HARDWOOD RECORD 



Death of W. G. Van Auken. 



W. G. Van Anken. of tile well-known lumber 

 and flooring manufacturing house of Bliss & 

 Van Auken. Saginaw. Mich., died at Tawas 

 Beach, Mich., on June 23. The Immediate cause 

 of his death was a paralytic stroke : he suffered 

 from .similar atacks about three years ago. 



Mr. Van Auken's health commenced to decline 

 in 1905 as a result of overwork, but he man- 

 fully struggled along with his various business 

 enterprises until a very recent date. Accom- 

 panied by his family he went from his home 



to 'J'awji.s Iteach a few we<.'ks ago. and appar- 

 ently his condition was much improved: It was 

 hoped by his friends that a long rest would 

 completely restore his health. 



The death of Mr. Van Auken causes wide- 

 spread regret not only in the Saginaw Valley 

 but throughout a large portion of the lumber 

 world, in which he was well known. "Van." 

 as ho was affectionately called by his hosts of 

 friends, was not only a man of marked ability 

 In lumber affairs, hut in applied mechanics as 

 well. He had a most charming personality and 

 perhaps a wider circle of fast friends than any 

 other lumberman In the state of Michigan. 



The writer must needs quote In loving re- 

 membrance the words of "Good-by :" 

 "Just a word, ere you go. old friend. 



Just a word, ere the oarsmen bend. 



An« your boat speeds out on the unknown 



Whose further shorn l<! Kternlty. 



T'"'" "I iTi,.i-.. ri.Mi ■■'<'7l»il' head, 



''■•■I ' III has lied. 



'>'"' ' ' •■ old smile 



Straight to thr luui. ul Uic «.c:il. white throne 

 Where the Master waits to claim his own: 

 Christ: He good to him to the end. 

 For he was a friend — a friend— a friend '." 



Consumption of Barrels. 



Upwards of 1.-.ii,immi.iiipii barrels and circular 

 packages arc nianufacured In the United States 

 annually. Few people realize the extenalvenesg 

 of the cooperage Industry In this country. 



The heaviest demand comes from the cement 

 business. The flour bu.siness ranks next, closely 

 followed by sugar. ContalnerH for fence staples, 

 bolts, nuts, nails, and packages for roasted 

 colfee. spices. cro<'kery. fruits and vegetables. 



follow in the order named, while glass manu- 

 facturers, baking powder companies, liquor dis- 

 tillers, and candy, tobacco and cheese packers 

 are big users of barrels. The demand for bar- 

 rels for molasses, oil, lard and pork is also 

 enormous, while dry paint, glue, snuff, oatmeal. 

 screws, castings and general hardwood articles 

 annually increase the demand on the cooperage 

 supply. 



While the amount of expenditure for barrels 

 can he quite closely estimated for a given year, 

 it is not possible to say how many barrels are 

 in actual use. The life of a barrel is put down 

 at one year by the trade, but this Is far from 

 true. A majority of barrels are used many 

 times. They begin as sugar or flour barrels, 

 and are then sold to the farmer for shipping 

 his produce to the market. It may be that they 

 are returned to bim several times, carrying 

 I>otatoes to the market on the tirst trip, and 

 tobacco or lettuce on the next, each cargo 

 being lighter In weight than the previous one. 

 owing to the weakened condition of the barrel. 

 Finally the barrel may serve out Us life work 

 as a refuse receptacle, and In the end can be 

 used for fuel. Thus, Is may be said that a 

 li:irrcl has as useful a career as almost any 

 oGier manufactured article, and Its life Is much 

 longer than a season. 



The demand for barrels Is steadily growing 

 because modern machinery has made It possible 

 !■> make them for the trade cheaper than al- 

 most any other form of durable package. That 

 It is the most convenient form of package has 

 long been acknowledged. The timber used In 

 tight barrels has to be selected with care, ns 

 It must not only be water tight, but barrels 

 for the oil, whiskey and paint trades In addi- 

 tion must be capable of resisting high internal 

 liressure. The lumber used for this work must 

 be carefully selected, tirat cured by slow air 

 ilrying tjnder shelter being the most satisfac- 

 tory, 



Bailroads and Wood Preservation. 



The recent action by the iHiard of directors of 

 the American liallway Knglneerlng and Mainte- 

 nance of Way Association In appointing a com- 

 mittee of seventeen to Investigate and report 

 upon the subject of wood preservation lias shown 

 that the practical railroad men of the country 

 recognize the importance of taking steps to con- 

 serve the rapidly diminishing timber supply of 

 the United States. 



Timber Is one of the principal materials pur- 

 chased by the railroads and Its economical use Is 

 a suljject of far reaching Importance. .More than 

 KKi.tmu.uoo cross ties arc used annually by the 

 different railroad companies, and their average 

 life In this country is not more than six or seven 

 years. From a study of European methods, and 

 the knowledge of wood preservation under condi- 

 tions In this country, Umber testing engineers 

 say It is reasonably certain that an average life 

 of from fifteen to twenty years may be secured 

 by treating the tie with a good preservative and 

 the u.se of improved devices for the prevention 

 of mechanical abrasion, thus to a large degree 

 diminishing the drain upon the timber supply. 



While the quantity of timber used for ties Is 

 very great and the problem of a future supply 

 is a .serious (jne, yet this class of timber Is not 

 the only one which should receive consideration. 

 A greater length of service from timber now 

 used by railroads for bridges, trestles, piles, 

 fences and transmission poles Is greatly to be 

 desired. 



A. I,. Kuehn, engineer of track and roadway, 

 Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago &. St. Louis rail- 

 way. Is chairman of this special Wood preserva- 

 tion Committee and C. G. Crawford, specialist 

 Ii> wood pr. servation, Vnlted States Forest Serv- 

 ice, Is Its vice-chairman. The first meeting was 

 held In Chicago the early part of last month for 

 the purpose of organizing and deciding upon a 

 plan of work. The committee was divided into 

 four sub-cemmlltees to lake up the following 



lines of work : Statistics and economics, O. 

 Chaunte, consulting engineer, Chicago, 111., chair- 

 man ; preservatives and specifications, II. von 

 Schrenk. consulting timber engineer, St. Louis, 

 Mo., chairman : adaptability of woods and their 

 preparation. W. K. Ilatt. civil engineer, Forest 

 Service, Lafayette. Ind.. chairman : treating 

 processes. C. G. Crawford, specialist In wood 

 preservation. Forest Service, Washington, D. C, 

 chairman. 



This American Railway Engineering and Main- 

 tenance of Way Association now consists of 

 about 900 members representing 200,000 miles of 

 railroad track and Including among Its member- 

 ship the leading railroad engineers of the coun- 

 try. The object of the association Is the ad- 

 vancement of knowledge pertaining to the scien- 

 tific and economical construction, operation and 

 maintenance of railroads. The method employed 

 to obtain this Information Is through standing 

 committees appointed by a board of directors. 

 Kach committee is appointed to investigate a 

 i^peclal subject and to report at each annual 

 meeting, presenting the results of Its Investiga- 

 tion, followed by recommendations which are 

 published In "The Manual of Uocomended Prac- 

 tice," after they have been adopted by the as- 

 sociation. 



Lumber Production in the Lake States. 



The hike states, one of the greatest forest 

 regions that ever contributed to the lumbering 

 activities of any country, are rapidly failing 

 behind In limber production, according to a 

 statement Just issued by the Bureau of the 

 Census. 



Statistics concerning the annual output of 

 forest products, collected by the bureau In co- 

 operation with the Vnlted States Forest Serv- 

 ice, from more than 2,100 saw-mill operators 

 In Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota — the big 

 three — have shown that the cut last yeor was 

 only 5,."i5n,000,000 feet of lumber, a big pile, 

 yet twelve per cent less than the cut of the 

 preceding year. 



The heavy Inroads made by the exploitation 

 of the timber resources of the large lumber 

 states on the tireat I^kes have been too much 

 for the forests and the amount available for 

 cutting Is getting lower each year. The de- 

 cadence of the lumbering industry In this re- 

 gion Is forcefully Illustrated In the drop In the 

 white pine cut during the past ten years. 

 Michigan's forests of this valuable tree were 

 the richest In the world and were often said 

 to be Inexhaustible. The folly of such a state- 

 ment Is shown by the report that the cut of 

 white pine In Michigan last year was only one- 

 fourth of what it was in 1899. only eight years 

 before. 



In lumbering the forests no thought was 

 given to anything but immediate money returns, 

 and consequently the countless flres running 

 over the land, after the timber was stripped, 

 have killed young growth over wide areas and 

 greatly impoverished the soil. Now, 0,000,000 

 acres, or nearly one-sixth of the state of Mich- 

 igan, known as the "pine barrens." have been 

 thrown on the delinquent lax list and arc a 

 burden to the people. fnder proper forest 

 management this land would have been pro- 

 ducing timber today. Between 1.S99 and last 

 year the white pine production fell off near 

 ns much In Wisconsin as In Michigan. i 

 Minnesota, the state which now contains i 

 largest amount of virgin white pine, the i 

 crease In the some iierlod was nearly •■<•■ 

 third. 



Taking the three states together, pine ■ ' 

 stituted nearly forty-six per cent of the i ' 

 lumber production In 1907. hemlock n little m 

 than twenty-seven per cent and maple ten i 

 cent, the balance being made up mostly 

 basswood. birch, tamarack, elm, beech, oak. 

 spruce, ash, and cedar. In the order given. The 

 pine Is mostly white and norwnv. which are 



