Another avenue which would appear to hold out decided possibilities for plywood is the manufacture of parquet flooring. Experiments have already been made with 9-millimeter (3-inch) material with satisfactory results.

The cost of manufacturing plywood in Great Britain, however, is so high that it can not economically be undertaken except for special sizes or for panels veneered with fancy or figured hardwoods, so that any increased consumption must necessarily be met by greater imports.

AMERICAN PARTICIPATION

The low price at which European plywood for ordinary use is sold in the United Kingdom makes it doubtful whether any considerable increase of business can be anticipated for the American product. Except for special purposes where large dimensions are desired, the cheap European birch or alder is quite satisfactory and, while the lower grades of these do not compare with similar grades in the United States, they are good enough for the purposes for which they are intended.

Whether American factories would be justified in manufacturing special low grades for export to the British market is a matter for them to decide but even should they do so it is not at all certain that, unless there was a very substantial margin under that for which north European birch can be bought, they would find a sale. It would therefore seem as if the best opportunity for American plywood in Great Britain is for Douglas fir. It can be obtained in large dimensions, has an attractive figure, and is reasonable in price. If, however, full advantage is to be taken of the opportunity it is necessary that prices be stabilized as far as possible, so that importers may handle it with reasonable assurance of profit.

Unfortunately, in the past, there has been such keen competition for business among the American exporters themselves that c. i. f. quotations varied almost daily, with the result that the risk of handling Douglas fir plywood was considered so great that many of the larger importers either refused to handle it at all or else made no effort to push its sale, merely carrying a small stock to meet any call they might receive from their customers.

FURNITURE AND CABINET WARE

Considerable quantites of ready-made furniture and cabinet ware are imported into the United Kingdom, and in 1925 these imports had a value of £668,821; the principal countries furnishing these goods and the value from each being as shown in the following statement:

These imports consist of special articles, the principal being office desks, chairs, and other equipment, and kitchen cabinets, from the United States; bentwood chairs and furniture from Czechoslovakia, Poland, Austria, and Estonia; gilt chairs and chairs covered with tapestry and needlework from Belgium; gilt and wicker furniture, also reproductions of period furniture of fine quality from France; office furniture, mainly of oak, from Germany; carved walnut chairs and furniture from Italy; and softwood kitchen dressers from Sweden and the Netherlands.

HOUSEHOLD WOODENWARE

Of the household woodenware, such as bread platters, trays, pastry boards, washboards, ironing boards, rolling-pins, spoons and forks, dishes, meat boards, salt and knife boxes, mouse traps, bowls, egg cups and racks, plate racks, potato mashers, clothes pegs, skewers, and the vast variety of articles included under this description imported, by far the greatest amount comes from Germany; during 1925, goods to the value of £103,401, or over 40 per cent of the total, coming from that country. Next in importance was the United States with £54,956, followed by Sweden with £26,158.

The following statement shows the principal countries and the value of imports of household woodenware from each during 1925:

The United States has the greater part of the British market for finished tool handles; during 1925, out of imports totaling 88,596 gross, valued at £230,337, no less than 65,386 gross (mostly hickory and ash), having a value of £211,707, came from that country.

Of the remainder, 3,460 gross, valued at £9,581, were from Canada, and 19,750 gross, valued at £9,049, from "all other" countries.

OTHER WOOD MANUFACTURES

No record is kept of the articles included in this classification of the British import statistics, so that it is impossible to give complete data. It is known, however, that the imports recorded include the following items: Pencil slats, dowels, bungs and plugs, mangleroller blocks, match blocks, chip boxes, cars, wooden heels and heel blocks, veneers, shuttle blocks, rough-shaped golf-stick heads, bobbins and spools, reels, lasts and blocks, cask heads, chests, trunks, barrels and casks, shade rollers, toilet seats, washing machines, parquetry, handles (other than tool), wood labels, brush backs, and coat hangers.

The total value of all items included in this classification imported during 1925 was £2,540,603, but as the different items are not segregated, it is impossible to give any details.

The following table shows imports of wood manufactures into the United Kingdom during 1925:

NOTE. The value of imports of all other wood manufactures, not shown in this table, from all sources in 1925 was £2,540,603; the total value of all wood manufactures was £6,226,350.

COMMENTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Although the United States has held its own in the United Kingdom lumber market, there is evidence that competition, not only from Empire-grown and central European woods but also from wood substitutes is increasing. If, therefore, this business is to be retained, let alone increased, American exporters can not afford to allow matters to rest as they are, but real efforts will have to be made to meet the changed conditions rapidly developing in the British lumber trade. If they are to be successfully met, steps must be taken not only to eliminate causes of criticism and complaint, but also such as will increase the demand for their product from the consuming industries in whose hands the decision ultimately rests. These matters are here discussed, and it is suggested that they receive careful consideration from exporters interested in selling American lumber in the British market.

MANUFACTURE

It is hardly possible to discuss American softwood lumber with a British importer to-day without receiving a criticism, invariably unfavorable, to its manufacture as contrasted with stock received from Scandinavia and Russia.

Complaint is made, and unfortunately with considerable justification, that it is impossible to get American softwoods sawn true to size. A variation of from 1% to 3%-inch is not unusual, and, to make matters worse, this variation is not uniform, but boards or deals will frequently show a taper in both width and thickness.

When it is remembered that very little of this stock is used in its original form, most of it being remanufactured, it will readily be understood that extra expense is involved in dressing it to a uniform size. In many instances stock has to be run through the planer several times. Not only does this apply to dressing, but when resawing is done there is the difficulty of the irregular size of the last cut.

The opinion is held by most British importers that American manufacturers seem to think that, because their lumber is not scant, it is all right, but no greater mistake could be made; oversize is considered just as much a defect as scantness.

Practically all the north European softwood lumber imported into Great Britain is manufactured by the Swedish gang-saw method, which insures uniformity of size and enables remanufacturing to be done with a minimum of waste. Such a thing as a 3 by 9 inch Swedish, Finnish, or Russian deal measuring 27% by 9% inches at one end and 3 by 94 inches at the other is absolutely unknown, but unfortunately it is a common occurrence on parcels of softwoods arriving from the United States.

Quite recently a large manufacturer of paving blocks, who uses considerable north European pine each year, informed the writer that he knew of no reason why he should not use Douglas fir, but he had found it quite impossible to get stock that would hold exact to size, and as this was essential for paving blocks, he could not use the American product.

Comparisons, it is said, are odious, but they need not be if received in the right spirit, and they may be of considerable value if they show where faults lie and means can be taken to correct them.

The British lumber market is probably the most highly competitive in the world, with every wood-producing country striving for its trade, but such is the excellence of the manufacture of north European softwood lumber that it has become the standard by which every other country's product is compared.

Generally speaking, there is little complaint about the manufacture of American hardwood lumber, most of it arriving well and accurately sawn. Occasionally, however, sufficient care is not taken in trimming, and although allowance for "spur" ends may have been made in measuring, these detract from the appearance of the lumber and to that extent influence the buyer. A good-looking car of lumber is already half sold, and the little extra expense for trimming is amply repaid by the appearance and good will of the customer so obtained.

SEASONING

The matter of insufficient seasoning is one that particularly applies to American exporters of hardwood lumber, apart from the dangers of discoloration, twisting, and warping en route, the most frequent causes of claims in the British market.

Since the war one of the most noticeable changes that has taken place in the British hardwood import trade has been the great increase in the number of firms purchasing their needs on c. i. f. terms, particularly those located in the East London district. Before the war this trade was, to a great extent, concentrated in the hands of a comparatively few large importers who maintained considerable stocks and supplied the smaller yard keepers, but now these yard keepers buy on a c. i. f. basis. Space is scarce and expensive in London and, as a consequence, yards are no longer used for seasoning but merely for transit storage purposes. As a result, these importers, rightly or wrongly, expect to receive their lumber in such condition that it can move immediately into the furniture factories, the majority of which are without any kiln-drying facilities and operate on a handto-mouth basis. Every car of lumber is closely scrutinized for condition on arrival, and if a claim is made for insufficient seasoning the cost of storing at the docks (should the shipment be in London) amounts to about $10 per thousand feet, which is added to cover cost of storage until dry. The question of what constitutes "dry" lumber is one that should be qualified in all c. i. f. contracts, otherwise claims on this account will be settled on a personal rather than a contractual basis. Considerable trouble can be avoided by stating, during the sales negotiations, and inserting in the contract some description such as the number of months the stock has been "on sticks," "in good shipping condition," or "shipping dry" (but never as "dry" without any qualification), so that an affidavit can be

furnished in the event of a claim.

Not only on account of claims is it important, however, that thoroughly seasoned hardwood lumber only should be shipped to the British market, but an exporter with a reputation for shipping it will always receive preference on an equal price basis, as naturally it moves faster from the importer's yard and enables him to increase his

turnover.