40 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



diameter of the trunk ol a full grown tree is one foot. There would 

 appear to be two varieties of lancewoods in British Guiana. The carisiri, 

 swamp, or black lancewood, attains to a height of fifty feet, and is 

 seldom more than four to eight inches in diameter. It is remarkable 

 for growing with but little taper. It is in great repute, being superior 

 to the closely allied yari-yari, arara, or .yellow lancewood, which is some- 

 what smaller and grows in the hills. 



The true lancewood (Bocagea virgala B. & H.) also grows in Jamaica, 

 where it is called black lancewood. It forms an erect tree attaining a 

 height of thirty feet, with a diameter of from nine to twelve inches, and 

 is found in the woods of the central and western parishes. The wood 

 possesses great elasticity, and on that account is exported for making 

 carriage shafts, lances, spars, fishing rods, ramrods, and general turnery. 



The white lancewood (Bocagea latmfolia B. & H.) occurs in Jamaica 

 and other islands of the West Indies. This tree grows to a height of 

 fifty feet or over, with a trunk diameter of from twelve to eighteen 

 inches or more. It is used to some extent but is not nearly so valuable 

 as black lancewood. 



Tenasserim lancewood is said to belong to the dogbane family of plants, 

 and is therefore entirely unrelated to the true lancewood (Bocagea 

 virgata) of commerce. It is a tree which produces a timber possessing 

 the properties of the genuine kind and is quite common in the Tenasserim 

 provinces. It is used for bows, spears, chisel-handles. etc. It is tough, 

 hard, elastic, and very durable, capable of a beautiful polish, and makes 

 excellent furniture. The direct rays of the sun badly fade and check the 

 wood. 



Lancewood would be preferable to hickory for shafts commonly used 

 by American carriage builders, but it is difficult to obtain and very 

 expensive. For wooden side bars, now so popular in connection with light 

 road wagons, lancewood would doubtless prove the best for this purpose, 

 and come into general use, were it not for its expense, and the difficulty 

 of obtaining it in sufficient quantities, for it possesses those qualities 

 particularly demanded for side-bars, namely, stiffness, toughness, and 

 elasticity. The wood is used for gig shafts, archery bows, billiard cues, 

 and, when small, for whip handles and fishing rods. The Indians make 

 their arrow points of it. 



The value of imports of lancewood into the United States from 1900 to 

 1910 inclusive is as follows : 



1900 $1,933.00 1905 ' ? 535.00 



1901 343.00 1906 811.00 



1902 1,129.00 1907 1,616.00 



1903 4,087.00 1908 1,545.00 



1904 4,151.00 1909 691.00 



1910 $3,077.00 



Substitute for Lignum- Vitae 



The scarcity and high cost of liguum-vitae bar it from a number of 

 places which it is well fitted to fill. The principal supply comes from 

 the West Indies. It is very hard, and one of its most common uses is as 

 gudgeons and bearings of wheels that turn slowly. Bulletin 9 of the 

 Philippine Bureau of Forestry was recently issued from the Bureau of 

 Printing at Manila, for the purpose of acquainting the public with a 

 Philippine wood which it is claimed is a satisfactory substitute lor lig- 

 num-vitae. It is known as mancono (xanthoslemon verdiigonianus}. Its 

 air-dry weight is from eighty to ninety pounds per cubic foot. The 

 wood is fairly plentiful, the quantity in sight being between five and 

 six million cubic feet. It is rated as the hardest and heaviest of Philip- 

 pine woods. The Bureau of Forestry at Manila announces that it will 

 send samples free to Interested parties on request. The bulletin was 

 prepared by I. W. I. Hutchinson, forester. 



Sugar From Wood 



It is claimed that a process has been perfected in England for making 

 sugar from wood. According to accounts, sawdust is treated in closed 

 retorts with a weak sulphurous acid solution and the resulting product 

 contains about twenty-five per cent of sugar. It is useful as a feed 

 stuff and as a material for the manufacture of spirit. A factory capable 

 of treating 200 tons of sawdust per week could turn out between 300,000 

 and 400,000 gallons of proof spirit per annum, besides other valuable 

 by-products. There is no account of the effect on live stock which eats 

 this wood sugar. It might be well enough to let the English try it on 

 their horses and cattle first. 



Making Wooden Combs in the Philippines 



Thousands of wooden combs are made annually in the Philippine Islands 

 and are a staple article on the market. The best grade is made out of 

 the hard, heavy, fine-textured and very dark heartwood of •'Philippine 

 ebony" or camagon (Diospyros discolor) ; the cheaper ones from the gray- 

 ish or reddish sapwood of the same species. Most of the combs are worn 

 by native women. The process of mailing is very simple. The green wood 

 is sawed into sections of convenient length and then split into thin 

 tangential slabs. The latter are dried over a smoldering fire of sawdust 

 held in an earthen vessel. The outline of the comb, usually curved at the 

 back, is drawn in pencil on the slab, which is then clamped in a vice tor 

 sawing. The teeth are sawed out first and afterward the tack of the 

 comb is cut away. Polishing is done with sandpaper or rough leaves. 

 While most of the combs are plain some are curved or engraved, the 

 instruments used for the purpose being a sharp, pointed knife, a small 

 graver's tool, or even a section of umbrella rib brought to a point. 



Diseased City Trees to be Investigated 



The State College of Forestry at Syracuse, N. Y., has taken up the work 

 of investigating the causes which produce disease and death of city and 

 park trees, and it will probably extend its investigation to forests. Planted 

 trees in parks and along streets have some advantages over their wild 

 kindred in the native woods, but there are disadvantages also. Fungus 

 and insects attack the trees with increased persistence, and smoke, 

 escaping gas and dust, which are generally wanting in the forest, often 

 lower a city tree's vitality, or destroy it entirely. The first step with 

 investigation will consist in discovering the causes of tree diseases, and 

 the second step will seek a remedy. 



F. A. Diggins Improving After a Serious Illness 



Fred A. Diggins of Murphy & Diggins and the Cummer-Diggins 

 Company, Cadillac, Mich,, and ex-president of the National Hardwood 

 Lumber Association, has been confined to his bed in a serious condition. 

 In fact at one time his condition was so serious that it was feared he 

 would not survive until morning. A letter from J. C. Knox, of Cadillac, 

 advises, however, that Mr. Diggins' condition is materially improved. 

 The trouble resulted from an attack of grippe, which developed into 

 pneumonia and later affected his heart. The latter condition was the 

 grave cause for anxiety. Mr. Diggins has been about as close to the 

 border line as a human being usually goes and comes safely back. While 

 he is not entirely out of danger, his condition is improving every day 

 and it is anticipated that he will soon be in his usual place of busi- 

 ness. 



Penrod-Jurden-McCcwen Lumber Company Organized 



The Penrod-Jurden-McCowen Luml:er Company is the style of a new 

 incorporation which has been organized at Kansas City, Mo. The com- 

 pany has a paid up cash capital of $1.3.5,000 and is equipped with mills 

 at Brasfield, Ark. The officers of the company are J. N. Penrod, presi- 

 dent : H. A. McCowen. Salem, Ind., vice-president ; E. L. Jurden, secre- 

 tary, treasurer and general manager. R. H. Bi-own of Brasfield is resi- 

 dent manager. 



The company succeeds the affairs of the Penrod-Abbott Lumber Com- 

 I»auy at Brasfield, which concern was ^.perated a.s a co-partnership, but 

 at the death of Frank P. Abbott of Goshen, Ind., it became necessary to 

 incorporate the business. The company owns large tracts of hardwood 

 stumpage, principally gum and oak, on the Cache river. 



It is estimated that the timber resources are adequate for ten years' 

 run. The plant is equipped with a nine-foot handsaw and resaw, and is 

 cutting about 45,000 feet, log scale, per day. The general oflice will as 

 heretofore be maintained at Kansas City. 



Acquires Land For Forestry Demonstration 



The New York State School of Forestry of the Syracuse University, 

 Syracuse, N. Y., has just acquired a gift of an interesting tract of timber 

 for use as a forest experiment station. The tract includes one hundred 

 acres of forest in the Catskills near Tannersville, N. Y. This is the 

 second gift to the college within a year, the first having been a tract 

 of eighteen hundred acres of cutover lands in the neighborhood of the 

 school. In the spring the college will put a forester onto the tract and 

 will maintain there for all time a research station. It will be used for 

 educational purposes by the various classes of the college, and have a 

 camp there during the summer. 



A Valuable Book 



.Albert C, Eighter, who for several years has been secretary of the Re- 

 tail Lumlier Dealers' Association of Pennsylvania, is the author of a new 

 book. '"Some Fallacies of our National Government." The book contams 

 twenty-five chapters and among the more suggestive topics treated in 

 them are the following: "The Trust Question," "Yellow Journalism," 

 "The Great Curse," "The Forgotten Millions," "The Eemcdy and Victory" 

 and "What Would Lincoln Do?" The book contains many personal ex- 

 periences of 1 he author. It takes up in considerable detail the troubles ' 

 of the retail lumber dealers in this country, especially in connection with 

 the recent investigation of the so-called lumber trust. The work is well 

 illustrated throughout and contains many suggestive ideas jilong the 

 leading social and economic questions of the day. 



The Lumber Law Review 



The Lumber Law Review for Decunber, 1912, was recently issued from 

 the offices of the National Lumber Manufacturers' Credit Corporation. 

 The bulletin contains the usual quota of information valuable to the 

 lumberman in connection with his business, particularly as far as the 

 legal phases are concerned. The feature of the bulletin is the summary 

 of the status of the right of stoppage in transit, which is of so much 

 importance to and so little understood by the average lumberman. Other 

 cases coming in for a discussion cover the question of place and time 

 of delivery involving rejection by buyer ; the remedy of buyer in con- 

 nection with breach of contract : action for breach of contract where 

 goods are left in the custody of sellers ; breach of contract by seller in- 

 volving measure of damages : remedy of seller involving action for breach 

 of contract and re-sale. 



