32 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



believed that the total areas to be acquired iu the Southern 

 Appalachians Tvill be about 5,000,000 acres, and 600,000 in the 

 White Mountains of Maine and New Hampshire. The areas will lie 

 upon the sources of rivers. 



The report goes fully into the cooperative work which the Forest 

 Service carries on with states to control forest fires. Agreements 

 of that kind have been reached with all the New England states, 

 with New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, North 

 Carolina, Georgia, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Mis- 



souri, Ohio, Washington, California, Idaho, Colorado, Nevada, 

 Nebraska and Kansas. 



Studies of wood structure and strength are carried on at the 

 Forest Products Laboratory at Madison, Wis.; and investigations 

 of the uses of wood by various industries are conducted in co- 

 operation with separate states. Work is also carried on to deter- 

 mine suitable woods and best methods for paper making; and to 

 ascertain whether turpentining methods in the South may be 

 changed for the better. 



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Eeference was made in an article in Hakdwood Eecokd some time 

 ago to the m'ethods used by a manufacturer of a specialty involving 

 the use of poplar. It was pointed out that this concern, by reason 

 of the use of patented machines and other advantages, has a prac- 

 tical monopoly in its field; and that in order to make it difficult 

 to lose its grip, it has taken the trouble to have even its lumber 

 bought by men who do not know what the requirements of the con- 

 cern are, from the standpoint of actual use, but only know in a 

 purely mechanical way that the grade of lumber needed is thus 

 and so. The opinion was vQptured that the cost of the lumber used 

 in that factory is doubtless considerably increased, and the per- 

 centage of rejects likewise advanced, because of the practical ig- 

 norance of the buyer regarding the factory operations of the concern 

 which employs him. 



For the same reason many lumbermen are unable to offer the service 

 which they should be in a position to supply when they enter the 

 office of a consumer of hardwoods. In order to give the customer 

 the lumber that he can work to the best advantage, and in order to 

 give him the advantage of the special information and technical 

 knowledge on the subject that he has acquired, the lumberman neces- 

 sarily must know a good deal about what is going on back of the 

 office or out in the factory. That he doesn't often get there is a 

 well-known fact; though it would help everybody concerned if he 

 were to be initiated into the mysteries of the manufacturing pro- 

 cesses of his customers, in order that he may apply this knowledge 

 to his lumber offerings and get more out of them, for both parties 

 concerned, than when he is merely offering, in a mechanical way, 

 hardwoods of certain grades and thicknesses. 



The interesting thing about the situation, too, is that the lumber 

 salesman is almost the only representative of a supply manufacturer 

 who is not called on by the factory man to render this kind of 

 service. If the ambassador of a machinery concern comes along with 

 a new device which is intended to increase production or make some 

 particular operation easier and simpler, he is at once taken in hand 

 by the superintendent and made to disgorge, as it were, the ideas 

 which he has accumulated about that machine. Of course, selling 

 machinery is not a case of merely stating a proposition and getting 

 an order; but it is certainly true that the man who has something 

 new in the equipment line gets a fairer hearing than the lumberman. 



"What's your price?" is about the chief question that is shot 

 in his direction ; while ' ' Nothing doing, ' ' is often as not the greeting 

 that confronts him as soon as he gets past the "Welcome" sign on 

 the door-mat. There is a good deal of competition in the sale of 

 machinery, just as there is in the sale of lumber ; but the methods 

 used in disposing of the two commodities probably account for the 

 difference in the reception of those handling them. 



The superintendent of a model furniture factory in the Ohio 

 valley said not long ago that he puts his varnish problems up to 

 the salesmen who come in to sell him finishing materials; his glue 

 troubles to the representative of the factory putting out that class 

 of goods, and his motor troubles to the electric company supplying 

 him with current or the salesman who got the contract for the in- 

 stallation. 



"And when you have trouble with your lumber, I suppose you call 

 on the lumber people for advice?" suggested a visitor, tentatively. 



"Hell, no," was the prompt reply. "I have learned that I can- 

 not depend on what they teU me. A liunberman will claim that his 

 oak is nine months old when it is green from the saw; and will mix 

 old stuff with unseasoned without saying a word to me. I'm always 

 afraid they're trying to put something over when they come around, 

 and so I tell them as little about what I'm doing as possible." 



Just think of that a moment! The varnish, glue, machinery and 

 power men regarded as helpers, friends, confidential advisers — and 

 the lumberman as a kind of stick-up man who can't quite be turned 

 over to the police! The representative of other lines supplying the 

 woodworker being taken back into the plant and shown what the 

 manufacturer is trying to do; and the lumberman held off at arm's 

 length and permitted to quote on No. 1 common plain white oak, 

 first and seconds poplar or sound wormy chestnut, without ever being 

 given an inkling of what his stuff is going to be used for! 



Fine! 



Those lumbermen who by sincere and straightforward dealings 

 with a line of consumers have gained their confidence and respect, 

 and are on the proper footing with them in this regard, may think 

 the statement made above rather extreme; but the lumber salesmen 

 on the road, the boys who are expected to turn in the bulk of the 

 orders, are perfectly willing to admit that the toughest part of a 

 tough job is finding out what the consumer really wants, which is 

 another way of saying to what uses he is going to put the lumber 

 that is delivered to him. 



Sometimes a consumer is doing a lumberman an injustice in grad- 

 ing his stock, simply because he applies the mechanical rules under 

 which it was bought without giving the seller the benefit of the 

 peculiarities of his business. If the latter knew just how the ma- 

 terial was to be worked, he could take advantage of the situation to 

 move stock that would be perfectly satisfactory, would help him in 

 cleaning up his yard and possibly would save the consumer money. 



An instance of this was found not long ago by a hardwood man 

 who sold a lot of hickory to a farm wagon factory. The inspection 

 of the stock at the factory resulted in a lot of it being thrown out 

 and absolutely turned down because it was pecky. The lumber 

 dealer happened to have some knowledge of the wagon business, and 

 knew enough about the needs of the buyer to feel that the thing 

 could be adjusted. He went to the factory, talked with the general 

 manager, and came out with a check for the rejected lumber, which 

 was taken at a figure only a little below the price originally specified. 



The g. m. had written back merely with the report of the inspector 

 in mind; but when the lumberman called his attention to the fact 

 that the strength of a heavy hickory axle is not affected by a few 

 peeks, and that brake-blocks, which are heavy pieces not subjected to 

 any particular strain, might just as well be made of that material 

 as not, the head of the factory had to admit that such was the case. 

 The hardwood man admitted that for the manufacture of spokes 

 and some other pieces used in wagon construction absolutely clear 

 stock is necessary; but he convinced the consumer that in spite of 

 his rigid ruling as to the rejected hickory, it could be used to ad- 

 vantage, especially in view of the concession in price that was 

 offered. 



Again, the straight grading rules cover a multitude of points, 

 and on the other hand they place the limits far enough apart to adnrit 



