20b 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



May 10, 1919 



closes these surface checks? Usually a compression on the surface 

 and a tension on the inside which is caOed casehardening. And the 

 force which is powerful enough to close these surface checks is also 

 powerful enough to cause an internal rupturing of the fibers, or 

 honey-combing, which happens when the condition is allowed to con- 

 tinue. When checks under the force of this tremendous compression 

 strain begin to develop concave sides upon continued drying and 

 begin to ' ' pinch in " at the surface — the danger sign is out. The 

 operator must be there to see the sign. 



Wise Steaming Is Both a Pound of Prevention and Ounce of Cuke 



The remedy to be applied to lumber which sliows defects and danger 

 signs during drying is a comparatively recent one, not completely 

 understood, but of broad application and great value. It consists of 

 the application of saturated steam for a period of time and at a 

 temperature which in the judgment of the operator suits the case at 

 hand. The application of this curative principle must be understood 

 before applied, because, like most effective treatments, it can work 

 detriment as well as benefit. 



This principle may be used at the beginning of the run to heat the 

 lumber through to the center before drying from the outside begins 

 also in the case of partially seasoned stock to relieve the tendencies to- 

 ward casehardening which have been set up during air-drying. As 

 such it is often called preliminary steaming. A steaming or sweating 

 of this nature is usually for a period of about 6 hours per every inch 

 in thickness and at a temperature of only about 25° higher than the 

 temperature at which the run is to start. The practice of steaming 

 for a period of several days at the start is a big waste of drying 

 time; does not accomplish more than can be accomplished in a few 



hours and actually damages the stock. 



To kill mold that develops on the lumber in the kiln when the drying 

 conditions are mild, an application of saturated steam for an hour 

 at a temperature of 165-180 degrees is most effective. 



The most valuable application of the remedy is to lumber which has 

 become casehardened to the extent that the wood fibers tend to give 

 way to the stresses set up or when tlie surface cheeks show indica- 

 tions of "pinching in." It is necessary to steam at a temperature of 

 160180 degrees for a period of one to several hours, depending on 

 the severity of the case as judged by the operator. This saturated 

 steaming at high temperature moistens the outside of the wood and 

 reduces the stresses and the hard bony surfaces that have been set 

 up in the wood fibers. With these stresses removed, the danger of 

 honey-combing is gone and the drying may continue according to 

 schedule, until perhaps, the stresses become serious, again necessitat- 

 ing another application of steam. When the lumber is ready to be 

 removed from the kiln and it is severely casehardened with the 

 tendency to warp after machining in the shops and upon resawing, 

 proper application of saturated steam removes the casehardening set 

 up and greatly improves the quality of the material. 



Operation op Kiln Most Important Element in Kiln-Drying 

 Operation means knowing the exact temperature and humidity at 

 which the lumber is actually drying all over the kiln, it means knowing 

 how the wood is reacting to the conditions as told by symptoms such 

 as checking, casehardening and moisture distribution. 



When these things are appreciated and known accurately, the art 

 of kiln drying lumber will have taken a step forward and more general 

 commercial success will be realized. 



Trend of Price Levels 



The U. S. Deiiartment of Labor, commenting on Dun's Review, 

 has published a summary of prices for the period following Sep- 

 tember, 1918. It is shown that from October 1 to the present time 

 the price level has been declining. At first the weekly quotations 

 showed more advances than declines, although the price level fell 

 by a small amount. From November 30 until March 22 there were 

 each week more declines than advances. February 1 showed 59 

 declines and 9 advances, this being the smallest number of ad- 

 vances noted during that period and at the same time the largest 

 number of declines. The month of January showed the greatest 

 decline in the price level of all mouths, about 4i^%. The report 

 says further: 



Lumber as a group during the last quarter of 1918 was 73% higher in 

 price than in the pre-war period, July 1, 1913, to June 30, 1914. The 

 building materials group, including lumber but not including metal prod- 

 ucts, was 84% above the pre-war figure. This seems large, but as com- 

 pared with 113% increase on commodities other than building materials, 

 the increase seems Justifiable. The farm products group showed an in- 

 crease ot 116% at the same time. 



It is interesting to compare the farm products group with the lumber 

 group. The indices show that at the beginning of the year a farmer could 

 exchange a certain amount of his produce tor 25% more lumber than the 

 same amount of produce would have brought him in the year preceding 

 the war. 



Roughly speaking, by the end o£ 1918 the pre-war dollar, as expressed 

 in terms of farm products, had shrunk to 46 cents ; as expressed in terms 

 ot lumber, it had fallen to 58 cents; in terms of building materials (not 

 including steel), it fell to 54 cents ; and in terms of all commodities other 

 than building materials, it fell to 47 cents. 



A composite index for all building materials, including steel as well as 

 lumber and the rest, would show an increase of 93% over the pre-war 

 period for the pre-war period for the last quarter of 1918. At the present 

 time the index would be 189. 



Building material prices increased somewhat more In the east than in 

 the middle west, and in the west. Since the opening of the year lumber 

 has increased somewhat in price. Common brick has also increased in 

 the New York market. On the whole the group of basic materials not 

 including lumber or steel has remained practically stationary, declines 

 In some items being offset by advances in others. From all indications 



the prices of building materials on the whole do not seem to b' subject to 

 any declines of consequence in the future. 



Ten Million Dollar Timber Deal 



Prominent Omaha business men have just organized a $10,000,000 

 corporation, called the Colonial Timber & Coal Corporation, with 

 fully paid up capital. No further stock will' be offered for sale. 

 The corporation owns almost 700,000 acres of rich coal, oil and 

 hardwood timberlands located in Virginia, West Virginia, and 

 Kentucky. 



The officers and directors of the corporation are: 



President, W. L. Stickel, Omaha, who owns a string of lumber 

 yards in Nebraska; first vice-president and general manager, Ralph 

 E. Sunderland, Omaha, a prominent lumber, coal and building 

 material man; second vice-president, M. V. Matthews, president of 

 the Pioneer State Bank of Omaha; secretary, Lee Herdman, Omaha, 

 former clerk of the supreme court of Nebraska; treasurer, Walter 

 A. George, former state treasurer of Nebraska; director, J. B. 

 Ellison, attorney and capitalist, Charleston, W. Va.; director, W. 

 H. Culver, Chicago, capitalist. 



Offices will be opened in West Virginia, probably at Charleston, 

 by Mr. Sunderland. Mr. Stickel will devote his entire time to the 

 corporation. The financijil office of the company will be located at 

 Omaha under the management of Mr. Matthews and Mr. George. 



This is said to be the largest single transfer of timber, oil, and 

 coal lands ever recorded in West Virginia. Some of the property 

 has been transferred only seven times between the English crown 

 and the present owners. 



The property has several large producing coal mines, oil wells, 

 and saviTuills, and others will be leased on a royalty basis to inde- 

 pendent operators. 



The timber on the property consists of walnut, oak, chestnut, 

 birch, maple, yellow poplar and other hardwoods, and pitch pine. 

 The Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad traverses the land a distance of 

 forty-five miles. 



