June 10, 1919 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



19 



Southern Stocks Continue Upward Tre^nd 



Kaiu, rain everywhere througliout Memphis territory, and 

 scarcely a log to saw. The foregoing just about sums up the worst 

 production situation in the history of the southern hardwood lum- 

 ber industrj', especially at this time of the year. Bain fell 23 out 

 of the 31 days in May and it has rained every day thus far during 

 the month of June. The ground is thoroughly watersoaked or 

 covered with surface water and it is well nigh impossible for 

 either men or teams to work in the woods. Some logging is in 

 progress on exceptionally high lands. Nothing is being done in 

 the bottoms and it will be some time before headway can be made. 

 In the meantime, production of hardwood lumber is being "shot 

 all to pieces" by the scarcity of logs. The majority of the mills 

 at Memphis are either closed down or are running intermittently. 

 The same applies to those throughout the valley territory. The 

 logs are simply not to be had and present indications are that it 

 will be some time, even with a favorable change in the weather, 

 before an adequate supply can be brought out to insure full opera- 

 tion of hardwood mills in this area. It was suggested some time 

 ago that normal production would probably be reached about June 

 15. It is now admitted that this cannot be attained before the 

 middle of July, if that early, even if no further rainfall should 

 occur. The woods must dry after it stops raining and this requires 

 time. Logs must be hauled after they are cut and they must then 

 be put on ears and transported to the mills. Both of these processes 

 involve time and the outlook, from a production standpoint, is 

 about the most disconcerting lumber interests have experienced in 

 their history. 



F. R. Gadd, manager of statistics for the American Hardwood 

 Manufacturers' Association, is authority for the statement that 

 the recent estimates of production for the sixty-day period be- 

 ginning May 1 must be materially reduced. He says that it has 

 already been severely cut, cut beyond all hope of repair during 

 the remaining twenty-six days of this sixty-day period. John M. 

 Pritchard, secretary-manager of this organization, also asserts that 

 hardwood output is not in excess of sixty per cent of normal. 



The American Hardwood Manufacturers' Association is holding 

 meetings under its open competition plan at Memphis, Cincinnati, 

 Shreveport, Jackson and Little Bock each month and is keeping 

 closely in touch with conditions. It says that interference has 

 been rather less marked in the Little Bock territory than in other 

 parts of the southern hardwood field but it points out that, owing 

 to the heavy rains of the past few days, comparatively little is 

 being accomplished in even that more favored territory. 



In the meantime demand for hardwood lumber continues so large 

 and the relations between supply and demand are so strained that 

 the American Hardwood Manufacturers' Association has, through 

 a letter recently mailed to members of that body by F. E. Gadd, 

 made the following striking statement: 



We face a period of unprecedented demand (or our products. Stocks 

 are small. Orders are easy to secure. The tendency of the market is 

 upward and will undoubtedly continue to advance so long as sales and 

 production bear their present relation to each other. 



The same authority pointed out that the market is advancing so 

 often and that price changes are so frequent that it is very difficult 

 to give the exact quotations at which stocks are changing hands. 

 He also added that "mill yards are practically devoid of dry 

 stocks while the demand continues to increase." 



Here are a few items sold during the week just ended as given 

 out by the statistical department of the association: Two million 

 feet of No. 1 common white oak; 2,750,000 No. 1 common gum; 

 2,000,000 FAS sap gum; 2,000,000 common cap gum; 1,000,000 quar- 

 ter sawn red gum in No. 1 common and better; 755,000 No. 3 com- 

 mon oak. Demand for quartered oak, as well as for plain oak, in 

 the higher grades is reported quite satisfactory while there is a 

 liberal movement of cypress and log run elm. Ash and hickory are 



being sold green from the saw and there is no possibility of an 

 accumulation of dry stock in these items. There is not, indeed, a 

 single dull item on the hardwood list. Some members of the trade 

 suggest that demand is not quite so brisk as a few days ago but 

 there is nothing to indicate a disposition on the part of buyers 

 to hold out. They are apparently trying to secure their require- 

 ments while there is yet an opportunity of doing so. Orders are 

 still being placed by both wire and mail and all hardwood manu- 

 facturers say that the hardwood equation is one in which the pro- 

 duction factor is far more difficult than the selling one. Manu- 

 facturers of flooring, agricultural implements, pianos and musical 

 instruments, furniture, automobiles and trucks, farm wagons and 

 kindred products are among the largest buyers. The wholesalers 

 are taking large quantities of hardwood lumber for distribution. 

 Exporters are in the market but they are not buying as keenly as 

 they would buy if there were more ocean freight room available. 

 There has been comparatively little increase in the amount of 

 ocean shipping space put at the disposel of export interests and the 

 quantity of lumber going overseas is far less than is justified on 

 the basis of either demand or supply. 



Terms of Figure 



Technical terms of figure are extremely varied. "Curls" are 

 found in all trees, but possibly those of mahogany possess the 

 greatest intrinsic value, which probably arises from the fact of 

 their frequent combination of texture and variety of color. In 

 many woods the curls are unmerchantable as timber and are fre- 

 quently used in the production of charcoal. This type of figure is 

 decidedly inherent. 



Among the accidental forms of figure which are frequently so 

 profuse in mahogany and satinwood, and occasionally in teak and 

 walnut, may be mentioned: 



Rob, which is formed by alternate streaks or flakes of light and shade 

 running with the grain from end to end of the log. If the roe is regular 

 in size, and unbroken, it is little thought of; but if the flake be broad, 

 and the light and dark parts blend yet strongly contrast, and are variedly 

 broken in contour, the timber is greatly valued. 



Mottle is that mark in wood which, when polished, appears like some- 

 thing raised on the surface. Mottle frequently varies in form, and many 

 names are used to distinguish the varieties. Usually mottled figure com- 

 mands higher prices than the wood in which the figure is merely a roe. 



Stop mottle arises from angular grain running across the surface, and 

 in broad flashes, frequently diverging from a point, like a bird's foot. 

 Logs possessing a combination of broken roe, mottle and stop mottle, 

 together with a silky texture and good color, not necessarily too pro- 

 nounced, command a high value, especially if the wood is free from 

 inherent or foreign defects. 



Fiddle mottle runs in nearly even streaks, as seen on fiddlebacks ; 

 but usually this figure lacks the richness and variety of color. 



Plum pigdue and peacock mottle are also terms applied to figure, 

 but they do not call for any specific notice. Rosewood, kingwood and 

 zebra wood have each their special type of figure. Birch is occasionally 

 found with a wavy figure running across from edge to edge. 



The art of obtaining the best results, when converting figured timber, 

 depends upon the expert ; and it would serve no purpose to lay down any 

 set rules ; but in cutting wainscot oak it will be found, as previously 

 explained, as a general rule, that it is best to cut the wood in a line, 

 from the center to the outer diameter. The conversion of gnarled timber 

 must, however, depend upon the judgment of the expert. 



In mahogany the figure is usually more pronounced, as one gets nearer 

 to the center, unless it be in the St. Domingo variety, the figure of which 

 is a mere crust on the outside. The same remarks apply to pitch pine. 

 In maple especially the most beautiful sheets of veneer are obtained by 

 peeling the log with the knife cutter in the lathe. To cut across a maple 

 log usually shows figured edges and a plain center. 



To Build 409,000 Houses 



Estimates have been completed of the lumber needed to build 409,000 

 houses in England and Scotland. Among items needed are 1,950,000 win- 

 dows, 3,600,000 doors and frames, 300,000 dressers, 300,000 stair cases. 

 Twenty million feet of oak will be needed. 



