The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-07

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 CHINESE FURNITURE
 From the Indianapolis News
 Chinese blackwood furniture is great | ly admired all over the world. There consequently are many substitutes. This furniture, if real, is produced from va rious dark woods, generally from Dal- bergia latifoia, a hard. heavy, close grained, dark red wood known to the lchinese as "kahee" or Furniture wood, or sometimes as sun gee" or dark red wood" When exposed to the air for long time this wood turns dark and eventually becomes black, with more or Jess red streaks in the grain, corresponding to the amount of resin- ous or other natural coloring matter in | the grain. It is imported as logs of as much as IS inches in diameter and up to perhaps 20 feet in length. but also as tree branches and smaller pieces, the Chinese affecting pieces grown crooked for use in natural shape in some of their furniture. The wood is bought by weight. an average whole sale consignment costing three to four taels a picul or about E or ? cents a pound.
 Originally the Chinese used this wood for their own fine furniture and for wood bases or frames for porcelains, jade carvings, or other ornaments for display in drawing rooms or cabinets. Chinese furniture ordinarily is plain, generally constructed in long curve or rounded corners, straight backs to the chairs, settees with straight backs. oft len set with porcelain or marble panels, and similar pieces, while bases for DOT celains or other similar work were oft en beautifully carved With the ad- vent of foreigners Ill south China, how ever, there came a demand for a com bination of furniture more or less on the Chinese model, which was carved instead of plain. The actual volume of trade is not large, the United States probably taking more of 1t than any other nation. Sales to the United States will probably not run over >s5O,Oo0 a year, including shipments of household goods.
 Practically all this furnture-even planed table tops and the most intricate and delicate fittings-is handmade. Fur niture is planned in parts which gen erallly dovetail together in order to eliminate screws or nails, and the vari- ous parts are shaped for the carver The latter squats on the earth floor and works with various knifes, chisels and other tools of native workmanship, but with no other wise of bench than his legs, toes and the earth floor, or, In exceptional cases, log combination of seat and bench. Workmen in these shops are practically bred to the busi- ness. An apprentice serves three years then earns perhaps s10 silver or $4.s0 gold month for several years A full fledged caver will ordinarily receive $50 silver or s96o gold month.
 When carved, the article is usually stained uniform black by an alum preparation, then waxed with prepar- alton of wood oil and blacking and pol ished, or sometimes finished with a special preparation of Ningpo varnish Foreign oils and varnish are sometioes used for special purposes, but, as q rule, only native materials are employed. Of late a demand has grown for the fur niture in natural dark red of the wood, furniture nearer real and likely to be- come more popular as it becomes bet ter known. A strong demand is grow ing for furniture manufactured from this wood on plainer lines and to some extent for scttees and chairs in Chinese
 
 although there has been no material change in the average volume of ship ments The high cost of this furniture in the United States by the time freight and duty are paid seems to be the chief factor against its more general use.