In view of this situation, the demand for any particular sash and frame can not be determined in advance but each job must be considered as a separate entity. As a result, the importation of readymade stock has made little headway and it is very doubtful if it ever will as long as the building industry is organized as at present.

Interior trim.-Very few British houses have hardwood trim, most of them being finished in north European pine and painted to harmonize with the general color scheme. As a consequence, there is little demand for oak or other hardwoods used with a natural finish to such a great extent in the United States for this purpose.

Apart from the homes of the wealthy, wood paneling is seldom seen, the cost being too great for the ordinary dwelling house and it is in private offices, hotel bars, grills, smoking and reading rooms, libraries, and clubs that it usually seen. The moderate cost of plywood, however, and the efforts now being made by those interested in its sale to bring its advantages to the attention of the public for paneling may lead to an increase in its use for this purpose in the future, but for the many its costs will be prohibitive.

Molding. Patterns have been largely standardized, the Swedish standard being generally used. While formerly large quantities of molding were imported ready-made from Sweden, the cost of production has been so reduced in Great Britain by mass-production methods and improved machinery that the Swedish exporters are finding it increasingly difficult to compete with the homemade product. As a result imports from that country have been materially reduced during the past few years and are now of comparatively small proportions.

Doors.-Great Britain has never been able to compete with the imported softwood stock door made principally in the United States, Sweden, and other European countries by mass-production methods. As a consequence, the manufacture of doors is almost exclusively confined to those of special design, made to architects' specifications, for banks, office buildings, hotels, and better-class residences, and are frequently of teak, oak, mahogany and, in many instances, veneered with figured or fancy hardwoods.

Kitchen dressers.-Practically all kitchens in British homes are fitted with a dresser for crockery and chinaware as a permanent part of their finish. These dressers have a low part consisting of two cupboards and two drawers and a top which may be either open or closed, lined with shelves for dishes. These shelves are faced with hooks on which are hung cups, pitchers, and other articles of crockery. Dressers are generally made of north European pine, except the table part which, on account of its being left with a natural finish for scrubbing, is of spruce so as to give a white appearance. These dressers are considered millwork and not furniture and are made in millwork factories along with the other interior finish.

Miscellaneous fittings. Other items now fitted in many of the new dwelling houses are built-in shaving cabinets, serving hatches to facilitate the passing of food from the kitchen to dining room, and linen cupboards, the latter being built around the hot-water cylinder tank in the bathroom and used for storing towels. All of these are considered millwork and are manufactured in factories specializing in such work.

COMPETITION FROM WOOD SUBSTITUTES

The use of metal window sash is making considerable progress, but so far they have been largely confined to casement types, and they are used in office and other public buildings and dwellings of the more expensive kind. Whether they will ever be entirely successful for ordinary houses is somewhat doubtful on account of the cold which would seem to penetrate so much more through a metal than a wood

sash and the great tendency to rust in the damp climate of the British Isles, making frequent repainting a necessity.

UTILIZATION OF WASTE

Although not general, some modern factories are equipped with pneumatic collecting and conveying systems to gather the shavings and sawdust, which are used principally for fuel, while in a few, wood flour is manufactured as a subsidiary part of their operation.

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BANK, OFFICE, AND STORE FITTINGS

The fittings of banks, offices, and stores provide an important outlet for the more valuable hardwoods that is of considerable significance to the American exporters of oak, walnut, mahogany, and yellow poplar, which woods are used to a large extent for this work.

BANK AND OFFICE FITTINGS

With the exception of a few large contractors who do their own work the manufacture of interior fittings for banks, insurance, steamship, and similar offices is done by firms who specialize in this business. The work is generally done in the factory, erected and given a finishing polish on the job. Mahogany and American black walnut are the favorite species, used either in the solid or veneer, and to some extent oak. Where a less expensive job is required, yellow poplar stained to the desired finish is utilized.

The main banking rooms in Great Britain differ from those in the United States in that the tellers are separated from the public by a wide counter, the top of which is invariably made of mahogany. The use of wood paneling is general in most of the modern banks and insurance offices and is growing in use for private offices. On account of its cost, mahogany is confined to places where price is a secondary consideration, oak of either the Austrian or Japanese variety being the popular wood for general purposes. However, because of its beautiful natural figure, the large sizes in which it can be obtained, and very moderate price, the use of slash-grain Douglas fir for panelwork is growing in favor, and many beautiful color effects have been obtained by the use of stain.

STORE FIXTURES AND FITTINGS

The manufacture of store fronts, display fittings, fitting rooms, cash desks, and other equipment is in the hands of a comparatively few large firms who make a specialty of this business. Most of them are members of the National Association of Shopfitters, which has its headquarters in London. The ramifications of some of these firms spread all over the world, an extensive business being done with foreign countries.

Fronts and display windows. While most store fronts are designed by the fitters, the work is occasionally done under the direction of the owners' architects. Over 90 per cent of the high-class store fronts in Great Britain are of bronze metal drawn on hardwood cores, although occasionally they are of all wood to suit the fancy of the proprietor, oak, mahogany, teak, and sometimes walnut being used for this purpose. As it is the object of the shopfitter to have as little obstruction to the view as possible, the size of the framing in window fronts is reduced to a minimum. Many materials are used for facias, and they are usually chosen to harmonize with the rest of the front or, if of wood, finished to do so. Various marbles and building stone are used with lettering superimposed either of metal or wood. When the facias are of wood, American yellow poplar is most often used and, to a small extent, cypress, magnolia, and teak.

The entrance doors are supplied by the fitters and are frequently of metal, but mahogany, walnut, and oak are also used. The doors

seldom have solid panels, but as a rule are fitted with glass. There is naturally no standard size to these doors, which are made specially for each job in accordance with the general design of the front.

Pattern parquet, either of oak or of oak and American black walnut, is used very largely for the floors of store windows, its attractive appearance adding to the displays. While most of the parquet used is imported from continental Europe and made out of Austrian oak, some store fitters make their own out of American white oak, preferring the lighter-colored wood as a background for the goods display. French walnut is extensively used in veneered panels for window inclosures and is the most popular wood used for this purpose in Great Britain to-day. The French variety of walnut is much lighter in color than the American, and many beautiful effects in matched panels may be seen in the big London department-store windows. While French walnut is used for window inclosures, American black walnut is preferred for interior finish and trim.

Show cases, display fittings, etc.-Cabinet show cases are frequently elaborate in design and are very costly, some running as high as $2,500. Mahogany is generally used and to a smaller extent oak and walnut. These usually have a metal framework faced with wood and are fitted with plate-glass shelves. The backs are frequently lined with beautiful examples of figured veneer, while the bottoms are carried out in pattern parquet, sometimes of mahogany or walnut if the case is made of that wood, but by far the greater number are floored with American white oak parquet.

Fittings, such as robe cases, fitting-room screens, counters, and stock cases used in the retailing of textile goods, have been largely standardized and made in units which can be built up to make any size case. They can be packed flat and erected on the job by anyone without previous experience. Oak is by far the most used for this work, followed to a small extent by mahogany and walnut, while for export to the Far East teak is used. High-class stores also sometimes order their fittings made from fancy Indian and other tropical hardwoods. These stock cases have solid sides and fronts, while the bottoms are made of three-ply north European birch. The trays are made suitably partitioned for various items of dry goods, such as haberdashery and notions. The use of cash desks, many of which are ornamental in design and shaped to fit into any available space, is growing. Various woods are used in their manufacture, mahogany being preferred by the better-class stores. The introduction of the hire-purchase system for store fittings, enabling their purchase out of income instead of capital, has materially increased the demand for standardized units from the smaller stores.

Sundry display fittings, tables, etc.-There is considerable demand for the retail trade for pedestals, stands, plateaus, tier and other small tables used for window, counter, and other display purposes. These tables are made in both modern and period designs, such as Jacobean, Georgian, or Queen Anne, to meet the taste of the purchaser. American white oak is chiefly used for their manufacture, but there is a certain demand from the larger and also the exclusive type of store for mahogany and walnut. Birch, stained to resemble these more expensive woods, is also used to some extent.

Many of these fittings require shelves, for which oak or birch plywood is largely used. Display easels are also largely made of ply