THE USES OF WOOD 



1349 



material is rapidly extending. Many factory floors are 

 constantly damp, which condition is due to the nature of 

 the business carried on. Under such circumstances, de- 

 cay is liable to attack wood. 



The usual combination of warmth and dampness con- 

 duces to speedy decay, unless measures are taken to 

 counteract it. Such measures are well understood and 

 are within easy reach. They consist of preservative treat- 

 ment with certain chemicals, creosote among others, 

 which retard the development of decay and prolong the 

 floor's period of usefulness. This treatment is possible 

 with all wooden floors, but is oftenest met with in those 

 made of blocks set on end. The preservative treatment 

 is applied to the wood before it is laid in the floor. 

 Wood kept always dry has no occasion to be given treat- 

 ment to hinder decay, since dry wood does not rot. 

 Some woods in their natural state resist decay much 

 better than others, when they are employed as flooring 

 blocks, and with some of them the application of pre- 

 servatives may be dispensed with. Usually woods of 

 deep color in their natural state are less subject to decay 

 than are those of light color, but this is not a universal 

 rule. Among woods which in their natural state resist 

 decay well are walnut, locust, redwood, osage orange, 

 cypress, heart yellow pine, catalpa, mulberry, mesquite, 

 and red cedar. These are suitable for flooring blocks 

 for warehouses and factories where the causes of decay 

 are active. Other woods may last a long time if given 

 the proper preservative treatment. 



All kinds of commercial woods are occasionally em- 

 ployed as flooring. None is so soft that it cannot fill 

 certain places; none so hard that it is universally re- 

 jected. Those as white as balm of gilead and holly fill 

 certain places in this industry, as also do those as dark 

 as ebony and dialamban. Those light of weight, like 

 arborvitae and white pine, are acceptable as floor material, 

 and no less so are the heavy woods like lignum-vitae and 

 salmon gum. 



It is not possible to quote precise statistics to show the 

 kinds of wood made into flooring and the annual output 

 of each. Statistics have not been kept in a way to show 

 this. Figures relating to flooring production, compiled 

 by the government, include certain other products, and 

 the totals only are given, the separate items not being 

 presented. Tables which contain figures on flooring, 

 contain also such items as siding, ceiling, doors, sash, 

 blinds, and frames for windows and doors, all thoroughly 

 mixed in the totals, and it is now impracticable to sepa- 

 rate them. 



It is safe to conclude that the leading floor woods are 

 yellow pine, Douglas fir, oak, hard maple, and hemlock. 

 Probably half of all the flooring cut in America is made 

 from the five here named. But the list of flooring woods 



does not end there. Birch, yellow poplar, beech, chest- 

 nut, cypress, gum, and many more meet a large demand. 

 Each possesses qualities which give it value. 



Maple is very hard, takes a smooth finish, has no figure 

 except the birdseye of an occasional tree. It is among 

 the whitest of our woods. Its strength rates very high, 

 and its stiffness is excelled by few woods of this country. 

 Eight species of maple occur in the United States, and 

 probably every one is made into flooring except the vine 

 maple, which is too small; but only one of the maples is 

 prominent as flooring material. It is the hard maple of 

 commerce. The silver maple (often called soft maple) 

 is probably second among the maples as wood for floors. 



Most of the fifty-odd oaks in the United States might 

 be made into flooring and many of them are so utilized ; 

 but most oak flooring is of white oak, of which there are 

 several important species. Oak falls below maple in 

 hardness, stiffness, and strength ; but it ranks high in 

 these three qualities, and in addition, it is always more 

 or less figured, and many persons use it because of the 

 figure, particularly when quarter sawed. The red oaks 

 .are good stuff, but their color is not quite so satisfactory 

 as that of white oaks. 



Birch flooring is in a class with sugar maple in hard- 

 ness, stiffness, and strength, and two species, yellow and 

 sweet birch, supply most that goes to market. Beech 

 floors have never been quite so popular as maple and 

 birch, but beech is an excellent wood, very hard, stiff, 

 and strong, and its tendency to wear smooth makes it 

 popular, for dancing floors. In damp situations it stands 

 more wear than other woods, and this makes it desirable 

 for factory floors. 



The leading pine flooring is manufactured from south- 

 ern long-leaf pine, which is hard, strong, and it is often 

 figured by growth rings. Douglas fir, from the region 

 west of the Rocky Mountains, is now much used for 

 flooring, and it measures about with long-leaf pine. 



Red, black, and cotton gums are employed in ware- 

 houses and factory floors where heavy planks are used. 

 These woods are tough and last well under truck wheels 

 and in other situations where rough usage is met. 



Block floors are of pine, fir, and redwood principally, 

 but many other woods contribute. 



Perhaps six billion feet of wood are yearly worked 

 into floors of various kinds in this country. This total 

 is based on estimates and does not represent exact figures ; 

 nor does the total include the sills, joists, and other sup- 

 porting and supplementary timbers which sustain the 

 floors. The relative amounts of hardwoods and soft- 

 woods are difficult to estimate; but probably softwoods 

 are more than half, the leading softwoods being yellow 

 pine, fir, and hemlock, and the principal hardwoods oak, 

 maple, beech, and birch. 



