GROWN FURNITURE A move towards design for sustainability by Christopher Cattle DesRCA MCSD A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Faculty of Design, The Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College BruneI University June 2002 ABSTRACT This thesis deals with the proposal that environmentally benign items of free standing furniture may be produced by the use of such well established techniques as training and grafting natural tree growth to shape. The project has been driven by the growing environmental concerns of which mankind has become aware in the late twentieth century, and which are starting to exert such a powerful influence in the twenty first. A broad history of man's use and control of natural tree growth, ranging geographically from Europe to Australia, and in size from hand held agricultural picks to eighteenth century sailing ships, is followed by a brief description of the ways in which the explosive increase in world popuanon. together with the expanding industrial activities of the Western consumer society, are feared to be threatening the stability of the natural environment. The various disasters and catastrophic accidents which have brought this situation to the attention of the general public are briefly surveyed, together with National, International and a range of Industrial responses. As one of the professions most closely concerned with the production of consumer items, the various reactions of the Design Community are similarly examined. In conclusion, the author's proposal for an experimental item of furniture environmentally benign in production, use and disposal - is described and illustrated. A simple free standing three legged stool, the form of both the item itself and that of the jig required to control it's growth, are described and illustrated. The growth of examples of this, carried out on three sites across southern Britain are documented, experimental results reported and discussed. A further range of designs suitable to be produced using this method of controlling and grafting natural growth is proposed, and suggestions made for further experimentation. CONTENTS page ABSTRACT 1 CONTENTS 2 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 11 I INTRODUCTION J2 i ) The global problem 12 ii ) Project rationale J2 iii) Ecological aspects of furniture design J4 2 THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT J7 Man's traditional use & control of natural growth 2a Dwarfing 17 2b Topiary 19 2c Pruning, training, grafting and bundle planting i) Europe 20 ii ) The Far East 2 J 2d Coppicing, pollarding & hedging 22 2e Hand held sticks / tools / weapons 24 2f Agriculture 27 2g Furniture 31 i) Africa 31 ii) The South Pacific Islands 33 iii) Dynastic Egypt 33 iv ] Ancient Greece & the Eastern Mediterranean 34 v ] The British Isles/ England 35 vi ) Scotland 37 vii ) Wales 38 viii) Ireland 38 ix ) The Isle of Man 39 x ] Italy 40 xi) North America 40 xii) The Far East 42 xiii) Australia 43 2h Sculpture 46 2 2j Shipbuilding 5 1 2k Architecture / pseudo architecture 54 2L Review of Historical Context 59 3 THE CONTEMPORARY CONTEXT 66 The environment &consumerism, 20th/21 st centuries 3a Introduction 66 3b Environmental concerns 67 i) The population explosion 67 ii) Environmental impact of the technology explosion 67 iii) Popular awareness 68 iv) International responses 68 v ) National &commercial responses 70 vi) The response of the Design community 73 vii) The' Blue-sky' eco-debate 77 3c Consumerism 79 4 THE GROWN FURNITURE PROJECT 84 4a The brief 84 4b The proposal 85 i) Raw materials 85 ii) Production 86 iii) Advantages of such a system 86 iv) Disadvantages 87 v) Precedents 87 4c The Experiment 88 i) The Experimental design 89 ii) The Experimental jig 89 4d The Experimental sites 90 i) Shin field ( site 1 ) 90 ;;) Llwydcoed ( site 2 ) 9 1 iii) Priestfield ( site 3 ) 91 4e The Experimental Species 91 4f Diary 95 i) Shinfield 95 ii) Llwydcoed 98 3 jii ) Priestfie/d S EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS i I general ii ) selection iii) the jig iv ) planting v) training vi) growth vii ) jointing viii) grafting technique ix ) timing of grafts x I maintenance during growth Sa Conclusion i ) contribution to knowledge ii ) recommendations for further research 6 POSTSCRIPT design proposals for grown furniture 6a General considerations 6b The grown tripod 6c Pyramids storage structure 6d Threesome grown table 6e Wishbone grown table 6f Dyna grown chair 6g Woodsman dry assembly chair APPENDICES A Natural tree growth B The Nature, Art & Science of Grafting C The Patents of Arthur Wiechula D Project pUblicity 1996 - 2002 E Site visits REFERENCES BIBLIOGRAPHY 101 102 102 102 102 103 103 104 104 105 105 106 107 107 108 109 110 112 113 114 115 116 117 119 122 128 130 133 134 137 4 ILLUSTRATIONS Illustrations are numbered in relation to the section in which they occur for example 2g/9 is the ninth illustration in section 2g. No Illustration follows page number 2b/1 17th century topiary hedges - France 19 Banksp56 2c/1 Fruit trees trained to shape - 18/ 19th century 20 above Salston p 153 below Wilkinson & Henderson p78 2c/2 Trained pine tree - Tokyo 21 Takasaki 'The Garden' Jan 1997p35 2d/1 Hedging / coppicing 22 Seymourabovep53 belowp80 2e/1 Various walking stick/ crook heads 24 Seymourp 139 2e/2 Hurley maker - Ireland, Bando stick - Wales 25 above Fitzgeraldp83 belowAuthor's own 2e/3 Naturally grown axe/hoe/adze hafts - Austria, Portugal, Egypt 25 Goodman abovep26 belowp 18 2e/4 Natural growth as tool haft - Central Africa 25 Gardipl4 2e/5 Natural growth used for auger / saw handles - Scandinavia 26 Goodman above pp165/169 belowp 126 2e/6 Carved weapons from natural growth / adze - New Caledonia 26 'Artificial Curiosities' p243 2e/7 Naturally curved adze/ axe hafts - Britain 1790 26 Levery. TheShip ofthe Line, p71 2e/8 Natural growth as bitstock - USA, rope twister - Wales 26 above Sloane p79belowAuthors own 2e/9 Schoolboy catapult - UK, Native American warclub - USA 27 above Crompton p81 below West etalp229 2f/1 Wooden agricultural picks - Thailand, hoe haft - Angola 27 leftAuthor's own right Sieber p61 2f/2 Breast ploughs - mediaeval 28 above courtesy University ofReading Museum library Wooden ox drawn plough - France, early zo" century below Trochetp 133 2f/3 Yoke,wooden plough - Indonesia 28 Authors own 2f/4 Grown pitchforks - Tanzania, Japan 28 above Sieberp60 belowAuthors own 5 2f/5 Grown pitchfork - Spain 1997 28 Author's own 2f/6 Wooden pokes, propping saw horse - USA 29 Sloane pp vii & f 05 Wooden gate post - Isle of Wight, 200 I Authors own 2f/7 Farm waggons - Britain, 19th century 30 Arnold endpapers 2f/8 Farm waggons - Britain, 19th century 30 Arnoldabove plate f 5 belowplate f2 2f/9 Agricultural roller - Ireland 31 courtesy University ofReading Library 2g/1 Tree root recliner, seat, backrest - Zaire 32 Bocola abovep28 belowp f28 2g/2 Carved three legged stools - Tanzania, Kenya 32 Sieberabove p f3 f belowp f 09 2g/3 Decorated tree root backrest - Zaire 32 Bocolapf29 2g/4 Carved three legged stool - Papua New Guinea 33 Bramwellp f 00 2g/5 Three legged stool/four legged bed - Egypt 18th dynasty 34 above Ostergardp5 below Bakerp24 2g/6 Reproduction of' Klismos 'chair - 1970 34 Ostergardp6 2g/7 Three legged tables - Turkey 720-705BC 35 Bakerabovep230 belowp232 2g/8 Root chairs - 18th century, of Chinese origin 36 Stevensonp25 2g/9 'Rustic' chair & table designs - British 18th century 36 White above p f32 belowp298 2g/10 'Rustic' chair & table designs - British rs" century 36 White above p f32 belowp297 2g/11 'Rural' chair designs - British 1765 36 Whitepf40 2g/12 Various 'rustic' furniture designs - Britain 1805 36 Gilbornp22 2g/13 'Rustic' cast iron garden seat, ceramic seat - Britain 19th century 36 above Wilkinson & Henderson p8f belowNewman p f 75 2g/14 Carved 'Rustic' chair - Britain 1770 36 Stevensonp24 6 2g/ 15 Naturally grown fork used as coat hook - Kent 37 Authors own 2g/16 Eccentric chair & table - Britain late 18th /early 19th century 37 Christies South Kensington sale 24/2/9~ cataloguep47 2g/ 17 'Sutherland' chairs - Scotland 37 above Kinmonth p41 belowNoble p35 2g/18 Stick-back chair - Wales before 1750, child's chair - Scotland 37 Authors own, below courtesy National Museums ofScotland 2g/19 'Black House' interior - Scotland 38 courtesy DrB Cotton 2g/20 'Hedge' chair - Ireland late 18th century, stool - Wales 38 above Kinmonth p36 below courtesy Catherine Weston 2g/21 Three legged stools - Isle of Man, late 19th / early 20 th century 39 Cotton abovep91 belowp92 2g/22 Two bow backed chairs - Isle of Man, 19th century 39 above Cotton p43 Below p40 29/23 Sketches from Andrea Branzi's 'Domestic Animals' - 1985 40 Branzi p20 (un-numbered) 2g/24 'Adirondak' style staircase - USA, 1937/38 41 Gilborn p 166 2g/25 'Adirondack' style chair & table - USA early 20th century 41 Gilborn abovepB5 belowp 142 2g/26 Two 'rustic' chairs by Daniel Mack - USA 20 th century 41 Mack above p 19 belowp 17 2g/27 John Krubsack in his grown chair - USA 1908/1919 42 Mackpp7B/79 2g/28 Axel Erlandson in his grown chair - USA 1954 42 Erlandson frontispiece 2g/29 Richard Reames in his grown chair - USA 1998 42 above left & belowAuthor's own, courtesy D Whitton above right Reames & Delbolp57 2g/30 Nirandr Boonnark with his grown chair - Thailand, 1980's 43 above Boonnark booklet belowSchoener Wohnen 1/97p20 2g/31 Early 'Bush' furniture - Australia, 1860/1900 44 Cornallpp 66/69/275 2g/32 Two 'Bush' style chairs - Australia 1870/80 45 above Hooperp23 below Cornallp 140 7 2g/33 'Rustic' garden seat - Australia, about 1900 45 Cornallp279 2g/34 Tri-stool by John Smith - Australia, 1985 46 Bogle & Landmanp31 2h/1 Ash dome by David Nash - Wales, 1995 47 Innes, Country living, Sept 1995p72 2h/2 Ladder sculptures by David Nash, 1983/93 47 Nashp95 2h/3 Sculptures by Andy Goldsworthy & Richard Wincer - Britain 48 above Authors own below Henrip4 2h/4 'Four legged Giant' tree sculpture by Axel Erlandson - USA, 48 Authors own courtesyReames 2h/5 Four tree sculptures by Erlandson - USA, 1925-64 49 Nagyszalanczy Fine Woodworking No58, back cover 2h/6 Four ringed tree sculpture by Erlandson - USA 49 Author's own, courtesyReames 2h/7 Angular tree sculpture by Erlandson - USA 49 Authors own, courtesy Reames 2h/8 Erlandson with two of his tree sculptures - USA 49 Life magazine .January 1957 2h/9 28 year old Sycamore tree sculpture by Erlandson - USA 49 Life magazine .January 1957 2jj1 Section through a 74' Gunship of War - Britain, 1771 51 Lavery, Building the Wooden Wallsp87 2jj2 Use of natural growth in shipbuilding - France 1783 51 Lavery, Building the Wooden Wallsp57 and Saxon dugout boat - Britain 405-530AD courtesy River & Rowing Museum, Henley-on-Thames 2jj3 'Dissection of the body of a First Rate Man of War - Britain 1700 52 Lavery, TheShip ofthe Line p29 2jj4 'Rules for training OAK TREES to Compass Shapes' - Britain 1795 53 RSAjournal Nov 1996 p79 2jj5 Ralph Clayton with naturally grown timber - USA 54 courtesyDrB Cotton 2jj6 Boatbuilders sawing timber for keels - Egypt 54 Kahnp79 2kj1 Use of hollow tree trunks as dwellings - Botswana &Australia 55 above courtesy N Coughlin below Cornallp45 8 2kf2 Tree houses - Central Europe I 6th/ 17th centuries 55 above right Wilkinson & Henderson p 181 'Maple of Ratipur' early 19th century Balston frontispiece 2kf3 Gardens at Beloiel - Belgium 18th century 56 Conranp265 2kf4 Various Tuareg tent frames using forked sticks - North Africa 56 Kahn above p 14 belowp 12 2kf5 Diagram of Mosquito House - Australia 56 Domus 605April 1980 & carved forked post head - New Guinea Greubpl65 2kf6 'Cruck' house frame drawing 57 Kahnp22 2kf7 Barn interior at Leigh Court, - Britain, early 14th century 57 Cookp51 2kf8 Various grown structures proposed by Wiechula 58 Wiechula pp69,/111/113/155/185/202 2kf9 Patented jig & tools for pinning grown lattice joints 59 author's own, courtesy C Ryrie & section of grown lattice fence - Germany Kirschp32 2kfl0 20 th century use of Adirondack style architecture - USA 59 Boericke & Shapirop23 3b/1 Decreasing Antarctic ozone levels, Smokey Mountain rubbish tip 68 Papanek abovep 18 belowp33 3b/2 Picto swivel chair by Wilkhahn 72 coverof /It the desk' (Wilkhahn sales literature) 3b/3 Raymond Loewy Pennsylvania Railroad locomotive 73 and '58 Ford without a hood' Conran abovepl63 belowpl69 3b/4 Tim Smit's Eden Project 76 SmitplO 3b/5 'Freed Space' by Branzi et al 79 Manzini & Suzani p 119 3c/1 Original plastic shell chair designed by Robin Day 81 Glazebrook, p58 4c/1 Author's first proposed design for grown stool frame SEAT I 89 Author's own 4c/2 Author's revised proposal for grown stool frame SEAT2 89 Author's own S2J/0 1-4 Author's drawings for construction of stool & planting jigs 90 9 4f/ I Site plan for experimental site I ( Shinfield ) 95 Authors own 4f/2 Growing stool structures on site I, November 1999 98 Authors own 4f/3 Growing stool structures on site I, November 1999 98 Author's own 4f/4 Site plan for experimental site 2 ( Llewyddcoed ) 98 Author's own 4f/S Site plan for experimental site 3 ( Priestfield ) 101 Authors own Sa/I Graft variations 108 Authors own 6b/1 The grown tripods used as a leg structures - design proposal 112 Authors own 6c/1 PYRAMIDS domestic storage unit - design proposal 113 Author's own 6d/1 THREESOME grown table - design proposal 114 Author's own 6e/1 WISHBONE grown table - design proposal 115 Authors own 6e/2 WISHBONE grown table - stages in growth 115 Author's own 6f/1 DYNA grown dining chair - design proposal 116 Author's own 6g/1 WOODSMAN part grown dry assembly chair - design proposal 117 Authors own 8c/1 Patents held by Arthur Wiechula 128 Kirschpp84-93 10 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The author wishes to acknowledge the practical help and advice he has received from many people, both in Britain and abroad. Particular thanks are due to the following;- John Barnett Alan Bateman John Budd Floris van den Broeke Bernard Cotton David Davies Monika Held Renate Holle Mark Irle Ann Mulley Hew Reid Geoff Ruffles Barbara Rippington Charlie Ryrie Steve Rhodes Alan Tilbury Catherine Tilbury Donald Whitton Reg Winfield 11 1 INTRODUCTION The challenge ofcreating a sustainable world has moved from the world ofidealism to that ofnecessity. OursUNivalas a human race depends upon it The understanding ofsustainability as an essential value results from a coming to consciousness in the field ofdesign similar to that which manysocialgroups have gone through in the past thirtyyears. We can note the new relations between men and women that feminists have fought for, the respect forall the worlds cultures that multi-culturalists believe in, and the recognition ofdifferentgender identities thatgays and lesbians have insisted upon. Victor Margolin 'Design for a Sustainable World' Design Issues, Summer J998, p88 i) THE GLOBAL PROBLEM With the evolution of Western society through the process of industrialisation, an impressive range of social advantages emerged. It was only in the last half century that their accompanying environmental problems began to be recognised. From a global perspective, the resulting environmental debate is shared between the different courses of action to be followed by the Developed and the Developing Worlds. For the post-industrial West - sufficiently affluent to at least begin to address these ecological issues- this action must maintain the delicate balance between increasing the efficiency with which it performs it's production/consumption/disposal cycle, radically reducing it's environmental impact, and maintaining living standards at socially acceptable levels. For the Developing world, the problem lies in attempting to raise the standard of living of it's peoples to a level at least comparable with that of the West, while trying to avoid adding to the already substantial world ecological problems resulting from the West's previous industrial activities. ii) PROJECTRATIONALE This may be summed up as being the search for a virtuous circle of sustainable furniture production and disposal. Seen from a Western culture, and from an academic viewpoint, the current project may be viewed as a contribution to the debate on possible 12 ways of reducing the environmental impact both of creating and of disposing of consumer durables such as furniture. While it has been shown by experiment that the proposal is indeed practical, it is not anticipated that such a system could to any appreciable extent supplant the current system of production. The intention is principally to indicate the advantages which may accrue through the use of such an approach to the creation of artefacts, by making sensible use of the natural materials and processesavailable to us. In terms of the ceo-debate. items of furniture occupy an uncomfortable middle ground. Unlike automobiles they do not in their daily use, require the use of energy, or pose any considerable threat to the environment. Nor, unlike automobiles, do they have an easily predictable useable life span. By it's nature, the motorcar will gradually wear out with use, requiring periodic repair and eventually disposal, while steadily depreciating in value. Items of furniture though, depending on the quality of their construction and maintenance, may not wear out over many generations of use. Being heavily influenced by fashion trends however, they are frequently discarded long before their useful life is over, being relatively bUlky and virtually worthless. Most items of mass produced furniture are factory made, involving in the process considerable pollution and waste, and using combinations of materials, some at least of which are man made and non-biodegradable, assembled in such a way that they cannot easily be either dismantled or recycled. Even natural timber components may be assembled using glues which make them impossible to separate, and finished using acid catalyst lacquers which are difficult to remove. Current adhesive technology makes possible the permanent bonding together of widely different materials such as wood, metals, some plastics, foams and fabrics. Many of the finishing processes used on metal components such as plating, in addition to the problems of disposal of the toxic wastes produced, present problems for recyclers.The initial production of plastic components, by moulding or extruding more than one material together, present further difficulties for recyclers. As indicated by Graedel and Allenby however ;- Given careful attention to design and materials selection, many of the plastics in industrial use can be recycled. This is particularly true of thermoplastics, which can be ground, melted, and reformulated with relative efficiency.... The utility of recycling these materials is a function of their purity, 13 which implies that the use of paint, flame retardants, and other additives should be minimized or avoided if at all possible. Having plastics of many different colours in a product limits recyclability options as well. I With this knowledge available, it is evident that there is much that careful design can contribute. iii) ECOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF FURNITURE DESIGN Since a piece of furniture may present ecological problems both in manufacture and in disposal, it will be necessary to consider both of these points in it's life cycle. In broad terms, several of the materials in common use may be thought suitable for this project. Before choosing anyone however, some general aspects of the use of materials should be examined. In all cases, a reduction in the quantity of materials used is desireable, as less of any material will result in lighter structures, more easily and economically transported, and in turn requiring less material to support them in use. ( Inflatable 'upholstery' provides a good example of this approach. ) The ultimate course of action of course, is to 'dematerialise' completely, by so planning a situation that no furniture of any sort will be required. ( An efficiently run Just in time' system of appointments for visitors will obviate the need for a waiting-room, and thus the need for any waiting-room furniture. ) In terms of energy saving wood, being an organic material, has a considerable advantage over either metals or plastics. Both of these require the input of considerable amounts of energy both in their first extraction or conversion to the basic raw material, and in their reprocessing at the end of the product's useful life. ( In the case of plastics,some progress is being made towards the substitution of biodegradable Bioplastics 'made from plants, usually polymers of starch or polylactic acid' 2 for the traditional oil based polymers.) As Alastair Fuad - Luke indicates ;- 'One measure of eco-efficiency is the degree of efficiency of use of energy within an ecosystem, that is, the energy captured, energy flows within the ecosystem and energy losses. All materials represent stored energy, captured from the sun or already held in the lithosphere of the earth. Materials also 14 represent or embody the energy used to produce them. One tonne of aluminium takes over a hundred times more energy to produce than one tonne of sawn timber. Materials extracted directly from nature and requiring little processing tend to be low-embodied-energy materials, while manmade materials tend to possess medium to high embodied energy.' 3 Shown below are the indices of embodied energy for some commonly used materials, quoted from Fuad-Luke ;- Typical embodied energies (MJ per kg) Wood / bamboo / cork Wood composites e.g. particleboard Glass Carbon steel (mildsteelnot quoted) Polypropylene Aluminium - cast Carbon fibre (and for comparison) Gold 2-8 6 - 12 20 - 25 60- 70 90 - 100 235 - 335 800 - 1,000 5,600 - 6,000 All the common processes of manufacture involve the use of electrical energy, the generation of which generally produces pollution to varying degrees, not to mention the other undesirable factors involved. (Atomic power, while not producing 'greenhouse' gasses, has irs own well known problems of disposal.) The conversion of metals from ore to the finished component is also a very ecologically disruptive process ;- The extraction of raw materials from the Earth's crust generaJJy involves the movement and processing of large amounts of rock and soil. To recover I ton of copper, for example, requires the removal of some 350 tons of over burden and the processing of 100 tons of ore. As a result, extraction of materials is extremely energy-intensive and tends to be destructive of local ecological habitats. 4 and, 'A steel mill will burn about 20kg of coal to make the steel for one chair' 5 15 Finally, at the end of its life, furniture faces the problems posed by changes in fashion and lifestyle which militate against the ecologically desireable aim of life extension. In practical terms however, all manufactured goods must have a finite lifespan. An appropriate strategy then must be to ensure that any materials used in manufacture can either be recycled, or at least disposed of with minimal environmental impact. In these terms natural wood has the advantage that it will, by it's nature, eventually biodegrade. 16 2 THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT Man's traditional use & control of natural tree growth At the start of the twenty first century, a proposal which involves the use of a natural process such as tree growth in the production of artefacts is unusual. Since at least the early nineteenth century, it has increasingly become the norm that artefacts are produced using combinations of raw materials which, after processing in factories, are converted into products. The current proposal will therefore be seen as a radical one. This being so, it may be appropriate to review the very considerable number of previous ( and some current) instances of man's use of natural tree growth - at times by using the forms which trees - in nature - provide, at others by controlling or mOdifying their growth. Since prehistory, and broadly until the advent of the Industrial Revolution, human societies all over the world have made use of this practice. In Britain, Tabor describes the eight hundred years after the Norman Conquest as the Golden Age of woodland management, when it 'reached an intensity and efficiency never matched before or after.' 6 While the various major types of artefact created will be dealt with later, it is proposed firstly ( 2a - 2d ) to examine some of the general aspects of the history of this practice. 2a Dwarfing In nature, tree growth may be stunted by factors such as high winds and poor soil conditions. Adams cites the examples of the Bristlecone pine trees growing in the White Mountains on the California/Nevada border which, although thousands of years old, ' are only feet high. At 12,OOOft the ultraviolet factor is immensely potent and every tree is compact with neat foliage.' 7 Human societies have adopted dwarfing techniques for both practical and decorative reasons. Deborah Koreshoff quotes from an article by , a past President of India " from which it appears that the ancient Hindu Ayorvedic physicians, in an empire which 17 , covered the globe' had developed the art of Vaarmantanu vrikshaadi or 'dwarfed body trees science' 8. In this way the small trees became portable, enabling the physicians to ensure their supply of medicinally valuable roots, flowers, bark, leaves and fruit of certain jungle trees, no matter where they were. The same author describes how the Egyptians cultivated trees in recesses cut into the rock about '4,000 years ago " while trees were also grown in pots by the ancient Greeks, Romans, Babylonians and Persians. ' No Greek or Roman garden was complete without irs tub of apple trees' 9 Not only do apple varieties exhibit an enormous range of different blossom and fruit colour, for example, but it was interest in the ornamental possibilities of miniature Paradise trees that first pointed growers in the direction of the dwarfing rootstocks on which modern orchards are based, the improvements in the qualities of the fruit produced by decorative 'fan' trees, which first suggested the benefits of training and pruning to the fruit grower 10 Planting in tubs thus combines both practical and aesthetic advantages. It allows trees to be moved to the most advantageous positions for the ripening of the fruit, or to more sheltered positions when there is a risk of frost, at the same time enabling the proud owner to show off his crop to his friends or dinner guests. In China, and later Japan, the art of tree dwarfing or Bonsai is of considerable antiquity, although in this case it was a natural - albeit miniature - appearance that was prized. Joseph Addison, in an article published in ' The Spectator' in 1712 reported that 'the inhabitants of that country ( China) laugh at the plantations of our Europeans, because they say that anyone may place trees in equal rows and uniform figures. ' Beautiful and apparently natural miniature trees, once again grown in containers for mobility, played an important role in certain annual ceremonies such as the Flowering Apricot at the Lunar New Year. Initially, attractively shaped small trees found growing wild would be removed and potted, to stand in the garden until required for the indoor ceremony, the shape being modified and the growth restricted for aesthetic and practical reasons. Maturity - or its appearance and characteristics - has always been prized in a Bonsai - and as beautifUlly shaped, small mature trees were comparatively hard to find, they remained, in the early days, the prized possessions of the rich. The techniques for their successful cultivation - considered to have something of the' half magical & unnatural art ' - were little known, being passed down from master to pupil. 18 It is probable that the art of Bonsai was brought to Japan via Korea by Buddhist priests in the sixth century AD. Here it flourished until the disastrous floods in the Tokyo area in 1912, and the earthquake in 1923, which were major setbacks. Following the second world war, however, returning USservicemen helped to spread the appreciation of the art world - wide. 2b Topiary Training and clipping growth 'into forms which are purely abstract and architectural, ..extravagant, even comic, so as to distract the eye and divert the attention ', II The name derives from the Latin word Toparius meaning landscape gardener, indicating the importance of this practice in Roman gardening. Pliny the Younger ( AD62 - 110) describes extensive topiary work in his garden in Tuscany. Bringing with them the Mediterranean Cypress and Box, the Romans introduced the practice to Britain, although only the Box proved reliably hardy here, and it is the native British Yew which is 'the tree on which British topiary exists' 12. Some topiary work survived in Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire - largely in monastery gardens - but it did not reappear on any scale, in Britain at least, until the Sixteenth Century. The gardens at Hampton Court under Henry VIII and later Elizabeth I were described as containing elaborate examples. Continental gardeners in Italy, France ( Le Notre at Versailles, see fig 2bj 1) and particularly in the Netherlands, developed this highly stylised form of gardening enthusiastically and, with first the return of Charles II from exile at the Restoration, and particularly with the accession of William and Mary, the fashion returned and spread throughout British gardens. Of the many thousands of trees drawn by Leonard Knyff in 1699 in the gardens at Chatsworth, there was 'not a single one that was not cut to shape; the shears dominated natural growth' 13 The change in fashion to a more apparently natural style under the influence of William Kent and 'Capability' Brown however, resulted in the destruction of the vast majority of the topiary work in Britain. Its reappearance - on a far lessgrandiose scale occurred only with the coming of the Arts and Crafts movement at the end of the nineteenth century. The admiration of this group for the Renaissance culture resulted in a renewal of interest in this style of gardening, particularly in the Cotswold area where so 19 These 17th century French topiary hedges are demonstrations ofman 's use of and control over nature fig 2b/ J many of them lived. Subsequent interest in - and admiration for - the work of William Morris and others of the Movement ( combined with the availability of power clippers!) has ensured it's current survival. 2c Pruning, training, grafting & bundle planting i) EUROPE In addition to dwarfing techniques, the arts of pruning, grafting and training to shape, both with single trees and with groups, have long been practised in Europe by both fruit growers and gardeners. As with topiary, it was the Romans who - bringing the cultivated apple and it's associated skills of pruning and grafting with them - were largely responsible for the spread of these practices. In Tudor times Britain contained many orchards. According to Thomas, Norwich was' either a city in an orchard, or an orchard in a city, so equally were houses and fruit trees planted.' 14 This open planting system was to change however, Wilkinson and Henderson describing how 'By the early 17th century fruit walls had become important in many European gardens' 15 ( fig 2c/ I ) necessitating a two dimensional system of training and grafting. In the eighteenth century, following the move from the highly elaborate formal garden ( with it's extensive displays of topiary) to an apparently more 'natural' style, the training of fruit trees blossomed further, with shapes such as Cordons, Espaliers, etc becoming popular in Britain. Fruit trees ;- ...disappeared from the pleasure ground and were banished to the walled fruit and vegetable garden. Here teams of gardeners, relieved from the endless chores of Clipping, watering and maintaining the formal garden ...exploited the advantages of espalier training .... 16 With the coming of the Industrial Revolution and the creation of a sizeable and affluent middle class, growing one's own fruit became increasingly widespread, and the skills of grafting, training and pruning fruit trees were widely practised. The various tree forms developed enabled the growers to produce maximum quantities of fruit within 20 above the 'Goblet ' - a popular 19th century shape for fruit growers below training fruit trees against a wall to achieve maximum output. 18th century fig 2(/1 controlled areas, to promote their ripening by close proximity to the sun - warmed brick walls, and to create elaborate and decorative sculptural trees. ( fig 2c/1 ) In the 20th century the Hatton (originally Bradbourne ) Fruit Gardens at East Mailing were created in 1938 by Dr Ronald Hatton as 'a memorial to the art of pruning & a source of information and examples for future fruit enthusiasts to admire and study: 17 The Summer pruning techniques of Louis Lorette were studied by Dr Beryl Beakbane in the early 1940's, and introduced to the gardens in a modified form. The Gardens contain many fine examples of both two dimensional ( cordons, espaliers, fan / palmettes ), and three dimensional ( pyramid, barrel, bateau, goblet, crown, table top, arcure ) tree forms. Particularly poputar in Victorian England, ' Bundle planting " a system of planting several trees into the same hole, has been practised traditionally in various parts of Europe and in the 1950's in North Africa. The reasons for it vary, from the practical one of providing a more robust combined trunk for the bundle, to the more decorative one of attempting to reproduce the appearance of a typical 'Gothic' stone column. In the Spring/Summer and Autumn 1997 issues of the Journal' Tree News' the practice is discussed in letters from Ted Green, Dr Oliver Rackham, John White and Professor Jack Thurgood. Of particular interest to the current research is an example illustrated of a tree or bundle, brought down by a freak wind at Sezingcote in Gloucestershire. John White says ;- My first thought about why this tree should have five stems was that it could have been five scions of copper beech grafted onto a semi - mature green beech stump. Sezincote has several examples of Victorian tree manipulations to produce curiosities. The house is in the Indian style and a young tree on five stems would match exactly some of the ornamental embellishments of the roof. But now I'm not sure. Perhaps this is not a grafted plant at all, but another example of 'bundle planting '. ii) THE FAR EAST The skills involved in 'assisting nature' to produce elegant and beautiful forms have long been practised here, the training and pruning to shape of trees being an integral part of this. A single example of the elegant results achieved may be provided by the curved trunk of the venerable pine tree shown in fig 2c/2 in Koishikawa Korakuen in Tokyo, seen 21 Very evidently the result ofprolonged training, the bark on the trunk of this mature pine tree is protected against winter frosts by it 's straw sheath. Koishikawa Korakuen , Tokyo fig 2(/2 with its elegant winter covering of straw, bound carefully in place with black dyed palm ropes and finished off with a suitable collar. The straw protects the bark from frost damage. 2d Coppicing jpollarding & hedging The first two of these describe the practice which, according to Milner 18 was well known in Neolithic times, of felling a mature tree at eitherjust above ground level ( coppicing ) or at a height sufficient to be out of the reach of grazing stock ( pollarding ). Having a well developed root system the remaining section of the trunk, or stool, will not die, but will produce a ' halo' of many small branches ( fig 2dj I ). If harvested at regular intervals - of between four and fifteen years depending on species and diameter required these trees will continue to provide a regular supply of small section timber over many years. Not only were such cycles sustainable, it was found that the process had the effect of greatly prolonging the life of the individual trees. Ancient Hazel stools in England have been estimated by Rackham to be over 1,500years old - more than ten times the normal span of uncoppiced Hazel. 19 Coppiced trees were sometimes grown interspersed with standards of a different species which were allowed to grow to maturity before being felled, the rotation being typically ten times that of the coppice. In The Forgotten Arts; Seymour asserts that ;- , when grown crooks ( curved boughs) were needed for shipbuilding, coppice - with standards was a very popular method, for the oaks sent forth side branches which provided the crooks. ,20 With the coming of the Industrial Revolution, new materials such as iron and steel rapidly took over from timber in many of the fields such as ship building where timber had previously predominated. The qualities - and the availability - of coppiced timber still found usesand exerted some constraints however, notably in the brewing and textile industries;- A single large cotton mill in Stockport is said to have used about 10 million bobbins at anyone time, with a replacement rate of about 350,000 per week' and 'a major constraint on the expanding acreage given over to hops in Kent was the availability of poles from the twelve - year - old 22 above a newly laid hedge , showing how the stems are cut to enable them to be laid down at an angle below coppiced limes - ' coppicing itselfcan prolong the life ofsmall-leaved lime almost indefinitely' fig 2d/l coppices. It has been calculated that in the 1830's, 100,000 acres of coppice on this rotation were needed to supply the 25 million new poles required per annum. 21 That such quantities of timber were used by these major industries so relatively recently should certainly give us food for thought. The purpose of hedging - or more correctly hedge laying - is not to supply timber for other uses, but to increase the density and thereby effectiveness of a growing hedge. Traditionally used to control the movements of farm stock, well managed hedges are among the best and most cost effective barriers for this purpose, being self generating, improving with age and requiring less maintenance than most other traditional forms of walling or fencing. Hedge laying is carried out in the winter months ( see fig 2d/ 1), when the main stems of the hedge are slashed half through at a point just above ground level ( a dramatic demonstration of the ability of a growing stem to survive what may appear to be a savage attempt to destroy it ). They are then' laid' down at an angle of between forty five and seventy degrees to the vertical. To prevent water from entering the wound, the cut should be carried out upwards, although this is a more awkward and therefore slower process than cutting downwards. If the hedge runs up an incline the stems will lean uphill to avoid lying lower than horizontal, preferably towards the sunlight and away from the prevailing wind. In this way the new growth on each stem - tending to be vertically upwards - twines through the stems above it, eventually forming a dense barrier. Vertical stakes are then driven through the hedge into the ground at about one metre Intervals. the tops of these being pleached together for strength using a twist of thin hazel rods. Having all but died out, there has recently been a small renaissance of this craft which - with thatching - has been recognised as having a valuable place in the ecology of the countryside. 23 2e Hand held sticks I tools I weapons etc i) WALKING STICKS These aids are used world - wide, either over rough terrain or in infirmity, and the use of natural growth is common. Practical considerations suggest that the stick should be as light as possible consistent with its having adequate strength to support the user, and ergonomics that some form of handle is desirable. In many civilisations sticks have taken a role that is more symbolic than practical, and in most Western societies the' walking stick' has long degenerated into a mere fashion accessory. In Britain in the first half of the 20th century, the process of growing walking sticks with angled handles ( fig 2el J ), practised near Chiddingfo/d and Whitley in Surrey - was described by Herbert Edlin ;- Ash seed is sown in nurseries and when the seedlings are a year or two old, they are transplanted. But instead of being set upright in the normal fashion, they are placed slanting in the ground, and their terminal buds are removed to oblige them to resume growth from the side bud at the tip of the shoot. Thus the new shoot arises almost at right angles to the old stem and when it has grown stout enough it forms the main shaft of the stick whilst the old shoot becomes the handle. The grain of the wood follows the sharp bend so that these crooked sticks are far stronger than they look. 22 ii) SHEPHERD'S CROOKS Of the longer forms of hand held stick - generally referred to as staffs - that used by shepherds was originally contrived by interventton during growth. Young stems of Hazel or similar wood were bent over and bound into an appropriate shape, being left then to grow naturally to a suitable thickness before narvestinq, More sophisticated versions of this form, frequently carved from the point where a branch emerged from the trunk of a tree ( fig 2el I ) or using horn ( sometimes elaborately carved ) have the advantage of greater crook strength, although the horn type tend to be heavier and require a secure fixing for the crook. 24 Above a variety ofwalking stick handlesfrom natural growth the curve is achieved by heating and bending Below four stages in the carving ofa wooden crook from The Forgotten Arts by John seymour fig 2e/! Another specialised form of crook, this time having an'S' shaped horizontal member fixed across the tip, was used during sheep dipping. An all wooden example of such an implement, the'S' formed from a length of naturally occurring wood, is on show in the Museum of Welsh Life near Cardiff. iii) HURLING & BANDO STICKS To this day the round end of the hand made sticks used in the traditional Irish game of Hurling, are carved from a plank of timber taken from the tree at the point where a branch had emerged from the trunk. As can be seen from the illustration I fig 2e/2 ) the curving grain which occurs at this point gives maximum strength. Of much lighter construction, the sticks used in the broadly similar Welsh game of Banda were fashioned from suitably angled branches of Ash. An example is on display in the Museum of Welsh life I fig 2e/2 ) On a smaller scale, man has frequently taken advantage of the angles to be found in natural growth, using them as the shafts - and sometimes even the entire object - of both tools and weapons. iv) TOOLS Shown in fig 2e/3, Goodman 23 illustrates two Egyptian adzes. Dating from about 2750 BC their copper blades are secured to wooden shafts with thongs. The shape and strength of the handles, giving as they do a comfortable grip and an ergonomically correct angle of attack for the blades, can only be achieved by the choice of wood from particular parts of the tree. Similarly Gardi 24 includes an illustration of a selection of wooden handled tools, one of which demonstrates the use of a carefully selected natural angle to provide a strong support for the metal blade I fig 2e/4 ) Fig 2e/3 also shows two European examples of the way in which naturally angled wooden handles may be used in the making of cutting tools. The material from which the cutting blade is fashioned has dictated very different forms of attachment, although the use 25 Above - John Joe 0 'Brien, Hurley maker. Note the grain direction on the selected timber (from Fitzgerald & 0 'Brien 1986) Below - a Bando stick ( displayed in the Museum ofWelsh Life ) fig 2e/2 n L H 'i'f, i, Primitive implements with naturally grown shafts top left - bronze age axe - Austria top right - stone age hoe - Portugal below - two copper adzes - Egypt 17th &18th Dynasties fig 2e/3 Some hand held cutting and shaping tools from central Africa, including one supremely elegant example of the use ofnatural growth forms fig 2e/4 of the natural wooden angle remains constant. Three Scandinavian examples of naturally shaped wooden tool handles are shown in fig 2e/S. Ranging in age from the thirteenth to the eighteenth centuries, these two augers and a hand saw again illustrate that this use of natural strength has been both widespread and of considerable duration, although neither the reciprocating action of sawing nor the twisting action of the auger exert such severe stress as do tools intended to chop or hammer. ( fig 2e/6 top) The compact form of this adze from the island of New Caledonia makes skilful use of timber from a particular section of the tree which has been split to accept the blade and then bound up to secure it. The mass of the wood gives added force to the blow, but the weight of the head precludes the use of a long handle. Originating from a very different, and far more technologically advanced society, the adze and the axe, shown in fig 2e/7, make use not of the wooden' knee " but of the gentle curvature found in many tree branches. The shafts of these mast makers tools, while giving the requisite strength and resilience, also distributed the considerable weight of the cutting blade equally around the point at which it would be held, thus reducing the strain on the craftsman's wrists. Less common but of interest nonetheless is the use of a naturally occurring bend to form the shaft of a wooden 'bitstock' (fig 2e/8 ). ( Sloane also shows, on pS6, a hand made oak plane which uses the stub of a branch to form the handle ). Thought to be similarly rare is an all wooden device described as a Rope Twister, on display in the Museum of Welsh Life. ( fig 2e/8) About 180mm overall long, this has been contrived from an appropriately C shaped section of very hard timber, through one end of which a small clamping post has been inserted. v) WEAPONS The simplest form of hand held wooden weapon is perhaps the club, depending merely upon a natural thickening in the branch or trunk to provide the heavy head required to deal an effective blow. This may be left as it has grown or, as in fig 2e/6 No 7, it may be carved in such a way as to present a smaller area of contact, the more effectively to crush skulls or bones. The head of the example shown is symmetrical, allowing it's effective use in any direction. 26 Above Two wooden auger handlesfrom Scandinavia, that on the left dating from the late viking period. The right hand auger is said to have been usedfor boring shingles Below The angle ofthe handle ofthis seventeenth century Swedish saw appears virtually identical to that ofmodern saws fig 2e/5 .! z>: 8 ..' ~: ,'- R" ...~ . ~"ll ... Hand held wooden weapons and an adze from New Caledonia making use ofnatural growth farms. Atlas to Captain Cook's voyage to the South Pacific 1772 /75 fig 2e/6 Adm d.re Requiring gently curving timber for their shafts, these tools are two ofthose usedfor mast making as illustrated in Steel's' Masting and Rigging' published in 1790 fig 2e17 - - ---- Above - . Some of the earliest (American bitstocks) were made of natural shaped roots or boughs. Oak and Hickory were most commonly used ' Sloan E (/ 964) Below - A Welsh device used in the hand twisting ofstraw or horse hair ropes on display in the Museum ofWelsh Life fig 2e/8 Other forms of club, made using naturally occurring 'knees', are intended for use in one direction only. In these cases a sharp edge or point, of metal or - if the wood used is sufficiently dense - carved from the solid may be provided. Examples of this type are shown, two from New Caledonia in the Southern Pacific ( fig 2e/6 numbers 6 & 8) and one from Oklahoma in the USA, ( fig 2e/9 ). A further weapon type which makes use of naturally occurring wooden forms - the catapult - has been familiar to British schoolboys over many generations. ( fig 2e/9 ). 21 AgricUlture For most ofthe time since the ancestors ofmodern humans diverged from the ancestors ofthe living great apes allhumans on earth fed themselves exclusivelybyhunting wild animals andgathering wildplants ....... It was only within the last 11,000years thatsome peoples turned to what is termed foodproduction; that is domesticating .... plants and eating the resulting .... crops J Diamond, Guns, Germs & Steel, Random House, London, 1998, p86 Since Mesolithic times, humanprogress has depended upon grubbing up and demolishing the trees with which much ofthe land had originally been covered. K Thomas, Man and the Natural World, Penguin Books, Harmondsworth, 1984, p 192 Agriculture depends to a considerable extent on breaking into the soil, and as man was surrounded from the beginning by the remnants of the trees he had been forced to uproot to clear this, it is not surprising that he should have taken advantage of the various wooden shapes which presented themselves. Forks and angles occur at a variety of sizes, and these have found many agricultural uses throughout the world. Examples of picks, the basic agricultural implement, are found in museums around the world. The National Museum of Ethnography in Osaka in Japan has a fine collection, examples of which are illustrated in fig 2f/ I. Some of the most primitive of their type, these implements consist entirely of wood. 27 from 'Still William ' by Richmal Crompton drawn by Thomas Henry 1925 Native American Indian warclub from Oklahoma USA 19th century fig 2e/9 Below left Three wooden agricultural picks made from naturally occurring forms. From Thai/and, they are exhibited in the Japanese National Museum ofEthnography Above right A metal bladed hoe or scraperfrom Angola, with naturally grown 'elbow' shaft. It seems probable that the blade is intended to be aligned horizontally rather than vertically fig 2f11 Whenever possible however, a more durable material is preferred for the sharp point or cutting edge, metal or stone being obvious possibilities. The Angolan example shown in fig 2fj 1,while still relatively primitive - does have a metal blade. The naturally occurring wooden angle has, however, been retained as an ingenious method of overcoming the problems of attachment to the shaft, of the angle of attack, and of two handed control. Used for breaking into and turning the soil, the plough ( used whenever sufficient power is available) has also frequently been constructed using either naturally occurring or human induced timber shapes. In it's least sophisticated form - the breast plough ( two mediaeval European examples are shown in fig 2fj2 ) - the blade is attached to the base of a single straight shaft, while at the top the 'breast plate' is supported on the arms of a natural fork. ( Examples of these primitive devices - dating from as late as the early nineteenth century - are to be found in the Museum of Welsh Life) This form of plough can only really remove the top surface of the soil, whereas when draught animals are available, a different form has evolved, figs 2fj2 also showing a European wooden framed plough. Those shown in 2fj3 originate from Asia. ( The practice of using natural knees and forks of timber in agricultural implements in rural Scotland and Ireland is confirmed in Kinmonth. ) 25 It is unclear how many of the shapes used are of natural origin, although it seems probable that - since the forms required would have been well known to the farmers, and the timber to be used would have been growing close by some human mrervention may well have been involved. ( It should be noted that the use of wood in the construction of these implements appears to have continued long after the development of suitable metal alternatives, suggesting that the advantages - perhaps cost of this material were still recognised up until less than a century ago.) Note that fig 2fj3 also shows an angled wooden yoke, presumably used in conjunction with these ploughs, whose form strongly suggests human intervennon. There is no doubt of man's Intervention in the case of at least two of the wooden pitchforks shown in figs 2fj4 & 5. With their long handle from which the tines spring at one 28 r r ! ! above European wooden breast ploughs Medieval below French wooden framed horse or ox drawn plough from the Bouch du Rhone region J9th century fig 2f/2 This right angled wooden yoke for oxen must surely have been grown to shape, as may the elegantly formed wooden ploughs in the foreground. Originating from Indonesia, these implements are in the collection of The Japanese National Museum ofEthnography, Osaka fig 2f/3 Grown pitchforks above (from Tanazania) Here two naturally grown elements have been skilfully bound together to form the six tined head. The shaft is a little over J200mm overall in length below An elegant four tined example on show in the Japanese National Museum of Ethnography in Osaka fig 2f/4 A grown pitchfork with three tines from the Picos de Europa region ofNorthern Spain, J997 fig 2f/5 end, these must be one of the most obvious forms of implement which can be improvised from largely natural growth. While in the case of the Tanzanian fork ( 2f/4 ) the original growth has been supplemented by the binding on of two further tines, the other examples are clearly the result of a concerted effort at production. Indeed, Seymour describes how in France ;- Little trees are pruned to leave three or four branches, cut when they are ready and taken to a factory near St Hyppo/yte du Garde. Here the handles are straightened if necessary by steaming and then sold to the local farmers. 26 In fact the practice is clearly still in operation in Northern Spain, since fig 2f/5 shows one of the two new examples brought back from there by the author in 1997. Here the local Sweet Chestnut ( Castanea sativa) is normally used, the growth of side shoots in opposite pairs making it eminently suitable. In Britain, examples of grown pitchforks exist in England ( in the outbuildings at the National Trust property of Erddig in Clwyd J and in Wales ( in the Museum of Welsh Life at Saint Fagans, Cardiff ) There is also evidence of the use of these forks in the USA, an example appearing in the 1991 film of Patricia Maclachlan's book Sarah Plain and Tall. Set on an impoverished farm in the mid - west in the 1920s, it would appear that such implements were commonplace. This form of pitchfork, besides being low in cost, has some distinct advantages over those with metal heads, particularly when used in the presence of animals or other humans, when the blunter wooden tines are less likely to inflict accidental wounds. All the problems of agricultural equipment faced by the early European settlers in North America must have been familiar to them, so perhaps they took the solutions with them. They were, at any rate, apparently adept at making use of the natural forks - at every scale - which surrounded them. Fig 2f/6 shows a small wooden' poke' devised for a goose and, at a much larger scale, a saw' horse' or ' tackle ', These could be used singly or in pairs, and were simple to dismantle and store when not required. 29 Two examples ofthe varied uses f ound for naturally occurring wooden forks North America 18th century A modern example'ofa traditional use for natural growth . Trees growing out from a hillside curve naturally to become vertical. Inverted. the trunk provides gatemakers with this useful shape. Isle ofWight 21st century fig 2f/6 Also shown in fig 2fj6, a modern example of a traditional use of the curved trunk developed by a tree growing on sloping ground. Although growing initially at right angles to the surface, the stem quickly changes direction to become vertical, producing the curved timber used here inverted to support the gate's diagonal brace. In contrast to these simple items, the horse drawn farm waggon - the commonly used form of agricultural transport up until the early years of the 20th century - evolved in Britain as in other countries into a highly sophisticated piece of wooden engineering. Of elaborate construction, these vehicles also relied for many of their components on the use of timbers the grain of which followed the form of the finished piece. Strength, reliability and durability were of the utmost importance, combined with the lightest possible weight, and the wheelwrights who built them were expert in the selection and conversion of suitable timber. Wheelwrights were not at all afraid of plenty of CUNes in their waggons and were most careful in the selection of suitable timber. This was particularly important in regard to the shafts for which the grain must 'follow through'. Timber would be noted in the forest, selected and put by for some part of the waggon. Equally was it important for the curved side frames of the body. 27 In detail, the design of the waggons from the different English and Welsh counties varied to suit the local conditions, and in describing the construction of the waggons of East Herefordshire, Arnold writes;- It was in the fore - carriage that the wheelwrights really let themselves go... The CUNes in all these members were complicated enough that only a diligent search in the ash - woods could have produced poles with the suitable natural CUNes ... 28 The pictures in figs 2fj7 & 8 show the construction of typical British farm waggons, the views from beneath in particular giving an indication of various of the members which would have required cutting from suitably curved timber. The undersides of the lightest ( Oxfordshire ) and the most robust ( Herefordshire ) types are illustrated from among the twenty four very different examples shown in Arnold ( 1969 ). 30 F,..-Ul ( 'It/~e.",u.t:s(.rd/"'U~ Al':_/.!. " : '.!J~/l" t Ii4r YNlNtztarmY blllut/:f6i"IC!t, HEREFORD WAGG ON (BmkPyM'amittui.fin'c1M',~) , , " _ 'l'J. - ree ortxk.\ ..~ ~ '::I Worm 's eye view oftwo typical 19th century British farm waggons, indicating the positions of naturally curved timbers, ' Wheelwrights were not at all afraid of plenty of curves in their waggons,and were most caref ul in the selection ofsuitable timber, . fig 2f/7 W ES T S H RO PS H I RE W EST I I E I\E FO R DS I I I RE These views oftwo 19th century British farm waggons illustrate both the elegant curvature typical oftheir bodies and the varied elbow and wishbone shapes ofthe wooden ' standards ' used to support the body sides. fig 2f/8 In addition to their use in the undercarriage, particular grown shapes were required from which to cut the various parts of the body. In particular these were required for the stays which supported the sides from sagging outwards when fully loaded. These normally took the form either of 'elbows' or of 'wishbones '. Both types are shown in fig 2f/8, the waggons originating in this case from West Shropshire and West Herefordshire. In his classic book on the subject The Wheelwrights Shop, George Sturt eloquently describes the skill with which the carefully selected logs were converted ;- Treeswere rarely crooked in more ways than one; and the object was so to open them that this one CUNe, this one crookedness, was preserved. To save it for long foreseen uses was probably the wheelwright's object: he had arranged the cross-cutting of the tree to take advantage of this CUNeo Thus, if a butt of ash had the shape of a waggon shaft, it was marked off the right length for that and then split from end to end so that there were two curved pieces, one on either side of the saw, suitable for shafts. 29 Similar to these waggons only in the fact that it was horse drawn, the simple agricultural heavy roller shown in fig 2f/9 also makes use of a naturally angled tree trunk which has been split in two to form the sides of the frame. 2g FURNITURE (This section is dividedgeographically) i} AFRICA African seats mayprove to be the source ofnew ideas that willhelp us revise and re-orientate the design ofourown household oofects in response to global economic andecologicalproblems. S Bocola, African Seats PrestelVerlag, Munich, J995, p6 In an area where trees grow profusely and quiCkly, it is unsurprising that man has taken advantage of the natural shapes that trees provide in fashioning not only his free standing furniture, but also the static items required for his regUlar meetings. The International Book of Wood describes how ;- 31 , The use ofnatural knees and natural forks oftimber both in Scotland and Ireland, was common in rural areas in housebuilding, domestic implements and agricultural implements such as ploughs ' Kinmonth fig 2f/9 Many West African societies, for example, plant large - leafed trees ( usually of the ficus family J to provide shade for their elders' meetings. The trunks and protruding roots are gradually trimmed and worn down to provide comfortable seats and back rests, and the living tree becomes the villages' main item of furniture. 30 Alternatively natural growth may be used as a starting point, to be added to as required, as below;- The natural characteristic of trees to throw out branches at an angle to the main stem is utilised in many ways. Among the Acholi and other Sudanese groups, forked branches form the uprights for sleeping hut platforms; a simple bed is made by fastening cross - pieces in the forks. 31 ( see also under Australia, page 44 J In the Equatorial regions - typically in Zaire - a variety of couches, stools and back and neck-rests have traditionally been devised without the need forjoints, by the use of particular portions of tree trunk or root. A relatively cumbersome and crude example is shown at the top in fig 2g/ 1, the major area of contact having been carved flat for some slight increase in comfort. Further, marginally more elegant examples from the Sudan, are on display in The American Museum of Natural History in New York. Two, more sophisticated - and adaptable - examples are shown in fig 2g/2, the majority of the substantial trunk here having been carved away leaving branch stumps to form the legs. As indicated, the upper stool may be tipped forward to form a back-rest. The back rest-formed from a naturally grown configuration of branches or roots and generally used in conjunction with a carved stool or a low hammock like bed - appears in a variety of forms in Zaire. This item of furniture, providing support with minimal contact area, ranges from the relatively simple pieces shown in use in fig 29/ I, to the elegantly decorated and sophisticated example belonging to a tribal chief, in figs 2g/3. The rich decoration, transforming a relatively simple item into an object with considerable presence, has been achieved by the use of copper wire, iron nails, or a combination of these. Generally the tribe's most prized possession, these items may have political, psychological and religious connotations ;- 32 ---_.._-----_... ..... .-- . above .A pygmy oJthe EJe in Zaire, smoking as he lounges on a semi-reclining chair made from a tree root. ' below a three legged seat (centre) and a backrest (left) devised from naturally occuring tree roots. Zaire, 1905 fig 2g/1 Two partially carved Af rican stools, both from natural growth. Above, from Tanzania, may be tippedf orward to form a backrest. Below, from Kenya, may be used as a stool or a headrest fig 2g/2 A naturally grown, highly decorated backrestfrom the Wele district oflvfangbetu in Zaire. Copper wire and iron nails have been used to embellish the form fig 2g/3 Among the Asante in Ghana, for example, a stool was not simply an object to be used by anyone at any time. It was the absolutely personal possession of its owner and regarded as the seat of his soul. For this reason the owner, when not using his stool, would always lay it on its side, so that no one neither man nor spirit - might use it and thus pollute it. 32 ii) THE SOUTH PACIFIC ISLANDS On the Islands of the South Pacific such as Papua New Guinea, naturally forked branches have - as in Africa - been used as minimal seats. In the case illustrated in fig 2g/4 however, the decoration has been achieved by caNing and painting. iii) DYNASTIC EGYPT In general, our knowledge of the wooden furniture used in Egypt during this period depends either on items found in the various tombs ( mostly of the Pharaohs or other high ranking members of society) discovered relatively recently, or on the wall paintings which remain. Although a great deal of this furniture was broadly rectilinear in form, that found in the tomb of Tutankhamen ( 1334 - 1325 BC ) in particular' differs from earlier work in its predilection for the CUNe ' and many pieces have' frames and stretchers deeply curved by some process of bending the wood, or by cutting it on a CUNe, or by the use of specially grown timber. ' 33 Furniture used by the less privileged has survived only rarely, and is in any case thought to have been limited in variation and quantity. One of the most common of these items appears to have been the archetypal three legged stool, illustrated as being widely used by seated craftsmen, and an example of which ( dating from the 18th dynasty of 1567 - 1320 BC ) is to be found in The British Museum in London ( see fig 2g/5). This example consists of a dished circular seat, about 75mm thick at the point where the legs are driven through, and three outwardly curvinq slightly spatulate legs. The grain of these legs follows their curvature. and it is these components which are of interest here. (This leg shape is of considerable importance, combining as it does the spreading of the base triangle to reduce tipping, reduced interference with the users legs, reduced tendency to dig into the prevailing soft floors, and perhaps a degree of flexibility for greater comfort. ) 33 A carved and decorated three legged stool of natural growth, collected in 1900 from Goarieari in the GulfofPapua New Guinea fig 2g/4 Although it is thought that the technique of steam bending was known at this time, being used in the production of archers bows, Ostergard considers it unlikely that such a sophisticated and expensive technique would have been used for such humble and crudely jointed items as these, saying that the t โ€ขโ€ขโ€ขcorrespondence of the grain of the wood with the form of the leg could have been achieved through the selection of timber grown into this curvature, ' 34 Expert opinion is divided on the method of production of the timber for these legs, but since it is agreed that the stool was a widely used item, and since timber for the legs would therefore have been required in some quantity, it seems not unreasonable to suggest that this may well have been preformed during growth, perhaps by the simple expedient of hanging weights onto growing branches. Another comparatively commonly used item of furniture at this time was the four legged bed, and while the elaborate versions used be the wealthy were constructed in what to us are relatively conventional ways, at least one example of the use of natural wooden angles for these structures has survived. Known as the' Berlin' bed, ( fig 2g/5 ) it makes ingenious use of four components and requires only four joints. On a smaller scale Baker, discussing the wooden angle braces widely used to strengthen the joints between legs and rails on many contemporary pieces, says ' ...since quite a good many of such pieces were used, it is possible that the naturally curved pieces available were supplemented by pieces of wood grown into shape.: 35 iv) ANCIENT GREECE & THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN As with Egyptian furniture, our knowledge of the forms of furniture used in ancient Greece relies on written descriptions ( see preface ), graphical representations such as the paintings found on ceramics, or on stone carvinqs. Sadly, no actual examples of this furniture are known to exist. The well known' Klismos ' chair ( fig 2g/6 ) described by Liversidge in Hayward's World Furniture as ' the favourite type of chair in the home', 36 emerged in the 5th century BC It was comfortable, light, and easily portable, and such was the elegant curvature of the front legs that the grain of the timber must certainly have followed this form. Again opinions are divided as to how this shape may have been achieved, Ostergard speculating that 'curved legs could .... be achieved by employing wood that had either 34 above Three legged Egyptian stool ofthe 18th dynasty, on show in The British Museum in London below The dynastic Egyptian 'Berlin' bed which, by the use offour naturally occuring angles requires only four morticedjoints fig 2g/5 A 1970 reproduction ofthe Klismos chair by Terrance Robsjohn - Gibbings fig 2g/6 grown naturally into an approximation of the necessary curvature or were artificially trained to do so: 37 Steam bending has been put forward as a possibility, although doubt has been expressed as to the reliability of steam bent legs over a period of time, since it is known that unless held securely in place, such components may tend to move. From the apparently accurate 1970 reconstruction of the form ( based on a well known carved gravestone of Hegeso of 400 Be I it can be clearly seen that the projecting' beak' at the top of the front leg would have been extremely vulnerable, had not the grain followed through at this point. It can therefore be reasonably argued that, components for a poputar form of chair being required to be reliably available in some quantity, there is some likelihood that a system of supply involving trained natural growth may well have been set up. There is historic evidence that the adoption of three legged furniture as a solution to the problem of uneven floors was not confined to Egypt but was, in fact Widespread. Nor, it seems, was the problem confined to the less affluent areas of society. Discoveries in 1956 and 1957 at Gordion the capital of ancient Phrygia ( now Turkey I revealed the contents of several important tombs. The largest of these, believed at one stage to be that of King Midas of the 'Golden Touch' contained - among other things - the remains of several fine three legged tables. Fig 2g/7 shows reconstructions of both the more simple and the very elaborate' Pagoda' tables, and as can be seen in both cases, the bottom ends of the legs CUNe dramatically outwards, presumably as an aid to stability. The grain of the wood follows the CUNeof the legs, suggesting that they were bent before shaping, although it is possible that naturally curved pieces of timber had been made use of. 38 As in the case of the Klismos chairs, it seems questionable whether steam bent legs would have proved sufficiently reliable, particularly for use in such prestigious items for use in what appears to have been a Royal Palace.Again naturally or artificially grown curved timber would seem to provide a more likely solution. v] THE BRITISH ISLES / ENGLAND The fashion for' Rustic' furniture and decor which swept through the affluent sections of British society in the mid 18th century had, not too surprisingly, relatively little to 35 '< Drawings of two examples ofthe three legged tables found in the ' Royal ' tomb at Gordion in what is now Turkey. In all cases the legs curve dramatically outwards towards the foot. the wood grain following the curve. 72/ - 705 BC From Baker (/966) fig 2g/7 do with the actual use of naturally grown forms. It was, in fact largely fired by a growing European taste for the flamboyant combined with a fascination for' The East '. The laborious Chinese practice of excavating contorted sections of tree root which were then elaborately combined in the form of furniture ( fig 2g/8 ), was perhaps introduced to the British public by an enterprising sea captain returning with a cargo of spices. In any event the concept of 'Rustic' appearance caught on to such an extent that over the next two decades, all the foremost British and European designers included interpretations of this style in their Directories - typically Thomas Chippendale in 1759 - 62, Robert Manwaring in 1765 and later Matthew Darley ( figs 2g/9 -11 ). Indeed, so durable was the fashion that Johann Gottfried Grohmann featured examples of the style in his directory of 1805 ( fig 2g/1 2 ) and at least one elaborately carved Rustic chair was exhibited at the Great Exhibition of 1851. By this time of course, the coming of the Industrial Revolution had made possible the mass production of elaborate' Rustic' style pieces in other materials such as cast iron and even ceramic! ( fig 2g/1 3 ) How many of the pieces shown in the directories did, or were intended to, incorporate actual natural components, and how many could only have been achieved by the use of elaborately carved simulations, in many cases remains open to question. ( The simulation shown in fig 2g/ 14 shows the lengths to which it was possible to go. ) In some instances however, the intention is clear. In fig 2g/9 the root chair and the table below it are clearly intended to have been totally fabricated from natural growth, whereas the canopied chair and the table in fig 2g/1 0 combine man made elements with the natural. In the case of Robert Manwaring's chairs illustrated in fig 2g/ 11, the interpretation was left open to the craftsman, although items such as rocks, grass and flowers can hardly have been other than carved. Owing nothing to this world of high fashion, one of the commonest types of English country chair ( having a solid wooden seat and turned legs,) has frequently made use of naturally occurring wooden CUNes in the making of the arm bow. In general these bows are composed of a single growth which has been halved and SUbsequentlyjointed at the centre, a degree of symmetry being thus ensured. 36 Undoubtedly constructed oftree roots, these 18th century chairs serve to demonstrate the possibility ofconstructing useable furniture in this way. OfChinese origin fig 2g/8 above; a chair ofapparently natural growth from Edwards & Darly 's 1754 ' A New Book ofChinese Designs ' below; an anonymous 18th century design for a rustic table, to be carefully constructed using naturally grown branches fig 2g/9 A rustic chair and table from ' A New Book ofChinese Designs ' by Edwards & Darly 1754. In these examples, carefully constructedframes and upholstery are combined with apparently natural growth fig 2g/1 0 Four ofRobert Manwarin g 's designs for Rural chairs from ' The Cabinet & Chair Makers Real Friend and Companion ' of1765. It was suggested that these could be made either by carving, or by a combination ofcarving and the incorporation ofsuitable natural growth fig 2g/11 ~" o-l!:..... ~. ::;-_ . - 'l. /.' ~I , โ€ข, I !:?OAry'V, :1: = .. , . &~"-~ ~, ', .,dfo~t(',,ยท /",,,,,i, ยฃ r fยป 8 .2.f.2. 8 .2.f.3 . 8 .2.f. 4. 8.2.f5. ~ 1(1(1 r?f11(1 (lr1f4Yf1 8.2ยท9.1ยท 8.2.9.2. 8. 2.9.3. 8 .2.9.4. - . f (1f(1 (11(1 rf0 8.2.9.5 8.2.9. 6 8 .2ยท9ยท7. 8 .2.9.8. ' ~ 'r" r"\~ '7 (1~ 1'''''''1( , . , ... .....'. 1 1(1i 1 The many varieties ofTuareg tent were covered with either skins or mats.The wooden supporting frames fo r those covered with mats made extensive use ofnaturally fo rked uprights North Africa / Sahara fig 21< E o E cent r es .. . . . c e n t r e s .c> I ~i-" " ; '" '" pl ant ing + + fig 4(/ I GROWNup E E o "'... )( o 0. 0. '" E E co '" '" " '"c " "" '" o "0 s: "s: '" e 380 mm p~nandel,,",:eat 2 . design . non of proposedw ,[/1approximate d. expenmental scale I : 5ยท imensions i- s a_a_I_d_i_a_m_e__I a_r_ 3 5 0 m m i =rt --Jrl,-=-.," -r=: p l a n tin q centr es .!! t: '"u t o 'ยง 6 + fig 4(/2 ecologically benign ( although the canes would almost certainly have been imported ). Experimentation showed however that the difficulty of constructing identical durable versions of such a frame, particularly in view of the unevenness of the ground at a typical growing site, would be considerable. It was therefore decided to revert to a type of jig whose structure, while requiring the use of less desirable materials and processes, would provide the required integral strength and repeatability, and would stand reliably on uneven ground. (Eventually of course, thejig itself could be grown.) To be cut from 4mm WBP plywood, the final design ( drawings Nos 52J/Ol ,02,03 ) consists of a three sided pyramid with projecting' ears' at its apex, to which is attached a horizontal member to ensure that the seat supporting arms are horizontal and regularly spaced. The serpentine path to be followed by each growing sapling is traced out in pairs of holes, bored to accept the required ties, with the points at which grafts are to be made cut away to allow access. The faces are joined by a slotted tab at the foot ( the V thus formed accurately locating the position of each sapling) and by wire ties at the mid and upper points. The horizontal top member issimilarly located by tabs through slots which are secured by wooden dowels. Since it was realised that this structure would become imprisoned within the frame when fully grown, and it was hoped that thesejigs might be re-used, each of the faces consists of two overlapping halves, held together by a single weatherproof nut and bolt. An initial batch of twenty suchjigs were produced. In view of the difficulty of planting the young saplings accurately, a further' planting jig' was devised ( drwg No 52J/04). Having dug out the holes required to plant the saplings, this jig can be placed on the undisturbed ground in the centre of the site and the slots in its extremities used as guides to position the young plant stems before' firming up '. 4d The Experimental Sites i) SHINFIELD (site 1) Having established the experimental structure, it was necessary to obtain the use of a convenient site on which to experiment, and for this purpose the School of Plant Sciences at Reading University was approached in late 1995. Having had the proposal outlined to them, it was agreed that a suitable area could be made available on one of the University's 90 finished SEAT 2 structure NB the faces of the jig may be assembled overlapping clockwise I as was the case for the structure above J or ant/clockwise I as shown rig ht I overlapping upper & lower parts of each face secured by removable fiXing to allow dis mantlin g and removal of jig from w ithin grown structure slot at the base of each component fits over lobe on adjoining foot slots in top panel locate ove r lobes on vertical member: secured by wooden dowels three faces laced together at mid and upper points using w ire ties 4mm thick. material from whi ch components are cut is left to the growers discretion . As show n the jig is designe d to allow it to be dismanded from w ithin the grown structure. t afterapproximately five yea" J. and jf In good condition to be reused. Early experimentshave used 4mm marine ply. treated with tw o coats of ( uprinol preservative GROWNup rurruture Seat 2 growing jig general arrangement S2J /01 scale : full size1112 drwg J date : 27 . 11.97 dra~nbY :~. one of a set of four drawings gMng full size derails of components necessety to constructthejig Christopher Cattle CksROIMCSD 43 East saint Helen Street Abingd on Oxtordsrure OX14 SEE 0 1235 - 524 307 bore to accep t weather resistant bolt used to locate &secure upper and low er ________ j ig race components I M6 nylon nuts & ------ bolts used ro secure car number plates or slmHar recommended J lower faceJig components slot together at fOOL 3m m dla hole to accept w ire tie _______ โ€ข locates upper f lower j ig race componenets. secu res: adja cent faces to each orner shaded area Ind icates outline of upper face ji g component wh en fixed Into position ties used to train saplings to shape dunng early gro wt h pass through 5mm dia pairs of hole, at I 5mm centres 4mm thick rnarerta t from which components are cut is left to the growersdiscretion. As shown the jig Is design ed to allow it to be dismantled from within the grown structure. I after approximaceJy INe years I. and if in good COndition to be reused Eartyexperiments have used 4mm marine ply. treated WIth tw o coatsof Cuprinol preservaave GROWNup furnllure Seat 2 grow ing j ig lower face component S2J / 02 scale : fUll size I A2 drwg I date' 15.11.97 drawn by : -:Q].; to/) Plate ~~ \rties used [0 train sap lings to shape during earty growthpass th roug h Smm dla pa irs of holes at 15mm cent res shaded area indicate s position of lower face component bore to accept w eather resistant bolt used {a locate & secure upper and lower jig face components I M6 nylon nuts & bolesused to I secure car number plates or similar recommended , w idth of slots to allow easy fit over lugs on uppe r fa ce compo ne nts ----}. - - --- ,fr- ( -- : J \ \ \ / I / dare . 25 11.97 GROWNup (urnlllUe scale : Fu llsize r112drwg I drawn by : CQ}4t::. . planting positioning guide S2J / 04 Seat 2 growing jig one of a setof four drawings giving full Jize aetsasof componems necessary to construct the j ig Christopher Cattle DesRCA Meso 43 East Saint Helen Street Abingdon Oxfc rdsrnre OX 14 SEE '""0 "'." d '\ ~ '<> ')c. '3- '~, '~.; ////// . (,e(\u.e~ "",ee0