STRAW FURNITURE.

Patea Mail, 14 March 1882, Page 3

STRAW FURNITURE.

The lumber of the future is to be made of straw. It is to compete with that of the better class, as there seems to be no necessity of introducing knots and shakes into the artificial material. It is manufactured in any desired lengths from 12 feet upward, and as much as 32 inches in width. The cost is such as to compete with better or finished grades of pine, and the locality of competition cannot vary much, for straw is usually cheap where lumber is cheap. Some samples recently exhibited hold a nail as well as wood, are susceptible of high finish, and can be polished to any extent desirable. It is waterproof, and therefore must be as endurable as pine or oak, while it is as well adapted for roofing purposes as for fine interior work. It is susceptible of being worked by the ordinary tools of the carpenter, and once fitted for its place it will not be apt to shrink or swell. Samples resemble hard wood, about as dark as oak, but more dense in texture, with a specific gravity of one-fifth more than thoroughly-seasoned black walnut. For finishing, it will not be required to be as thick as ordinary lumber, as its tensile strength is about double that of wood. The future will introduce a complete change in building materials. These will include paper for doors and windowframes, floor, mouldings, and roofs ; glass for porches and pillars, cornices and walls; iron for beams, joints, and rafters, with not a splinter of wood in the whole construction, which will be replaced by straw lumber, if needed. —Philadelphia Commercial World.