14 
nois, Indiana, and Tennessee. » The principal supply of sycamore also 
comes from these six States. Sycamore slack cooperage stock is 
evidently, therefore, manufactured near the source of supply. 
FURNITURE AND FIXTURES. 
The greater part of the sycamore employed in furniture and fixtures 
is in the form of plain-sawed lumber. Much of it is manufactured 
into common furniture, such as is used for kitchens, pantries, porches, 
and verandas.. Slats for the backs of cheap chairs are made of syca- 
more (Plate IV). Large quantities of these chairs are made in the 
lower Ohio Valley. Elm and red gum are used for this purpose along 
with sycamore, because they all hold their shape well after they are 
steamed and bent. Light and dark pieces are kept separate and not 
used together in the same chair, since this detracts from its appear- 
ance. Factories making cheap chairs generally use much low-grade 
material. 
Since it does not impart taste, odor, or stain, sycamore is used for 
shelving, sides, and bottoms of kitchen cabinets, and for refrigerators. 
Of the total amount reported for this industry, 340,000 feet were 
used in the manufacture of kitchen furniture, including kitchen 
tables. There is some objection to its use for the tops of such tables, 
on account of its liability to warp. 
Sycamore constitutes a not inconsiderable portion of the interior 
and hidden parts of more expensive furniture. It is very useful for 
drawer sides, backs and bottoms, shelves and pigeonholes, partitions 
and compartments, guides, and linings. It is also used as core mate- 
rial on which veneer is glued. It finds place in such situations, 
because it is not a high-priced wood and not because of any superiority 
over many other woods used with it or replaced by it. 
Quarter-sawed sycamore for outside pieces is higher-class material 
and is used for the same purpose as more expensive woods. Quarter 
sawing produces a different effect in sycamore from that in most of 
the oaks because of its dark-colored medullary rays. The so-called 
"silver grain," which in oak is lighter than the rest of the wood, in 
sycamore is darker, producing a peculiar effect which is often admired. 
The quarter-sawed stock is used in solid pieces and in the form of 
veneer, and is frequently made into panels. Sycamore is also cut 
into plain veneer for panelwork. 
Sycamore in one form or another is used in practically all classes 
of furniture. A large demand comes from makers of bureaus, chif- 
foniers, bedsteads, folding beds, tables, china closets, music cabinets, 
bookcases, and filing cabinets. Sycamore is also used for office fix- 
tures and furniture, for which the quarter-sawed wood is especially 
appropriate. 
An average price of about $23 per 1,000 board feet at the factory 
was reported for raw material for this class of uses. This is a higher 
