i8 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



Points Concerning Selection of Timber and Lumber. 



( Note : The following address was delivered 

 some time ago before the Engineering Society of 

 Columbia University by Charles \V. Manning, 

 the well-known lumberman and expert on wood 

 physics of New York City. While many of the 

 Interesting details covered by Mr. Manning do 

 not refer to hardwoods speciflcally, the article 

 contains so much of general interest, especially 

 to beginners in the lumber business, that the 

 Hardwood Record deems that it is rendering 

 readers a service by jrinting it. — Editok. ] 



1 have the honor of presenting to you a 

 subject which I believe you will not find in 

 any text-book and about which only men of 

 long experience can properly teach you. There 

 is so much to be said of interest and great 

 use to you that I hardly know where to be- 

 gin, and trust you will pardon me if 1 wan- 

 der a little iu my descriptions. I wish to 

 present to you, in detail, many things that 

 lumbermen take for granted. It is unneces- 

 sary for me to tell you the botanical names 

 of the trees, their origin, or give you a 

 scientific description of forestry; I want to 

 instruct you in the practical uses of manu- 

 factured lumber — how to use, where to use, 

 kinds to use, where to procure and how to 

 order. 



The timber and lumber industry is the 

 second in the world in volume and value, and 

 its products enter into almost every com- 

 modity and enterprise. The conditions are 

 such and so many are interested in it that 

 it is impo-ssible to form a monopoly or trust; 

 so in seeking material, you will always find 

 an open market, and should you find the par- 

 ticular kind of stock you are looking for in 

 the hands of only a few, and apparently at a 

 fixed price, you can generally find a substi- 

 tute and perhaps one easier to procure and 

 at a less price. I will try to advise you 

 of a few points I have picked up and les- 

 sons 1 have learned from observation and an 

 experience of thirty years of active life in 

 this business. It is not possible for any one 

 man in his lifetime to master the lumber 

 business. Tt is one of the most interesting 

 and fa.scinating pursuits and few are willing 

 to retire, nearly all lumbermen dying in the 

 harness. 



The lumber business is founded largely 

 on confidence between buyer and seller, 

 wholesalers especially rarely ever seeing the 

 .stock that is furnished, most of it being sold 

 on representation. The grades are so well de- 

 fined by experienced lumbermen that one iu 

 the business can imagine he can see the 

 .stock he is to receive. For this reason, he 

 should, as far as possible, deal with only 

 responsible parties of experience. 



It would take too long to give even a 

 slight description of all you ought to know- 

 relative to lumber, so I will confine myself 

 to white pine, rightly called the "King of 

 the Woods." 



This is found in Michigan, Wisconsin, Min- 

 nesota, California, Oregon, Pennsylvania, 

 Xorth Carolina, Tennessee, Maine, West Vir- 

 ginia and Canada ; the largest portion and 



bci^t (luality of it today being found in Wis- 

 consin, Minnesota and Canada. Two kinds 

 arc found in California, viz., sugar pine and 

 (';!liforuia white pine, the former being soft 

 and resembling the Michigan cork pine of 

 years ago. The white pine of California is 

 harder and has more the texture of the white 

 jiine which grows farther south. The white 

 l)ine iu North Carolina and Tennessee does 

 not attain a large growth and but very little 

 of the higher grades of lumber are found in 

 it. It runs mostly to a small, sound-knotted 

 timber, and largely sap. The Canada tim- 

 ber, while large, is apt to be shaky. 



Thirty or forty years ago millmen going 

 into the forests were wasteful, only taking 

 the largest trees and butt logs. Because of 

 the great demand and the scarcity of pine, 

 they are now going over these same lands the 

 second and third time, and for that reason 

 much poorer lumber is produced. 



Formerly, nearly all of the logging was 

 done in winter, camps being formed in the 

 early fall, trees felled, cut into logs and 

 skidded into large piles ready for the snow 

 and ice, when teams could haul them to the 

 floatable streams and lakes. On the approach 

 of spring and the breaking up of the ice, the 

 logs were rolled into streams and while the 

 freshet was on were driven to the mills by 

 experienced log drivers. If there was a fa- 

 vorable season large stocks were put in, but 

 in an open winter a large quantity of the 

 logs had to be left in the woods, and if uu- 

 peeled they were practically destroyed by the 

 worms and very often by forest fires. It 

 used to be considered an advantage to have 

 the logs lie in the water during the summer 

 months, as it was claimed that the lumber 

 dried quicker, was lighter, and the water 

 neutralized the sap and pitch, and it was 

 certain that the worms would not work in the 

 logs as long as they were in the stream. 



The growth of the country and the increas- 

 ing demand for stocks of all grades, made it 

 necessary to find .some other method of log- 

 ging that would run the mills the year round; 

 so some enterprising lumbermen built rail- 

 roads into the timber lands, and by this 

 method were enabled to cut and transport 

 the logs to the mill in all months of the year. 

 As the expense of constructing the railroads 

 was great, it became necessary to almost clear 

 the land of all stock that could be used, so 

 that more inferior lumber has been cut in the 

 last fifteen years, and they arc now taking 

 out everything that will make any kind of 

 merchantable stock. It has its advantages, in 

 tliat no logs arc left to be destroyed by the 

 V, orms, the risk by fire is very slight and less 

 capital is locked up in the transaction. Now 

 modern machinery and dry kilns prepare the 

 stock, from the stump, for shipment within 

 lliirty days. 



When logging was done in the winter, 

 many of the trees were put in full Icngtli, 



rioiii -IU feet to 7.5 feet long, and lloated 

 down to the mill that way. These were held, 

 by themselves, in pockets in the pond, for 

 the purpose of cutting out special bill timber 

 when ordered, so at that time it was possible 

 to get large and long timber of the very best 

 (juality from a great many mills. When log- 

 ging by railroads was instituted it was not 

 found practicable to build cars to transport 

 such long timber, so they are now built of a 

 standard size, to carry logs 10 feet to 16 

 feet, the bulk of the logs being cut 16 feet. 



Since these improved methods were insti- 

 tuted, our accessible forests have become 

 nearly denuded, making our white pine 

 scarce and high priced, and consumers 

 everywhere are looking for substitutes, the 

 principal ones being whitewood, cypress, 

 southern pine, Oregon and Washington fir, 

 redwood, spruce and hemlock. 



No longer than thirt.v years ago, nearly 

 all bridges, culverts, trestles, superstructures, 

 warehouses, docks, large buildings, floors, and, 

 in fact, all construction work requiring lum- 

 ber, were made largely of white pine, and it 

 was about the only finishing lumber used in 

 all parts of the country. 8ince so many of 

 the other woods growing nearer the point of 

 consumption, have been substituted for white 

 pine, its use has been largely confined to 

 finishing, pattern making, box making, 

 fencing, house trimming, ship decking, spars, 

 and construction work, when near the source 

 of supi)ly. 



White pine swells and shrinks less than any 

 other wood, with the exception of mahogany 

 and cherry, and for purposes where it is not 

 practicable to confine the wood by means of 

 nails, .screws, bolts, etc., and it will stay in 

 its place under almost every condition. It 

 wari)S and twists but little, and in that re- 

 spect has no substitute. 



Uji to within twenty-five or thirty years 

 ago all of the large mills carried in stock 

 l(.ng timber, for cutting out almost all sizes 

 of bill stock from 4 inches by 4 inches to 

 It) inches by 16 inches, 12 feet to 40 feet 

 long; but very few mills today are able to 

 furnish timber of specially large size, little of 

 it being carried in stock. Since logging by 

 railroads the standard lengths are 10 feet to 

 10 feet (largely 16 feet), some operators 

 putting in a small percentage of 18 feet and 

 20 feet lengths. When white pine was plenti- 

 ful and logs were large, the sap part of the 

 wood was largely wasted. 



The standard thicknesses of lumber today 

 are 1 to 4 inches, and lengths are from 

 10 to 16 feet. The thicker stock is cut into 

 the better grades and the poorer or top logs 

 and what we call the low end, is cut into 

 1-inch lumber for a cheaper class of work. 

 Lumbermen use the terms 4/4, 5/4, 0/4, etc., 

 for 1", 114", IV/', 2", etc. 



Today mills carry very small stocks, 

 as the new method of seasoning with dry 

 kilns, makes it unnecessary to prepare so 



