HARDWOOD RECORD 



43 



vioiis inspeition of the pi-oporty upon which Insurance is sought, and 

 tin investigation ot the character of the owner. 



On the other hand the Alliance creates for its subscrihers no lia- 

 bility, except ntter an investigation of the character of tlie property 

 and the owner. 



.\fter a close analysis of the question ot the existence of an arson 

 trust the bulletin suggests that as a matter ot justice tlie public hold 

 in abeyance its judgnient as to the relation between the heads of the 

 large stocli companies and those directly connected with the business of 

 arson. 



The bulletin then says that Uimbermen engaged in producing similar 

 finished product from similar raw material have comparable fire risks. 

 The risks of lumbermen as a whole are happily siiuated at a safe dis- 

 tance from the operations of the arson trust, and from the congested 

 (enters of great cities, constituting the conflagration hazard. They are 

 not often exposed by close proximity of risks other than their own. The 

 ■bulletin then raises the riuestion as to why the lumberman should sur- 

 render the natural advantage of isolated location already theirs by join- 

 ing with thos^ less fortunately situated, and by contributing to the 

 losses ot others less careful than they, to the losses "caused by criminal 

 iuten^, to the losses caused by the necessary exposures of great centers 

 ■and to vast conflagration, when the property of lumbermen is not subject 

 to anj- of these hazards. 



Every lumberman whose risk is situated as before described, and who 

 is buying his insurance from public companies is not only contributing 

 to the losses from causes just named, to which bis plant is not sub- 

 ject, but is bearing his share of the overhead charges and expenses which 

 stock companies seem to find it impossible to avoid. The fundamental 

 oost of insurance is fire loss for which policies are liable. The only way 

 1hat this fir.st cost can be reduced is by preventing fires. The Lum- 

 bermen's Underwriting Alliance, as it is well known, is accomplishing 

 toward this end more than has been done or is being done at present 

 in any other way. 



It would seem that insurance under the Alliance plan is at the lowest 

 cost at which it can be produced other than by a still further reduction 

 in fires. Last .year, the eighth and best year of the operation of the 

 .\lliance, it saved fifty-eight per cent of its policycarriers' earned pre- 

 miums. This means fifty-eight per cent of the premiums of the Alliance 

 figured at the .Alliance rates, which would be a much larger per cent of 

 the premiums figured on stock companies' rates when the Alliance entered 

 •the field. 



The only fire of any consequence since December destroyed tlie saw- 

 mill and boiler house of the Alexandria Lumber Company at Alexandria, 

 La., with a loss of about $64,000. This was the first sawmill fire among 

 the patrons of the Alliance in eight months, and the third in fifteen 

 months. The loss ratio ot all other plant divisions has also decreased 

 In a marked degree. 



The bulletin points out several lessons as gained from the Alexandria 

 fire. The cleaning crew should be gotten into the mill as soon as pos- 

 sible after the departure of the day workmen. The mill should be 

 equipped with plenty of full water barrels with buckets in or above them. 

 The ho.se should be tested frequently, and should be already connected and 

 muzzled, and of a size that the watchman can handle. Sand buckets 

 -should be supplied to smother insipient blazes from hot boxes. The cut- 

 off valves should be located in the open, where it is easily accessible and 

 lilainly visible. It has been proven that outside hydrants fifty feet from 

 I he mill are too close to operate the hose from them without burning, 

 and hence on being abandoned they tap the water pressure. Every 

 plant should have at least two sources of steam supply. 



Kecent Mahogany Sales at Liverpool 



There were representatives of numerous large companies present at 

 the Febr-jary sales of mahogany in Liverpool. The catalogues at these 

 sales included a large percentage of inferior woods with the result that 

 any good logs fully maintained reasonably high prices. 



Advices from Liverpool are to the effect that there is no immediate 

 I-rospect of any reduction in price, and the same advices suggest that 

 buyers are not saving anything by holding hack Iheir orders and, in fact, 

 v.'ould work to their own ndvantnge by iiuying now. 



Consumption of Railway Ties in Canada 

 In 1912 there were 7.341.049 railway ties consumed in Canada ; the 

 year before about .500.000 less, and in IHOT there were 5.200.000 ties 

 "onsumed. The average cost per tie in 1912 was 44.7 cents ; in 1911, 

 43.8 cents, and in 1907, 36.7 cents. This represents an increase of 2.18 

 per cent in the average cost of ties from 1907 to 1912. 



Among the woods used are cedar, oak. bi mlock, spruce, fir. tamarack, 

 pine and chestnut. Tamarack was by far the leader, there being over 

 1,000.000 ties used made of this wood, while cedar, the next, shows only 

 S75.000. Pine ranked nest : oak. third : hemlock, fourth, and chestnut, 

 fifth. 



The oak tie is hv far the most expensive tie used iu Canada, pine being 

 ■second: tam.irack. third: cedar, fourth: aceording to the report. 



The Fork of a Tree Never Grows Higher 



Some people through careless observation believe that the fork of u 



forest tree will gradually grow higher from the ground. If they would 



investigate it would be found that the forks and "heads" of fruit trees are 



;it exactly the same point where tbe.i were when first noted. The state 



forester in inspecting locust and calalpn groves Ihrougbout the state has 

 found owners who have not removed one part of the fork of those trees 

 that have formed forks below fence post length, believing that In years the 

 fork would grow up and a fence post could be cut below the fork. This 

 erroneous belief Is the cause of much of the delay and neglect ot pruning 

 in early life of street and roadside trees. 



It should be remembered that the base of a fork or a branch of a tree 

 will always remain at the same distance above the ground. The side 

 bianclies of some trees, such as the elm, usually continue to grow up- 

 ward, while these of other trees such as the maples Incline upward when 

 young and as the tree grows older the weight of the branches gradually 

 brings it to the horizontal. The latter often makes the removal of large 

 branches' necessary, which not only spoils the symmetry ot the tree but 

 usually starts decay which soon kills the tree. 



Xo street or roadside tree should be permitted to form a fork below ten 

 feet and all of the side branches to the same height should be removed 

 so that they will shade the adjacent crop less. It this is done the tree 

 in time will grow a saw log below the branches. Every farmer who has 

 a tree gr.iwing along his fence should see to It that it is properly pruned 

 before springtime comes. A hook on Ihe planting, ca're and pruning ot 

 street and roadside trees may be obtained free by writing to Ihe state 

 forester at Indianapolis. 



A woodlot of thirty-five acres, five acres of which had at one time been 

 partially cleared, was recently visited because ot this popular Idea. Over 

 the cleared area many walnut trees came up, which now average from 

 three to six inches in diameter. However, the trees are not close enough 

 for natural pruning to be operative and as a result the trees have headed 

 very low and a majority below seven feet. The owner has held the tract 

 for thirteen years hoping to grow a walnut forest. His trees are too far 

 apart for natural pruning and too old for artificial pruning and he Is forced 

 to abandon a cherished idea because he thought the "tops" ot the trees 

 would gradually grow up. 



There are many who share with this man the same idea and the publica- 

 tion of this bulletin will do much good. 



Returns to St. Louis 



The R. M. Morris Lumber Company is the style of a new corporation 

 nt St. Louis. Mo. This corporation is a culmination ot a number of 

 changes affecting the affairs of the former Morris Lumber Company of 

 St. Louis. 



Sometime ago this firm moved to Chicago, but it has now discontinued 

 the connection which brought it North, and has returned to its former 

 location. 



R. M. Alorris is president of the company, which will handle hardwood 

 and yellow pine. The oflices are on the fourth floor of the Wright build- 

 ing. The R. M. Morris Lumber Company will handle the stock ot the 

 1'rianglc Lumber Company, Clio, -\rk. ; the Sterling Lumber Company 

 fif Bastrop, La., and J. H. Allen & Co., Minter City, Miss. 



.7. D. Scrogim was engaged on Mar. 5 as the Chicago representative ot 

 Ihe K. M. Morris Lumber Company. 



Hardwood 'News ISlotes 



■< MISCELLANEOUS >- 



E. W. Sparrow, president of the Lansing Company, Lansing, Mich., 

 died recently. 



The .Vdvance Lumber Company. Cleveland, 0.. has increased its capital 

 stock from J131.350 to $500,000. 



The Arkansas & Indiana Lumber Company ot Ciarksville. .\rk.. has 

 opened a lumljer yard at Ozark. Ark. 



The Below Lumber Company has been Incorporated at .Mansfield, Wis., 

 with an authorized capital of $10,000. 



A new incorporation at Gregory, Miss., is the Attalla Lumber Com- 

 pany, with a capital stock of $75,000. 



The King-Singer Company has been incorporated at '(N'ashington, D. C, 

 with a capital stock of .$50,000. The company will manufacture furni- 

 ture. 



The plant ot the Kansas City Hardwood Flooring Company. Kansas 

 City. Kans.. was damaged by fire. February 23, the loss Ixdug estimated 

 at $45,000. 



The .1. .1. White Lumber Company has commenced operations at its new 

 mill in Columbia, La., which is understood to represent an investment 

 ot $165,000. 



The Standard Lumber Company has been organized at Louisville, 

 Ala., by A. .1. Rombach and G. D. Goodwin ot Columbus, Ala., and D. G. 

 Ilolcomb, .Tr.. of Louisville. 



Curtis Bros. & Co., manufacturers ot sash, doors and blinds, Clinton, 

 Ta., contemplate the erection ot a large modern factory to take the 

 place of the present structure. 



A new furniture manufacturing enterprise has been organized at Chi- 

 cago styled the Merchants' Furniture Company, by George W. Wilbur, 

 Samuel E. Dale and LeGrand W. I'erci'. 



