34 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



prices, but there is no improvement in the de- 

 mand for the lower grades of lliis wood or for 

 any j^radc of quarter-sawed red, if the testimony 

 of a majority of the trade may he taken as a 

 oriterion. Offerings of qnarter-sawed stock, 

 however, are not large. 



Cottonwood is firm in all grades, with a par- 

 ticnlarly sood call for No. 1 and Xo. 2 box 

 common, thousli no dirtU-uIiy is experienced in 

 selling biix hoai-ds and firsts and seconds. There 

 is a greater liandicap in tiie production of cot 

 tonwtmd tban »f any other lumt)er manufactured 

 in this sci'tion. Tliis has resulted in a srarcity 

 of both actual and prospective holdings, while 

 the demand is of exceptional proportions. Trices 

 are firm and show a liigher tendency. Some 

 manufacturers assert that the currenl liolding-^ 

 of ct»ttonwoo<l lumber are m»t more than sixty to 

 sixly-fivf per cent of a normal for this time cf 

 the year. 



Gum is forging to the from as a good seller 

 and is in demand in all grades. Huyers are 

 coming to a realization of the fact that there 

 is not much for sale, and are buying freely when* 

 they tind nlferings satisfactory. IVices are firm 

 and show a higher tendency in all grades. l*op- 

 lar is lirm for the hii;ber grades nnd sleaily on 

 commons and culls. 



Bhlnelander, Wis. 



Trade in hardwoods is rather quiet at present, 

 cirders have been laliing ofl" for a week or so. 

 and very few art* comiui; in at present. Ship- 

 ments of InmbE^r are si ill gtiing forward, hut the 

 rush seems to be over. Trade this year has 

 been mainly with the agricultural implement 

 and wagon factories, while the furniture nnd 

 planing mill demand has been light, only a few 

 cars being purchased now and then, to fill in a 

 gap. and there has been no buying for the pur- 

 pose of stocking up. I'irch is moving about as 

 well as any other wood and is shipped over a 

 wide range of country, but is not in very great 

 demand in large quantities at any one point. 

 lufiuirles from I'ufTalo for good lots have been 

 received, and it is likely that considerable birch 

 will go east by boat this year. Thick birch. 

 especially inch and a (juarter and two inch, is 

 scarce, and prices are (irmly held. Three inch 

 birch, which was a drug on the market last year. 

 is picking up and moving with some freedom. 



Thick maple. Inch and a «piarter nnd up. has 

 been selling well ali winter. Inch maple is 

 being picked up by tlie (louring factories at very 

 low prices. ttasswood has been selling well. 

 and there i.s very little of it on hand. dry. A 

 i;urious fact about hasswuod fs noted In the 

 prices on grades as follows : Kirst and second. 

 $20: No, 1 common. lfl7..V». a drop of .$11. .50 per 

 thousand feet, and No. 2 common. !?14, only 

 ^M.-IO less than No. 1. This is also true to some 

 extent of birch, tiiough not so marked. All 

 dealers complain that No. 1 <-ommon birch does 

 not sell well In inch, although In one-quarter 

 and one-half inch It dfies. Numerous box com- 

 panies are culling for Ni». 'A birch, but the sup- 

 ply of tlilH In small. They do tioi want to pay a 

 little more and take No. 2 con»nion, which is in 

 goofl Kuptdy. The Increasing price of low-grade 

 box material may force them to take this grade 

 of birch, which would be a boon to the trade 

 at large. 



Itock elm is pretty well denned out everj- 

 where and soft elm also. Of oak there Is very 

 Utile In (Ills xiate and iluit Is scattered in all 

 localities. The veneer companleH pay ^'2'i per 

 thonsand feet for oak logs, and ll Is a pretty 

 Hi Iff price for the Hawmllls to compete with. 

 When they get u few oak I* gs ll Ik eaaler to sell 

 them to .•'oine veneer company than to Haw them 

 up Into lumber. 



Tlie hardwood ImMluesit bus been very Matlsfnc 

 tory the past three months, and when the plan 

 Ing mill and furniture denuiud coinnienccH there 

 will be another rnsh of trade. 



ABhland, Ky. 

 I>ry Hlocks of lumber are very low and dealerH 

 are L'etllng ilielr own prices. SiockM are more 



broken, and lower than they were ever known 

 in this section. 



A recent tide in IMg Sandy. <iuyandotle and 

 Tug rivers will throw a snutll »mtput of logs 

 in the market, enough to last the mills proliably 

 a month, but the rains are not general and ilid 

 not reach the lieads of the streams. The (Juyan- 

 dotte will put out probably iri.tiiu) logs and the 

 Itig Sandy several hundred rafts. 



There is a l)lg building boom in this section 

 and all kinds of Innib'T and Imildcrs' sn])iilic.s 

 arc in <rreal deniaii'I. 



Louisville. 



Uardwocil tlcalcrs arc palling llic yellow pine 

 people on the back and saying ".lust keep al it. 

 you are doing us good. too. and we diiu't care 

 how high you put the prices of yelbiw iiinc." 

 I'oplar bevel skiing is in cxt client dcMiaiid. Inii 

 rather scarce. Tn faci, it is more Iroulib' to 

 find slock tluiu it is to sell it. and it is getting 

 to be sonu'lhlug tlu» same with the entire hai-d- 

 wood list. The demand is increasing and prices 

 improving, su tliat nuum fact urea's and dealers 

 do nut have to put fcrlli much effurt ti» sell 

 stock, but must spend their energy in securing 

 enough to supply the demand. This applies to 

 practically everything from lies to (luariered 

 oak. and not only takes in red gum luit riiakes 

 Hq)elo bob up again. .Vpparently everybody is 

 looking for stock and ibe jjrospects ahead seem 

 to indicate a hard scramble before summer. The 

 local niillmeu say there are logs up the river, 

 but those back in the woods are not l)eing 

 brought out with any degree of rapidity, whicli 

 indicates that the spring drives will be rather 

 iiglit. The country mills are tip to the hubs in 

 mud. so that production and shipments are seri- 

 ously handicapped, while the demand is improv- 

 ing right along, especiall.v in poplar and in 

 plain-sawed oak. 



Minneapolis. 



■ Dealers In re :n c rccci\ing many goml orders 

 for flooring from northwestern i)oiuts. aiui inaplc 

 is a stronger feature on the market than usual. 

 Oak is still tlie leader in demand, however, and 

 great trouble .s found in delivering stock. Only 

 one firm pi-etends to carry any northern oak 

 now and others are getting the snulbern varicly 

 as they can to sr.ppiy Hie deniand for wairon 

 stock and other items in ilic iiiix'Ml .ar trade, 

 as well as the factoi-y I raclc. w hicli will taUe 

 oak at almost any price, provided ihc seller is 

 able 1o guarantee delivery. 



All nortbern liardwo<»ds arc becoming scarce, 

 Willi lb)' exception cd" birch, wbicli bids fair to 

 last until new stock Is ready lOr shipment. 

 There Is no surplus of Ibis wood, li<iwcver. and 

 it is held in strong hands, so prices are notice 

 ably firmer. Itasswiu d is becoming decidediv 

 scarce in all grades. Culls are advaiudng as a 

 result (jf almost total di-pletlou «f dry stock and 

 a heavy advance In low-grade pine Itoards. As 

 for elm, ash and other facttn-y hnniier. the i-cn 

 sumers have canvassed the silualhui sonu'what 

 and are now in (he market for any offerings. 

 Kock elm is especlriliy strong. Healers are not 

 fiu-clng sales, but are bidding r;n lo the scarcer 

 items, and are not disp. sed to n»ake jirtces where 

 a con<essl(m Is asked. Tlu' sash and dtnr peo- 

 ple, who have been good buyi-rs all year, an* 

 having a slack seasiui with their special w<u*k 

 Just now. but are keeping 1h«'lr eyes out i<n' 

 stock, and In another nioiilb or tw<p will be 

 using large quanlllleN of hardwood again. The 

 spring building plans are (he heaviest In the 

 history of Ibe Twin Cities, and great iiuantltles 

 tif Interior finish will be used locally In tbe 

 ni*x( five oi- six months. 



Liverpool. 



Alfred ]»obell 4V C.i.. In a recent report, stuti- 

 Ihut round Honthern oak Is in goorl request In 

 (he Liverpool imirket. ihi lit more waney logs 

 iWii sought nnd prime parcels of good Hpeeltica-t 

 lion.' have sold readily. The scarcity of wagon 

 planks Hill] condniies nnr) arriving parcels have 



gone into consumption at full values. Amval'i 

 of colhn planks have been heavy, especially of 

 ntodium and inferior qualities, but prime planks 

 of good specifications are In dt-mand. Tbe im 

 port of walnut logs has been light, and lull 

 values have been paid for all grades. I'lanUs 

 and boards have also arrived moderately, antl 

 prices are firm. Whitewood logs of good size 

 and quality find ready sale, while in !)lanks and 

 boards tbe market has been stocked with nu-- 

 diiim and inferior ijualities. lionnd ash logs 

 have come forward sparingly and jirincipally 0:1 

 contract. The demand is good. Hound hickory 

 logs have arrived plentifully, and values remain 

 unchanged. Prices of staves are easier owing to a 

 falling off In demand, and the import has been 

 heavy. In the various kinds of mahogany prici-s 

 for good specifications have been well main 

 tained. Nicaragu.an. .\,frican. Mexican. liondura'. 

 and Guatemalan first arrivals, if sound and oi' 

 desirable sizes, would come to a welcoming mar 

 ket. 



John IT. IJurrell & Co.'s wood circular says 

 that round ash logs have arrived on contract in 

 considerable quantities and that clean seeond- 

 growth wood of good lengths for bending pur 

 poses continues in good reiiuest. The import tf 

 black walnut logs up to date has lieen about 

 two-thirds what it was at this time last year. 

 wtien supplies wore much too heavy. .Supplies. 

 of black walnvit himber have again l)een ex- 

 cessive, amounting to three times tin* tpiantity 

 Imported last year, and shipments should be 

 strictly curtailed for some time. Hickory logs 

 have arrived plentifully, and are now too heavy. 

 so that the drop in prices anticipated last month 

 has become a reality. IJuartered oak stock ol" 

 wide average is in good iei|uest. but narrow 

 sizes are neglected. Supplies of jilain boards hu 

 all grades are being overdone, while cabinet 

 planks of prime quality iue<'t with ready sale. 

 Trices on t)ak coftin planks have (b'.-)in'*i| and 

 shipments .slionid be curtaileii. 



London. 



'J'bc maiket here may he said to l»e gradually 

 improving and buyers are lakiui; advantage t f 

 the cheapness of stocks in the docks which are 

 i-apidly being tiephMed. Arrivals are liulii and 

 now that the >hip|Hng comiuinies have made u.> 

 for lost time, by bringing along the stocks thai 

 have been waiting for shipment i'<ir sonie time 

 past, it will be possible to lell how far 

 buyers will go in order to pay lln- higher prices 

 now asked for stocks to arrive. 



I'lain oak is still eagerly sought. Supplies «ve 

 light and good prices are jiald for stocks that 

 are nquired. siicli as 1 i.^. L\ 2'i.. .*l anri 4 inch 

 (tlauks. 



The sligblly beitei- (iiMiiaiid for tpmrtered oak 

 stilt continues. Itut it is dillicull to get any arl 

 vance in price. 



Whitewoods. in jMini''. clear saps and culls, 

 ■ifo in good demaiiil. bin buyers are not paying 

 Ibe advance in prici's eagerly. 



Satin walnut stocks are imt heavy and paiccN 

 arriving are going Into consumption direct. 



There is a good demand for tough ash in 

 jdanVs and logs. 



Walnut is ctmvpit nous by its absence, but the 

 demand is no( ;:reat, as this woid Ih not in favor 

 at tbe moment among furniture makers, i)hiln 

 oak and mahoi;auy taking the fancy of buyers. 



Cburehlll *; Sim's wood circular aunonmes 

 that arrivals of mahogany In I.ondon were liuht 

 the past numdi and that Important sales were 

 made both at auction and by private contract. 

 -Most active deimuxl continues for wood of fair 

 sizes, hut there is a wllgbl Improvement in the 

 inquiry for small logs. I thick walnut logs, if 

 good hihI sizable, would sell well, but for small 

 or rough ious lluMe i^ no demand ; planks an<l 

 boards are in good request, with light stocks. 

 Whitewood logs, if large and prime, w<iuld meet 

 a ready sale, but for Inferior wood there is no 

 call; the demand for planks remains qtiiei. bin 

 prime pinned boards, under one iu'h In (hlckness, 

 coiidniie scarce. 



