HARDWOOD RECORD 



city state that they had one of the largest tides 

 last week at their Farmers plant they have had 

 this season. The heavy rainfall in the head- 

 waters of Licking river caused a sudden rise in 

 the river, bringing with its logs In such num- 

 bers that it was impossible for the log crews 

 lo boom the logs. It was necessary to jam 

 the river, forming a gorge, in order that they 

 might save the popl.ir and oak timber. The 

 gorge was near Farmers, and extenilpd over a 

 mile up the river, with b»gs jiiloil six to ten 

 deep, the total number over tliiity thousand. 

 The company have uigbt and day ciews working 

 on the logs in order to get the gorge cleaned 

 up as soon as possible, as there are a number 

 of raftsmen above this point waiting until they 

 can go down the river with logs they have 

 for various firms below Farmers and Cincinnati. 



W. E. Berger of the W. H. Dawkins Lumber 

 Company of this city has returned from his 

 western trip with several nice orders, and he 

 reports that business shows a great improvement 

 over sixty days ago. 



Lewis Doster of Nashville, Tenn., secretary of 

 the Hardwood Manufacturers' Association, was 

 in town several days this week calling on the 

 various large mill operators here and in Coal 

 Grove and Ironton. O. Mr. Doster stopped off 

 here from an eastern trip, having visited Phil- 

 adelphia, Washington and other points. He 

 believes that there exists generally a much bet- 

 ter feeling among the northern and eastern lum- 

 bermen, and, judging from the low stocks of 

 the consuming trade and the enormous curtail- 

 ment in manufacture of lumber, that before long 

 there will be good demand for all hardwoods. 

 Mr. Doster leaves the city Saturday for Colum- 

 bus, where he will visit prominent lumbermen 

 of that city and meet J. V. Hill, chief inspector 

 of the association. 



The R. G. Page Lumber Company of this city 

 reports the receipt of some desirable orders for 

 bill oak and oak ties in the past week at the 

 right prices. Inquiries continue to increase and 

 more orders are being received on quotations 

 than any previous month of 190S. This com- 

 pany has the contract to furnish all the ties 

 for the new street car railway being constructed 

 in one of the northern cities in Michigan. 



The Standard Planing Mill Company of this 

 city reports the receipt of a nice line of con- 



tracts for furnishing building material this sea- 

 son for several new houses to be built in this 

 and neighboring cities. Under the management 

 of J. B. Kitchen this firm is doing a thriving 

 business with a good outlook before it. 



The Yellow Poplar Lumber Company of Coal 

 Grove, O., continues to operate its double band 

 mill full time, manufacturing some fine poplar 

 lumber. Its large planing mills are busy get- 

 ting out supplies of poplar interior finish, bev 

 eled siding, moulding, etc. This firm makes a 

 specialty of the finished products made from 

 poplar and report business Improving. The word 

 "improve"' is certainly encouraging to the busi- 

 ness man in general, and is a good indication 

 of a steady and sure return to normal business. 



J. F. Daniel, a <'atlettsburg timber merchant, 

 was in t.-un ihi- vv.ri; Mr. Daniel advises that 

 the tinil- n ,1^ been active for the past 



few week . wi.il :.;i_i amounts of oak and poplar 

 were sold lu lUt CaUettsburg market, some of 

 the timber, especially poplar, being of the finest 

 quality. 



Vansant. Kitchen & Co. continue to operate 

 iheir double band mill, manufacturing poplar 

 lumber. Charles Kitchen, secretary of the con- 

 cern, i.s a candidate for nomination as congress- 

 man from this district. 



J. H. P. Smith, president of the Hardwood 

 Lumber Company, has returned from a western 

 trip with some good orders. Mr. Smith says 

 he found the consuming trade with a very lim- 

 ited amount of stock on hand, which is sure 

 indication of an increased business in a short 



The W. IT. Dhv 

 lipping in. Ill ii- 



Lumber 1 



Virgin! 



again 

 ju the 



Gu; 



they 



account of ree.ni ' :^'. ,\ m.", i.iiiim- tlie rail- 

 road out of II. mn 1 '.> II I ', iiiv spent 



several days ai 1 >i-:ii \ c. He 



advises they will b>-ni ■ i^'iaiiii,, .i,_.iin in a 

 very short time. The lumber mauufactured at 

 this mill is principally hemlock, with some hard- 

 wood, mostly oak and chestnut, and a small 

 amount of poplar. 



Leon Isaacson of Brooklyn, N. Y., vice-presi- 

 dent of the Yellow Poplar Lumber Company, 

 Coal Grove. O.. is spending several days in Coal 

 Grove and vicinity. 



Hardwood Market. 



(By HABD'WOOO BECOBD Exclusive Market Kepoiters.) 



Chicago. 



The average Chicago hardwood jobber reports 

 business only about fifty per cent of what it was 

 a year ago. Building operations in this market 

 have not ceased by any means : in fact, there is 

 still great activity, especially in the construction 

 of flat buildings. The furniture people are com- 

 plaining that their trade is only about half iliat 

 of a year ago and their purchases are restii. i. il 

 to the hand-to-mouth variety. There are -. ua 

 Chicago jobbers who are making large contiaaix 

 tor future delivery of mill cuts, believing that 

 with the restricted output and a comparatively 

 small amount of lunaber in sight they can make 

 handsome earnings later on purchases at present 

 prices. There is very little railroad business be- 

 ing booked at the present time, but it is believed 

 that there will be some large orders from this 

 source within a f^w weeks. 



Boston. 



There has been very little improvement in the 

 demand here during the past fortnight, although 

 dealers are optimistic and are talking about bet- 

 ter business before long. New business is not 

 evenly distributed. One dealer reports a larger 

 April trading than he had a year ago, while 

 others say it was one of the slowest months for 

 new business they have ever experienced. Few 

 buyers are willing to anticipate their wants 



even though they realize they can buy at lower 

 prices now than when business gets a fair start, 

 How long it will be before general business im- 

 proves enough to develop a normal demand for 

 hardwood is an open question. Many dealers 

 believe trading will become more active Inside 

 of two months, while others put the date of 

 a. ii\a lai^iiie-^s (iff for several months at least. 



1 .iii-nnniiu manufacturers are not busy. Piano 

 iiiaiMitai MM r> ii.ive been running on short time 

 an. I lia\.. ii.'.-ii slow buyers of materials. Furni- 

 ture plants have been operated on part time. 

 The demand for veneers has therefore suffered. 

 .\t present the manufacturers of veneers have 

 rather large stocks, but prices in most instances 

 are well held. Veneers of white holly are 

 selling well for export and these are coming 

 in for more attention in this market. 



The call f..i- .iiiart.rrd oak is not heavy, but 

 pric.'.s a I" \. IV \v.ll li.lil. Offerings of desirable 

 stock trim mill- .11. n..t large and dealers pre- 

 dict liiglii r priias as s,.nn as the demand war- 

 rants an advance. Plain oak continues in free 

 offering and prices show but little strength. The 

 call for basswood is moderate. Birch and • 

 maple move slowly. Ash is fairly well held. 

 Whitewood has not gone off in price as much as 

 many of the other woods. At preseut it can be 

 purchased at lower prices tliau it could the first 

 of the year. Cypress is still unsettled, although 



during the past week it seems that mills are 

 coming a little nearer together on prices. The 

 same is true of North Carolina pine. Some 

 kinds of mahogany are easier than they were, 

 and dealers have been fair buyers in primary 

 markets at the decline. 



New Yoik. 



While the hardwood trade so far as consump- 

 tion is concerned continues irregular, there are 

 nevertheless Increasing indications of a slow but 

 steady improvement all along the line. So far 

 as high-grade hardwood stocks are concerned, 

 the market seems quite satisfactory. There are 

 some offerings on presumably standard stocks 

 at off prices, but these sales are being found 

 by buyers to represent manipulated grades to an 

 extent which is .benefiting the straight-grade 

 shippers. Well manufactured hardwoods in the 

 higher grades are holding their own, while sup- 

 Ijlies are not sufficient to create much tendency 

 toward price concession. 



In low-grade stock the manufacturing trade is 

 picking up some, and the movement is consider- 

 ably better all along the line. There is every 

 indication that the tendency of the market from 

 now on will be toward improvement. 



Yard stocks are low, and on many items deal- 

 ers are sailing pretty close to the wind. This 

 attitude is being taken through the assumption 

 that prices may show a further easing off, but 

 as this idea is being rapidly dispelled there cer- 

 tainly should be an increased volume of buying 

 during the late spring and summer. Taken as a 

 whole, while the volume of trade could be con- 

 siderably better, there is nevertheless little in 

 the hardwood situation to cause anxiety. The 

 most active stocks are ash, chestnut, plain oak 

 and poplar, with a fair sprinkling of orders for 

 the other woods. Quartered oak is also stiffen- 

 ing in demand and prices, and with any material 

 incret.se in the consumption of hardwoods, prices 

 should show a sympathetic advance because of 

 the general conditions governing supplies. 



Philadelphia. 



.\lthough there is but a slight release from the 

 tension of continued dull times to chronicle, the 

 feeling as to the outlook for hardwood trading 

 is far less doleful than for some time back. 

 While many of the consumers are playing a 

 waiting game and others are buying on a con- 

 servative basis, there has been a fair volume of 

 hardwood lumber moved during April, though 

 far below the total amount of the same month 

 a year ago. Although the prospect is far from 

 alluring at times, in many instances the hustler, 

 by being opportunely on the spot, gathers some 

 good orders. In the producing districts it is 

 noticeable that the majority of the manufacturers 

 are curtailing their output, but these same manu- 

 facturers express themselves as confident that 

 as soon as the all-absorbing political questions 

 are settled business will again resume normal 

 conditions. 



Statistics show that the total amount of build- 

 ing permits taken out in April of this year show 

 an advance of $688,595 over the figures for 

 March, but this is a serious falling off compared 

 with same month in 10P7— a drop of $3,714,965. 

 Of course this ex. . --i\ . 1 • .1-. ti.-.n is attributable 

 to the recent 1111 m ■; 



but notwith- 



