42 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



July 25, 1919 



New Treatment for Wood 



Our commercial attache at Copenhagen, Denmark, has transmitted to 

 this country the following announcement of a new process In treating 

 wood : 



The Scandinavian Pencil Wood Company, with a capital stock of 

 $134,000, has been organized in Kogc, Denmark, to prepare woods, espe- 

 cially the cheaper kinds, such as birch, ash and elm, by a patented method 

 that makes them more durable. All wood treated by this process is called 

 teakin wood. Certain changes In the character of the wood which normally 

 take place only after many years of drying are by this chemical process 

 produced within twenty-four hours. Thereafter, when the moisture that 

 may still be left has evaporated, the wood becomes harder and more 

 durable than by the aging process. , ,, „ v ^ 



Teakin birch is of a beautiful golden brown color, and when polished 

 with potash it takes on a mahogany red hue. As soon as Canadian or 

 Russian birch is obtainable, the process will be applied to board^ and 

 planks of this kind of wood. Teakin ash is a substitute for teak. Teakin 

 elm has none of the disadvantages of natural elm. Teakin fir is of a 

 uniform color all through and is used for office fittings and furniture and 

 for veneering. 



Estimated Timber Resources 



The Forest Service has published the following summary : 

 Timber estimates have been made from time to time in various parts of 

 the timber areas of the United States, but different methods were followed 

 and none of these estimates have been complete in regard to areas covered 

 for the regions that suply the timbers. Roughly, however, the present stand 

 of cypress is estimated at 25 billion board feet ; sugar pine, 35 to 40 billion ; 

 eastern red cedar, 1% to 2 ; basswood, 8 to 10 ; yellow poplar, 10 ; red gum, 

 40 to 45 ; Port Ortord cedar, 1 to 2 ; eastern white pine, 25 ; western white 

 pine, 20 to 25 ; Sitka spruce, 10 to 12 ; Bnglemann spruce, 25. Most of the 

 stands of all of these species, continues the statement of the Forest Service, 

 would be available under sufliciently strong demands. Eastern spruce is cut 

 very largely for pulpwood, and red gum, yellow poplar and basswood, for 

 cooperage, veneer and other purposes. About 40 per cent of the annual 

 lumber cut is used in the manufacture of wooden products in the different 

 states. 



Up-to-Date Toys 



A new world has been opened to the toy maker and to the children who 

 use toys. It is well known that toys follow fads and fashions. Whatever 

 Is popular Is represented by toys. The playthings which will most interest 

 the young people this year will be connected with the war, and the field is 

 large and the possibilities almost without limit. The toy maker used to 

 deal with the soldier, gun, sword, cannon and fort. Vast additions to the 

 list of objects have been made during the present war. While the whole 

 machinery of war has not been changed, so many new Inventions and dis- 

 coveries have come in that the old time toys will seem tame. The flying 

 machine will appear in many patterns ; the rapid firer, grenade, bomb, sub- 

 marine, trench, shell crater, mine, wire entanglement, transport, motors, 

 wireless, and scores of other devices and implements, will all hold their 

 place In toyland. 



The Colgate Case Decision 



Robert .\sh of the Washington office of L. C. Boyle has prepared the 

 following comment on the court decision in the well-known Colgate case 

 concerning resale prices : 



Despite statements that may arise from some sources to the contrary 

 the Colgate case recently decided by the supreme court does not legalize 

 the maintainance of resale prices. That case deals entirely with criminal 

 liability under the Sherman law and does not affect the rulings of the 

 Federal Trade Commission, which time and again has held that the main- 

 tainance of resale prices is an unfair method of competition and therefore 

 unlawful. 



The Colgate case went to the supreme court to determine the sufficiency 

 of an indictment under the Sherman law which alleged that the Colgate 

 company refused to sell to dealers who cut the prices fixed bv them. This 

 is the sum and substance of the decision, as the question of contracts or 

 agreements to sell only at maintained prices did not enter into the case 

 The court in speaking of this feature said, "And we must conclude that the 

 indictment does not charge the Colgate company with selling its products 

 to dealers under agreements which obligated the latter not to resell except 

 at prices fixed by the company." The retailer, after buying, could it he 

 chose, give away his purchase or sell it at anv price he siiw lit or not sell 

 It at all. his course in these respects being affected only bv the fact that he 

 might by his action incur the displeasure of the manuta'cturer who could 

 refuse to make further sales to him, as he had an undoubted right to do 



The civil law therefore has not been changed by the Colgate case and 

 still holds that the maintainance of retail prices is an unfair method of 

 compe_tition and unlawful. There are some who do not believe that the 

 law should be this way, but we must take It as it is. 



New Boole About Timber 



A book of 234 pages with the title, "Timber : Its Strength, Seasoning 

 and Grading," by Harold S. Belts, has just been issued from the press of the 

 McGraw-Uill Book Company of New York. Mr. Betts is in the United 

 States Forest Service, and that fact is stated on the book's title page thus 

 allowing the inference that the work is, to a certain extent, issued by 

 auhority of the Forest Service. 



The book is virtually a compilation of data published from time to time 

 .luring the past few years by the Forest Service, and particularly by that 

 branch of the servicu. known as the Forest Products Laboratory at Madison 

 Wis. The compilation has been well carried oul. and the editing carefully 

 done. Mr. Betts is peculiarly qualified to do this work, since a large part 

 of the Investigation of a scientific character at the Madison laboratory has 

 been done by Mr. Betts himself, or done in part by him ; and in preparing 

 the Dook, he compiled and edited his own works ot recent years He brought 



to the task a trained mind, enriched by plenty of experience in wood 

 investigations. 



The ordinary reader who is interested in the subject of wood, can not 

 spare the time to go through scores of technical reports, issued by the 

 Government, spread over eight years, and pick from the mass of material 

 the things he needs. Mr. Betts has done this for him, and the results are 

 condensed in the book just published. It is designed primarily for engineers 

 who have to do with timber physics. It is a strictly technical work, yet the 

 ordinary lumberman and the general reader will find it a mine of informa- 

 tion. The title clearly indicates the field covered. The book is amply illus- 

 trated, most of the tables, charts, maps, diagrams and pictures having been, 

 apparently, furnished from Government files, and they are, therefore, 

 assumed to be accurate and authentic. 



Lumber Supply and Demand 



In the June bulletin issued by the National City Bank of New York 

 the following paragraph occurred : 



Such raw materials as cotton, lumber, copper, steel and iron can be pro- 

 duced in this country far in excess of any home demand that is in prospect 

 for the next year, and that is true of such equipment and machinery as 

 Europe may want. 



John II. Kirby, president of the National Lumber Manufacturers' Asso- 

 ciation, wrote to the New York bank, commenting as follows upon the 

 foregoing statement : 



I have been asked to advise you what the lumber conditions are. The 

 supply of lumber in the United States is less than one-half of normal. 

 Production decreased during the war because the industry was not an 

 essential one. The drafts made on our labor supply for the army and war 

 industries, together with restrictions placed on building, caused serious 

 curtailment of production of existing operations. Last year and this year 

 twenty-six per cent of the production of the South will cease operation 

 because of depletion of raw material, with no corresponding increase in 

 development from any other source to offset these cessations. Consumption 

 of lumber In the United States has been In excess of production since 

 .Tanuary 1, 1919, and there is no probability of increase in production 

 iluring the next year which will offset the depletion of production in the 

 South and other sections of the United States. 



In addition to the above, a very peculiar condition exists. The present 

 revenue laws have a tendency to curtail production rather than increase 

 it, for the reason that night running of the saw mill business to increase 

 production decreases the invested capital per thousand feet of annual 

 production. A curtailment of production increases the invested capital per 

 thousand feet of annual production. Increased production decreases the 

 exemption under the War Excess Profits Tax, while curtailed production 

 increases the exemption, with the resultant effect on the tax. 



Notwithstanding the fact that prices have been stimulated by reason of 

 extraordinary demand, the tendency is to refrain from increasing produc- 

 tion for the reasons aforesaid. 



Professional and Scientific Instruments 



Thirty-five million feet of wood are used yearly in the United States in 

 the manufacture of small articles grouped as professioual and scientific 

 instruments. They are numerous and include many items. The most im- 

 portant on the list is the lead pencil, and the next is the measuring rule. 

 Artist material fills an important place, but brush handles, strange as it 

 may seem, are not considered as belonging to this industry. Following is 

 a list of the woods reported in the annual demand for professional and 

 scientific instruments : 



Feet 



64. son 



37,236 



31,220 



31,200 



30,000 



30,000 



25,000 



23,000 



16.000 



12.000 



1,000 



500 



..... 200 

 170 



Feet 



Cedar 20,050,000 



Maple 4,425,167 



Basswood 2,619,070 



Beech 1,259,600 



Birch 1,062,050 



Yellow Poplar 1,001,400 



Hickor.^ 



Cherry 



Pine 



West Indies Boxwood . 



©ak 



Chestnut 



Rosewood 



Ash 



Mahogany 



Red Gum 



Black Walnut 



971,332 



732,750 



679,770 



653,848 



372,100 



367,000 



219,353 



123,600 



82,862 



75,000 



71,200 



Cocobolo 



Lignum Vitae 



Redwood 



Dogwood 



Butternut .. . . 

 Douglas Fir . . 

 .\pplewood . . . 



Cypress 



Spruce 



Tupelo 



Teak 



Ebony 



Elm 



Cottonwood . . 



Total 35,070,928 



Lead pencils which constitute the largest item, are made principally of 

 southern red cedar, though some are now being made of incense cedar in 

 California. 



Most rulers are of maple, beech, aud West India boxwood, the finest be- 

 ing of the last named material. The best ruler material is Turkish box- 

 wood, but its high price has practically excluded it as ruler wood. 



Thermometers constitute an important part of the instrument industry. 

 Wooden backs of thermometers may be of pine, spruce, poplar, gum, or 

 basswood. 



Drawing boards and easels for artists and draftsmen call for a large 

 bill ot wood. The drawing boards are usually of a wood sufliciently soft 

 for the driving of tacks by the pressure of the thumb. White pine, bass- 

 wood, and redwood are among the best. 



Cherry has always been well liked for spirit levels and T-squares which 

 are much used by carpenters and builders. 



Cameras belong in this class and the principal woods used in their con- 

 struction are mahogany, walnut, and yellow poplar. 



When pioneers were short of salt the.v sometimes used sumac berries as 

 a substitute. The acid taste, which took the place of salt in seasoning, is 

 derived from the minute hairs which cover the individual berries. The 

 hairs are barely visible to the naked eye ; but each is hollow and is filled 

 •with a bright red juice, which is not displeasing to the taste. 



