Straw Lumber

A description of this new competitor for favor iately apjieared ín the American Architect, and also its uiethod of manufacture, which shows unmistakably that straw lutnber is admirably adaptod to many kinds of finishing work, barrels, table and counter tops, doors and ornamental work, and that it can be produced at less than half the price of walnut. The standard manufacturéis in widths of 32 inehes, a length of' 12 feet and a thicknesa correspouding to that of surface boards. These diinensions may be varied to suit such orders as may be given, and embrace any width, length, or thickness. It may befiriished with varnish or with paint, and is susceptible to a high polish. It is practically flre and water proof, beiug manufaetured under 500 degreea of heat, and we are assured has been boiled for some hours without apparent changes of structure. lts ttinsile strength is greater than that of walnut or oak, and its weight about oneüfth greater than the former when dry. It s made from any kind of straw, including hemp and flax flbre - infactfrom any material that wil) make pulp- and a ton of straw will pioduce 1,000 feet of boards. The pulp is rollfcd into thin sheets, a number of which, corresponding with the thicknets of the lumber desired, are placed together with a peculiar cement, which is claimed to be water proof, and are then rolled under a pressure su fticient to amalgámate them into a aolid mass, which may be workedwith plane if deaired. When it is remembered that it takes 50 years to grow a tree to rnaturity, suiting it to commercial purposes- and a tree producing 32-inch lumber will require fully twice that time - white 20,000 leet per acre ia a large yield under the most favorable circuinsUnces, it will at once be realized that where 3,000 f eet can be taken f rom an acre of ground for an indefinite number of years, the process which enables sueh a result to be accompüshed, and which will yield a really valuable lumber, is one of vast importance.