HARDWOOD RECORD 



33 



bere is limited and the demand more than 

 equal to the supply. Only a very small quan- 

 tity of oak is manufacnired here. <lne or two 

 yard firm.s buy a stood deal o( oak and a lim- 

 ited quantity is lu-ought here and sorted up. 

 while a number of niiltion feet is iiaudled direct 

 from a manufacturing point to the cousitiner 

 without coming into the yard. 



Elm has been rather slow, but is expected to 

 do better as the season advances. 



Dealers are in fairly good shape lo handle all 

 the trade offered. 



Milwaukee. 



Market cunditiuus are n»:>rnuil lur this season 

 of the year. All yards report an adetjuate sup- 

 ply on hand to tide over until the arrival iit 

 this season's cut. No change in prices has beeu 

 made since the last went into effect March 1. 

 It would creaie little comment, however, if prices 

 stiffened somewhat, as the demaud for hardwood 

 lumber is increasing almost daily. Hardwood 

 liooring manufacturers report a brisk trade : 

 many, in fact, assert that the present demand ex- 

 ceeds tliat for the corresponding time of any 

 previous year. Chair manufacturers at Port 

 Washington and Sheboygan are placing large 

 orders in anticipation of a lively season. 



Bristol, Va.-Teim. 



It is asserted by many that existing condi- 

 tions in hardwoods foreshadow one of the best 

 years in recent history. Local exporters, too, 

 report improvement in their line, and are firm 

 in the belief that prospects for higher prices 

 in the foreign markets are brilliant. 



The country mills which have been cumpeltol 

 to shut down on account of bad weather are ail 

 in active operation again. The roads are be- 

 ginning to show improvement and the work of 

 hauling the winter's cut to the railroads lias 

 begun. There is an unusually large amount 

 of stock at the country mills which is being put 

 on the market as fast as it can be hauled to the 

 railroads. The larger mills are all running reg- 

 ularly and to their fullest capacity in most 

 cases, and even with this, some dealers assert 

 they are behind witli orders. 



Cincinnati. 



Inclement weather the past two weeks tem- 

 porarily checked activity, so far as the actual 

 movement of liardwoods was concerned. In- 

 quiries continued on a liberal scale, however, 

 and as soon as the weather moderates opportun- 

 ity will be afforded dealers to fill orders which 

 have been on their books for weeks. Available 

 supplies of dry stocks continue small in all direc- 

 tions. Reports from producing sections of Ken- 

 tucky and West Virginia indicate that produc- 

 tion will increase rapidly, as the mills have 

 recently secured many logs. riain oak. in all 

 thicknesses, has been in the best inquiry, with 

 cypress a close second. Quarter-sawed red oak 

 and quarter-sawed white oak continue in good 

 call. I'oplar, gum, Cottonwood, ash, walnut, 

 hickory Mod other woods maintain a Arm posi- 

 tion. 



St. Iiouis. 



The activity of the hardwood trade, notwdth- 

 standiug the heavy snows and cold weather of 

 March, has in no wise lessened. St. Louis 

 wholesale dealers all report as much business 

 as they can handle, in the face of drawbacks to 

 handling and shipping resulting from recent 

 bad weatlier. Plain-sawed oak is the leading item 

 in price advances. Plain red oak is correspond- 

 ingly strong. The poplar trade is in good 

 shape, with stocks of firsts and seconds being 

 hard pressed to meet demand. There is a fairly 

 good call for selects, and more or less buying of 

 common and cull. Cottonwood and gum are con- 

 siderably higher than for some months. 



undertone. lioth manufacturers and wholesal- 

 ers are busy with their shipments, and the vol- 

 ume of business would be even larger if there 

 were a sufhclency of dry stock. There are com- 

 plaints of scarcity of dry stock in almost every 

 direction. Prices are firm in most items, with 

 the tendency in some distinctly upward. The 

 foreign demand is only moderate. 



.\sh and cypress ar^.the strongest items on the 

 list. The demand for both is of phenomenal pro- 

 portions, while the amount available for imme- 

 diate shipment is even lighter than heretofore. 

 The demand is distributed to all grades of both 

 kinds of lumber. 



There is a continued good call fur plain oak. 

 both red and white, but there is an idea in some 

 fiuarters that tlie relations between supply and 

 demand, so far as plain oak is concerned, are 

 not quite .so strained as they have been for the 

 past year or more. Quarter-sawed oak is still 

 slow- in all grades, with the exception of quarter- 

 sawed white in the higher grades. Red is 

 slow in both the higher and lower grades and 

 the latter grades of white are not much wanted. 

 Prices, however, are about what they have been 

 heretofore, with tlie tone called steady. 



There is an excellent call for all grades of 

 Cottonwood, including box boards. The supply 

 of this wood is not large. Prices are held firmly 

 at recent level. 



Gum is wanted in all grades at very satisfac- 

 tory prices. Offerings of dry gum are not large, 

 but the mills are selling their output ahead, thus 

 enabling buyers to contract for their future 

 wants. 



There is a moderately good demand for high 

 grade poplar, hut there is less activity in the 

 lower grades of this lumber than in similar 

 grades of cottonwood. Prices are steady. 



Heavy rains are reported throughout tills ter- 

 ritory during tlie past fortnight, and manufactur- 

 ers say that they are operating with greater diffi- 

 culty. It is believed that this interference, even 

 though temporary, will tend to strengtluMi the 

 position, generally speaking, of hardwcods. 



Louisville. 



The hardwood fraternity in Louisville and vi- 

 ( inity has been down in the dumps for the 

 past few weeks, not because of lack of de- 

 mand but because of excessive rains and ex- 

 tremely soft roads, which make hauling almost 

 impossible. There has been so much rain that 

 operations in the woods have been practically 

 at a standstill. The outlook for pleasant 

 weather is brighter just now, and the sun has 

 been shining for a day or two, which is caus- 

 ing active times at the mills. But even if the 

 roads improve immediately and the mills make 

 more deliveries than for the past few weeks tlie 

 demand will exceed the supply. Prices lui 

 most hardwoods have climbed up a litle and 

 the demand for all stocks is urgent. In oak 

 the call for plain-sawed stock is so strong and 

 the prices as compared to piece stock of vari- 

 ous kinds are so inviting that some of the Inills 

 formerly making a specialty of piece stock now 

 give most of their attention to plain-sawed. 

 t'sers of piece stock are very anxious to place 

 orders for everything from small dimension to 

 car material and heavy timbers. 



Memphis. 



The demand for hardwood lumber here con- 

 tinues good, and tlie market shows an excellent 



Minneapolis. 



While the demand for hardwood from north- 

 western buyers is not heavy, it is large in pro- 

 portion to the dry stocks on hand. There are 

 very low stocks of available dry lumber, except 

 birch, wdiich is ample to take care of needs for 

 a month or so. Retail yards are buying quite 

 heavily, especially mixed car orders containing 

 a large percentage of hardwood yard stock, as 

 flooring, white oak wagon stock, maple and 

 wagon box material. 



Sash and door factories are not buying to any 

 great extent. The factory demand is confined 

 almost entirely to the furniture people, but 



they are taking a good line of stock. Basswood 

 is scarce in all grades, and is getting stiCfer in 

 price right along. Cull basswood is out of the 

 market, and the new cuttings will sell readily 

 at a good figure as soon as it is ready to ship. 

 Oak is very hard to get and dealers are all 

 having trouble in getting delivery of southern 

 stock. Following the car trouble has come wet 

 weather. Reports are received from Missouri, 

 Kentucky and Tennessee of yards and tracks 

 under water, and stock badly w*anted is tied 

 up at the mills or on the way. 



The general report is that the output of hard- 

 wood logs in Wisconsin was lighter than usual. 

 I]stimates run from fJU to -SO per cent of last 

 year's cut, and it would have been a luuch 

 worse showing if it had not been for the good 

 freeze in March. The mills whicli did not run 

 through tile winter are uow starting up and will 

 turn out nearly as heavy an output as last 

 year, except in oak. Some of the m. s will help 

 out their shortage b.v summer logging, wher- 

 ever it can be done without too great expense. 



The building movement in northwestern cities 

 continues heavy, promising a good hardwood 

 demand all through the building season. 



Rhinelander, Wis. 



The hardwood trade has been rather quiet 

 the past week or so, although shipments on 

 contracts have been going forward steadoy. 

 There is a slight survival in demand ,iust now, 

 and prospects are a little better. There is a 

 lieavy trade in box material, birch, bassw'ood, 

 etc.. and the furniture concerns are beginning 

 to call for birch and soft elm, as well as rock 

 elm, the chair factories being especially in need 

 of the last named. As they have to compete 

 with the agricultural implement concerns for 

 rock elm. the prospect is that they will have to 

 pa,y a good price for what they get this .year. 



Birch is moving rather slowly, but in the ag- 

 gregate a good quantity is being shipped. Thick 

 stock, especially 1 Vi and 2 inch, is scarce, and 

 is selling fairly w'ell. Culls are the best sellers 

 of all grades. 



Basswood is good property, and with the re- 

 cent advance in lower grades, is making a good 

 record in the way of prices. Firsts and seconds 

 are hardly as high as they should be, as with 

 No. 2 common at .fit). 00. No. 1 barely bringing 

 $18.50, and first and seconds at ,'?2!i.0O. there 

 is not enough difference between the prices. This 

 matter will probably take care of itself as the 

 season advances. 



Hard maple is rather quiet at present. There 

 is not a great deal of dry stock on hand, how- 

 ever, and it will all doubtless move before 

 the new cut is dry. 



London. 



The market shows no signs of activit.v ; the 

 east end cabinet makers, who make the cheaper 

 kinds of furniture, being practically without 

 orders, and the only demand being for ...e bet- 

 ter class of lumber, and that only in limited 

 quantities. It is satisfactory, however, to record 

 that buyers are paying good prices for these 

 goods "to arrive" when 'the.v cannot find them 

 in doclcs. 



Two failures during the past fortnight are 

 to be recorded among lumber dealers, but it 

 is only the larger brokers who will be affected 

 by them. 



Prime oak boards are in good call, but arrivals 

 are light, parcels of ')-i. 6-4 and S-4 of good 

 medium quality are in active demand at re- 

 munerative prices : .1-inch and 4-incli export 

 planks also find a good market. 



Walnut is not in great demand, but parcels 

 of culls and mediums would sell well. 



Arrivals of Sabin walnut have beeu ample 

 and a few parcels which have not quite come 

 up to buyers' ideas of quality have been stored. 



Tlie demand for ash and hickory logs and 

 lumber is very good, and although ..lis is not 

 a large market for this wood, high prices are 

 ruling. 



