20 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



square-edged timber, free from rot and large 

 unsound knots. 



In false-work and temporary construction 

 work, where timber is, not used permanently, 

 timber that contains some wane on one or 

 two of the corners will answer cvorv pur|)os('. 



In specification for timbers over SxS it is 

 always well to state that if lioarts or pith 

 of the wood are sound, the same can be 

 boxed; i. e., they would take an SxS, 10x10 

 or 12x12 out of the log and have the heart 

 or center of the log in the center of the 

 timber. Then the timber can be gotten out 

 of smaller trees much more readily and for 

 less money, but if you should insist upon 

 having it free from the heart center of the 

 tree, you can readily see that it would 

 take a very large tree to produce any size 

 of timber between the center and the out- 

 side of the log. 



It is always safe to specify tliat the 

 timbers are to be cut from live, green stock, 

 as a large amount of timber land is burned 

 over every year and this destroys the life 

 of a tree, worms are apt to work in it, and 

 the first stages of decay set in. As a gen- 

 eral thing, the millman cuts this burnt tim- 

 ber and top and inferior logs into boards, 

 for the rougher grades of work. 



If you want regular lumber from 1 inch 

 to 4 inches thick, which is not classed as 

 timber, and is cut 4 inches wide and up to 

 the full width of the tree, then your spe- 

 cifications should be made on the basis of 

 the grades known to the trade and hereto- 

 fore described. In case of doubt it is well 

 to consult a good, practical lumberman, giv- 

 ing him an idea of where the stock is to be 

 used, for what purpose, and how it is to be 

 put up, whether to be painted or not, etc. 



WTiere possible, use several widths an<l 

 lengths. When ail one width and one lengtli 

 is required, generally an additional inlcc of 

 from $1 to $Z per thousand will be chiirged. 

 White pine boards are cut quite largely to 

 stock sizes, 6, S, 10 and 12 inches, especially 

 in all of the grades up to "No. 2 cutting' 

 up." This and better grades are generally 

 cut into promiscuous widths, as the logs will 

 bet-t make them. Stock will run from fifty 

 to sixty per cent of 16 feet lengths, ten to 

 fifteen jfcr cent of 14 feet, probably twenty- 

 five per cent of 12 feet, and the balance 10 

 feet and shorter. 



Where stock is ordered from a distance, 

 freight rate being twenty cents or more i>er 

 hundred pounds, you can get the timber 

 dressed an cheaply as you can buy it rough. 

 The amount saved in freight by dressing will 

 just pay for this work. 



When lumber is tongued and grooved or 

 jointed, you should allow one-half inch in the 

 width for this purpo.sc, so in calculating for 

 fidoring, ceiling, etc., if you have 100 feet 

 of turfate to cover with 1-inch boards*, 

 dressed, it would be safe to add at least one- 

 fifth and get 120 feet rough measurement, as 

 all lumber is measured in the rough. 



Ilefore making out your specifications or 



submitting a bid on a large job, the safest 

 v.ay IS to go to some reliable wholesaler or 

 millman, who has had experience in manu- 

 facturing from the stump to the consumer. 

 Give him a list of the sizes and quantity re- 

 quired, explaining to him carefully where the 

 stock is to be used and length of time given 

 for shipment, lie will bo glad to give you 

 all the information necessary and should it 

 be a class of work which, by the rules of 

 the trade, he could not s-ell you, he will 

 probably direct you to some good retailer 

 who could procure the stock from the proper 

 source just as you want it. 



If a contract calls for a large aniuunt of 

 timber, and special care in selection of stock, 

 it is very necessary that you have a compe- 

 tent inspector to receive same. An ignorant 

 inspector is just as liable to reject the best 

 stock and keep that which is less suitable for 

 the work. 



Ample time should be given when ordering 

 stock. On regular market sizes of today, 

 from four to six weeks' time should be given 

 for shipment from the mill. Ketail yards 

 carry quite a variety of stock, but in small 

 quantities, and if a large amount is de- 

 manded, they would have to send to head- 

 quarters for it; if only a few truckloads 

 should be required, it generally can be pro- 

 cured from some stnall yard in the vicinity 

 on short notice. Timber, or stock which would 

 have to be cut especially for the work re- 

 quired, should be ordered from eight to ten 

 weeks in advance, according to the conipli- 

 eations of the order and the amount. 



In ordering lumber over 34 ft, Inni;, you 



should bear in mind that it will have to be 

 loaded on two cars and freight will be 

 charged on the minimum carrying weight of 

 the two cars, and wherever you can use a 

 quantity, it is advisable to use shorter stock 

 to go with the long stock, so as to make out 

 the two full carloads and lessen the cost of 

 freight. 



White pine timber, when first cut, will 

 weigh from 3,500 to 4,000 lbs. to the thou- 

 sand feet. When fairly well dry, i. e., in 

 good shipping condition, it will weigh about 

 3,000 pcuinds. Inch lumber when thoroughly 

 reasoned will weigh about 2,500 pounds to 

 the thousand feet, rough, and from 2,100 to 

 2,200 when dressed. Kiln dried boards, 

 rough, will weigh about 2,300 pounds to the 

 thousand feet, and dressed from 1,900 to 

 2,000 pounds. It is not practical to kiln-dry 

 stock over two inches in thickness. 



Whore work is to be painted, bright or 

 stained sap is no detriment as long as kept 

 ^vell covered with paint, and while protected 

 from the elements will last as long as the 

 hcartwood. All knots and pitchy places 

 should be covered with a light coat of shellac 

 before painting, and the first or priming coat 

 on pine should be of good linseed oil, with 

 just enough yellow ochre, or some similat 

 substance, to make a body before the regular 

 paint of lead and zinc is applied. 



Before sending out specifications for lum- 

 ber and timber wanted for construction work, 

 it would be best to ascertain what is the 

 most favorable kind of wood that will an- 

 swer the purpose, that can be furnished in 

 iiuantities, and ;it the least cost of trans- 

 l>(iitafion. 



NeWs Miscellany. 



Pittsburg's Prosperous Condition. 



Building records hi Pittsburg iov the year 

 lf)05 showed a total of .1il(),.'!l,">,ll(i, as compared 

 with ,$17,909,31il in li)0-t. The fulling off was 

 attributed to the liigh prices of materials some- 

 what, but chiclly to the fact that few largo 

 buildings were erected downtown, there being 

 only one new sl<yscraper. \varehouse building 

 boomed, but it does not represent as ranch out- 

 lay as the better finished structures, oflicc build- 

 ings and costly churches. December made an 

 exceptionally poor showing, having a total of 

 only .?320,937, or only about one-third that of 

 the corresponding montti in 1904. In Allegheny 

 the total for the year was .'il2,41(i,827, a gain of 

 $211,547 over the year 1904. 



Estimates of the amount of lumber sold 

 through Pittsburg agencies In the year 190.~) 

 place It at 3,000,000,000 feel, valued at $25 a 

 thousand on an average, or $75,000,000 

 worth In all, as compared with 2,400,000,000 

 feet sold In 1904 for about .'i;0O,O00,000. The 

 gain, therefore, In last year's business Is esti- 

 mated at 600,000,000 feet of lumber valued at 

 $15,000,000, or twenty per cent. This Is by far 

 the proudest record J'lltsburg ever made In 

 lumber dealing and reflects the greatest credit 

 upon the sixty-three concerns which carry on 

 the wholesale lumber trade. Of these firms 

 about one-third opirate mills of their own, 

 while the remainder arc wholesalers buying their 

 product from other mlllH or agencies. The 

 enormous tradlc I he past year makes Pittsburg 

 the third lorgcst lumber illslrlbutlng center In 

 the world, a fact which 1h rarely recognized. 



Her lirnis \\^>\\ opi-ratc mills in Canada and Nova 

 Scotia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia. 

 Kentucky, N'urth Carolina, Georgia, Wisconsin, 

 Minnesota, Michigan, Mississippi, I'lorida, Louis- 

 iana and Tennessee. Higher prices were asked 

 for almost everything in the lumber line during 

 1905. Lath advanced thirty-three per cent and 

 hardwoods aic live per cent higher than cine 

 year ago. 



W. 1>. Jolmston. president of the American 

 Lumber & Manufacturing Company, furnishes 

 some Interesting figures on the local lumber sit- 

 uation. According to Ml-, .lohnstou, the Pitts 

 burg district, comprising Pittsburg and the towns 

 within a radius of seventy-five inllcs of It, con- 

 sumes each year 22,000 acres of timber. This 

 equals lOO.OiMi carloads or ] ,'j0,000,OO0 feet of 

 lumber, which had a market value of $45,000,- 

 OOO last year. This lunibor is supplied by the 

 sixty wholesale iunilier .tobbers who have their 

 olTices In Pittsburg and goes from them to 150 

 retailers In the Plltsburg district by whom it Is 

 distributed to the users. In 1805 Mr. .Tohuslon 

 estimates that the market consumed 105.000,000 

 feet of lumber, which was worth $22,500,000. 

 This same amount In 1905 would have brought 

 $,'!1, 500,000. The total consumption In the dis- 

 trict shows a gain of lltty per cent In volume 

 and forty per cent In price. Ten years ago white 

 pine and hemlock represented almost ninety per 

 cent of the lumber used while the |iast year 

 shows the total of white pine and hemlock to 

 have been only fifty per cent. At the present 

 time, Mr. .Tohnsfon says, Pittsburg Jobbers have 

 orders on Ihclr books fully three or four months 



