16 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



hardwood centers, whieli taps the poplar region, recently stated that 

 that city contained only about ten cars of available one inch eull 

 poplar. This same city contains an extensive box factory, and at the 

 time this statement was made this factory had only enough poplar 

 lumber to carry it a week, and no definite prospect of getting any 

 considerable further quantity. 



Gum, particularly red, is still somewhat off-color, although there is 

 no break in price. Still there is quite a little of this stock to be had. 



All told the situation continues to look very favorable, and while 

 as noted before, there is some tendency to consider the argument of 

 the buyer in the matter of prospective break in price, still this senti- 

 ment is only occasionally apparent and should have no weight in 

 affecting the actual market. 



National Drainage Congress 



THE THIRD NATIONAL DRAINAGE CONGRESS will be held 

 in St. Louis AprU 10, 11 and 12, at the Planters' hotel. Ar- 

 rangements have been made for several thousand delegates, and 

 the program includes a number of very important matters. The 

 development of the vast areas of swamp and overflow land in this 

 country constitutes a problem for the present and the future to 

 solve. The sessions of the congress in St. Louis are open to the 

 public. 



Menace in High Prices 



A LEADING MANUFACTURER of oak lumber and oak floor- 

 ing in a letter quoted in the "Mail Bag" section of this issue 

 of Haedwood Record, utters a protest against the current trend 

 of boosting oak lumber prices to an unreasonable degree. If this 

 protest came from an exclusive consumer of hardwoods, it would 

 not be deemed remarkable, but originating as it does from a man 

 whose interest lies more in the production than the consumption 

 of this wood, the protest should receive consideration. 



This is not the only instance where leading producers of oak 

 lumber are protesting against what they regard as taking an 

 undue advantage of consumers incident to the shortage of stock, 

 to demand prices for their product which are out of proportion to 

 values commanded by other leading hardwoods. They believe that 

 excessive prices will induce increased substitution, not only in 

 other woods but in materials other than wood, which will have a 

 permanent effect in checking future demand for oak, notably in 

 the interior finish and furniture trades. 



The writer of the letter referred to calls attention to what hap- 

 pened to wide poplar five years ago when it took on a boom by 

 reaching a price of fifteen cents a foot before the advance ceased. 

 Wide poplar can be bought today for a little more than one-half 

 this price, and it is a dull seller at that. The street car panel 

 trade, automobile body business and the panels for delivery wagon 

 sides have largely gone to steel, and it is doubtful if the trade is 

 ever to be reclaimed for lumber. 



Oak ties have gone so high that the railroads have found that 

 they can successfully treat ordinary types of hardwoods and make 

 ties at less money, and of equally or better lasting qualities, and 

 hence there is a trememlous increase in the production of ties 

 from beech and kindred woods which formerly were not even con- 

 sidered as a substitute for oak. 



As the writer observes, "good common sense and conservative 

 action should be employed to check radicals, who at this time are 

 seeking to boost prices on some woods beyond the point of 

 safety. ' ' 



Lake Carrier 



THE PICTURE ON THE FRONT COVER of this issue of 

 Hardwood Record represents a scene where lake and forest 

 meet in the hardwood region of northern Mississippi. The sheet 

 of water is Lake Carrier, near the headquarters logging camp of 

 the Carrier Lumber & Manufacturing Company, about twenty 

 miles from Sardis. It was formerly a deep bayou, and was, of 

 course, an old river channel not wholly silted up since the current 

 ceased to flow through it. It was once known as Bobo lake, snd 

 the customary traditions and superstitions were associated with it, 



particularly as it was known to the colored population who can 

 see and hear things after dark. 



That is a typical hardwood region. Some of the best white 

 oak of the South comes from here, and there are many other kinds 

 of timber, such as red oak, red gum and tupelo. Undisturbed 

 nature has done her best work here, and forests have covered the 

 region since time immemorial. The storehouse is now being drawn 

 upon to meet the demands of commerce. 



Lake Carrier and the surrounding region have been long 

 familiar to hunters, fishermen, and campers. The woods were 

 formerly full of deer, and there are some yet; the water courses 

 and the half-hidden lakes and bayous abound in ducks and other 

 waterfowl; the tree tops are alive with creatures that fly or climb; 

 and the waters teem with fish. No sportsman or lover of nature 

 could ask for more. 



It is inevitable, and to some extent regrettable, that the saw- 

 mill, tramway, and tote road must invade scenes like this and 

 disturb the beauty and break up some of nature's associations; 

 but trade and commerce demand it, and it must be done. The 

 country's call for lumber penetrates the fastnesses of mountains 

 and the quietude of lowland forests, and the response comes back 

 from scenes like Lake Carrier. 



Liverpool Mahogany Sales 



LAST MONTH'S AUCTIONS OF MAHOGANY at Liverpool 

 resulted in practically a cleanup of every desirable piece of 

 wood in that market. The demand was active and prices ranged 

 high. There is no evidence that the stock will be replenished to 

 any considerable extent for some time to come. At the present 

 time there is a strong demand for medium to large sized African 

 logs, and highly figured logs of good dimensions are much sought 

 and realize high prices. 



Good Cuban wood is in active demand, but the run of this stock 

 at present is largely not of either the size or character that made 

 the extraordinary reputation for this splendid material. Large 

 fancy Cuban logs command the highest price in the history of the 

 trade, and other descriptions are selling at fair values. 



There is very little mahogany being received at this time from 

 Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico or Nicaragua. It now 

 looks as though mahogany values in logs, lumber and veneers 

 would range very much higher for some time to come. This cer- 

 tainly will be true if supply and demand cut any figure in the 

 situation. 



Evolution in Hardwood Demand 



P OR MORE THAN SEVEN YEARS Hardwood Record has been 

 *■ engaged in collecting, collating and putting in both bulletin 

 and card index form a record of the annual requirements of the 

 majority of wholesale hardwood consumers throughout the United 

 States and Canada. These record paragraphs show the state, town 

 and name of the concern, line of goods produced, name of the 

 buyer, and recite by quantity, kind, grade and thickness items of 

 annual consumption. Constant work on this record constitutes an 

 important study in hardwood evolution and economies. 



In the latter part of February a correction bulletin involving 

 more than fifty pages was printed as a supplement to this service. 

 In this bulletin were carefully revised the requirements of 

 more than twenty-five hundred consumers, and remarkable as it 

 may seem there were corrections required on more than twenty-five 

 per cent of these paragraphs, owing to a change made by the 

 purchasers of hardwood materials in their lumber requirements. 



A study of the record indicates that ever}- buyer is attempting 

 to reduce his cost for lumber materials by substituting lower 

 grades or lesser priced woods than formerly. Beyond question ' 

 wholesale consumers are fast learning that it is possible to utilize 

 lower grades of standard woods to advantage, and also in many 

 cases to advantageously employ cheaper woods for the higher 

 priced ones formerly purchased. 



While these wonderful changes in requirements are rather upset- 

 ting to general conditions, they all trend to higher efficiency and 



