Published In the Interest of Hardwood Lumber, Americain Hardwood Forests, Wood Veneer Industry, Hardwood Flooring, 

 Harfclwaod Interior Finish, Wood Chemicals, Saw Mill and WoodworKing Machinery. 



Vol. XXI. 



CHICAGO, NOVEMBER 25, 1905. 



No. 3. 



Published on the 10th and 25th of each month fcy 



THE HARDWOOD COMPANY 



Henry H. Gibson. President 



Frank W. TUTTLE. Sec-Treas. 



OFFICES 

 Sixth Floor Ellsworth Bldg.. 355 Dearborn St., Chicago, III., U.S.A. 



Telephones: Harrison 4960 Automatic 5659 



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General Market Conditions. 



The hardwoiid iiiaiket the eoiintry over remains very istrong. Ten 

 people are looking for stock, notably in oak, where there is one 

 institution offering it for sale. Undeniably the first of January will 

 see less hardwood lumber in first hand.s than ever before known. 



While plain-saweil oak. both red and white, is remarkably scarce, 

 there is no surplus of quartered stock. Black ash and rock elm are 

 practically out of the market, and while ash and hickory are almost 

 as scaice. Maple, birch and basswoodare showing a marked improve- 

 ment every day. The volume of business is increasing and prices are 

 strengthening. The coarse end of poplar and eottonvvood has shown 

 decided improvement during the past month, and verv' few manu- 

 facturers now have any unsold surplus. 



The wood that is making the greatest strides in breadth of dis- 

 tribution this year is red gum. People in Ihe manufacturing consum- 

 ing trade have just begun to realize the value of this wood. The 

 increased appreciation with wliich gum is being held by consumers 

 can be credited very largely to the improved methods of manufacture 

 and seasoning that experience has taught manufacturers are necessary 

 to turn out the stock in a merchantable and satisfactory shape. 

 There is every reason to believe that succeeding years will show an 

 increasing demand for gum, and that the price of this wood will 

 advance by leaps and bounds for some time to come. It would not 

 be surprising if red gum values, notably in firsts and seconds, passed 

 cypress within the next five years. 



The hardwood flooring people who are producing maple, oak, birch 

 and beech flooring are still all extremely busy. Every factory is 

 working on full time and at full capacity, and very few are able to 

 keep up with orders. 



Veneer manufacturers, especially those producing panel stock and 

 material that is utilized in other w-ays in furniture making, carriage 

 and automobile building, are also very busy. A good many plants are 

 running overtime. 



There is an improved call for car oak, and a manifestly increased 

 demand for wagon and agricultural implement dimension stock. 

 Generally speaking, the small dimension stock for furniture and 



chair work is ranging pretty low in price, but all that is offered is 

 finding a ready sale. 



The New Hardwood Dimension Association. 



There was bom at Cliicago un Tuesday, Xov. L'l. a harduood dimen- 

 sion stock association. At this meeting a mighty good start was made 

 toward a permanent and valuable association of reciprocal benefit to 

 the hardwood dimension industry. The character of the people inter- 

 ested in this movement, the earnestnes.s of their endeavor and the 

 common-sense which prevailed in the deliberations, looking toward a 

 thorough understanding of the necessities of the trade, cojistitute 

 positive assurance that the new association is going to be a distinct 

 success and result in inestimable good in thoroughly commercializing 

 this phase of the hardwood industry, which is now- very largely defi- 

 cient in legitimate commercial qualities. 



A perusal of the proceedings of this meeting, which will be found 

 in this issue of the Hardwood Record, is well worth the time of every 

 individual producing wagon and agricultural implement material, 

 furniture stock, chair dimension, handle material, or any of the other 

 infinity of small stock that goes to make up the hardwood dimension 

 business. Such a perusal will constitute a good start toward an 

 understanding of the deficiencies of this calling, and will explain 

 more fully than columns of editorial the urgent needs of this branch 

 of the trade. 



While this meeting was only preliminary and simply for the pur- 

 pose of exchanging experiences and ideas on the subject of dimension 

 work, a vast amount of information was acquired which will assist 

 materially in shaping just deliberation at the next meeting of the 

 association, w^hich will be called by President E. L. Davis the latter 

 part of January or the first of February, probably at Cincinnati. 

 At this time a constitution and by-laws will be adopted, permanent 

 officers for the ensuing 3'ear will be elected and competent committees 

 will be Kt at work to thoroughly analyze and recommend methods of 

 manufacture, standard sizes, just grades and just values. 



It is also more than likely that it will be decided to employ a 

 competent inspector of dimension stock, whose duties shall be to 

 travel from plant to plant and educate every member of the associa- 

 tion into correct methods of manufacture and grading. There is no 

 movement today before the hardwood manufacturers of the United 

 States that promises a higher result for the benefit of the trade 

 than this association. 



During the proceedings it was forcibly brought out that the cur- 

 rent difference in range of values on dimension stock shows an aver- 

 age of more than $10 a thousand, in some instances running as high 

 as $23 a thousand, on the same class of material. It was alleged that 

 the future success of the hardwood industry, notably south of the 

 Ohio river, lies in plans being promulgated whereby the coarse end 

 of the forest product can be utilized in the form of dimension stock 

 at a profit. It was presaged that otherwise hardwood manufacturers 

 of the South can scarcely hope to achieve permanent commercial stie- 

 cess. 



Notice to Manufacturers of Hardwood Dimension. 



President E. L. Davis of the newly organized Hardwood Dimension 

 Association requests that every manufacturer of wagon, carriage, 

 agricultural implement, furniture, chair, handle and other dimension 



