

 layer of wood with artistic effect. Its veneer surface may 

 also be printed on readily. 



The manufacture of Kiri-gami is confined to Yamagata 

 City in northern Japan. There are lo establishments with 

 300 employes. Seven million sheets, each two by three 

 feet in size, were made in 1920. The value of a sheet 

 is from i 1-4 to 3 cents, depending upon quality. The 

 principal use is in the domestic trade for surfacing de- 

 corative boxes and fancy containers; very little is ex- 

 ported. If it could be had in strips of sufificient length 

 it might be used to good effect for wall paper and interior 

 decoration in this country. 



TREE FERN COLUMNS 



Shown in the accompanying cut are two columns, each 

 of which was manufactured from the trunk of a tree fern 

 from 10 to 16 feet high and about 10 years old. They 

 came from the heights of Fort de France, from the place 



called "Balata," near 

 the Pitons du Carbet, 

 Martinique, French 

 West Indies. They 

 show ash -colored 

 marks from volcanic 

 cinders which have 

 penetrated under the 

 action of the rain into 

 the fibrous tissue of 

 the tree. The columns 

 have also been pierced 

 with vines, the exposed 

 light-colored wood of 

 which shows in con- 

 trast with the dark 

 brown of the fern. 



The tree fern grows 

 in great quantities in 

 the forests of the 

 island of Martinique, 

 especially in damp 



Photograph by S. J. Record plaCCS and at & COUsid- 



TKEE FERN COLUMNS FROM erable altitude, where 

 MARTINIQUE -^ ^^tains a height of 



40 to 50 feet and sometimes more. The trunks of these 

 trees, when old and fully seasoned are cut square and 

 used as posts for arbors, or as piles, or as beams for 



houses in the country. When fully matured it is a very 

 durable wood and is considered incorruptible when ex- 

 posed to humidity. 



Some artisans fashion from the roots flower pots and 

 various novelties which are more or less artistic, and 

 have, as a rule, an original style of their own. 



CROTCH MAHOGANY 



Some of the most beautifully figured mahogany comes 

 from crotches of big branches. Such material is in much 

 demand for use in the form of veneers for panels in 

 doors, furniture and cabinets and for picture molding. 

 Very often the veneers are matched end to end to make 

 long panels for bedsteads, pianos and tall doors. 



Photograph by S. J. Record 



FANCY FIGURE 



Long, narrow crotch producing A, wide crotch without much 

 plume mottle or feather curls. distortion of the wood. 



The figure of the wood is largely influenced by the 

 width and shape of the crotch, whether U-shaped or V- 

 shaped. The effect in either case is to distort the growth 

 but the closer the branches are together the more the 

 woody layers are kinked and folded. Examination of 

 such wood under a microscope shows that the fibers are 

 buckled and folded from the enormous pressure ex- 

 erted upon them. This pressure is the result of crowding 

 too many cells trying to reach their normal develop- 

 ment in cramlped quarters. 



Material of this kind is useless for most of the pur- 

 poses to which wood is put for in positions of strength 

 there is a premium on straightness of grain. A serious 

 defect under one standard becomes a high merit under 



