April 10, 1917 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



15 



dinarily invisible to the naked eyi . Those dispersed all through the 

 ring are usually small. 



GrOWTH-EiNO FiGURE-iN Inotjstry^ 

 This figure is seen wherever wood is used. It is abundant in some 

 species, and scarce in others, depending upon contrast in rings of 

 growth. Many attractive figures might be cut from minor species, 

 but it is not often done because of the small sizes and scarcity of the 

 specimens. A number of common trees of this country are named 



in the following lists, and classified on the basis of their value as 

 figured woods produced by cutting growth rings: 



Proddcb Strong Figdees 

 Ash, Catalpa, Chestnut, Fir, Hemlocli, Hickory, Larch, Locust, Mullierry, 

 Oals, Sassafras, Sycamore, Walnut, Yellow Pine. 



Produce Medium or Weak Figures 

 Basswood, Beech, Birch, Buckeye, Cedar, Cherry, Cottonwood, Cypress, 

 Elm, Gum, Holly, Hornbeam, Magnolia, Mahogany, Maple, Persimmon, 

 Redwood, Spruce, White Pine, Willow, Yellow Poplar. 



\v'.\:<gy.'aro;r;siata);tt>to^06i!;iio>sti^^ 



Memphis Faces Log Shortage 



The Mississippi is again rising at Memphis and it is now oflScially 

 predicted that a stage of more than forty feet will be seen on the 

 local gauge. The appearance of further heavy rains in the upper 

 watersheds of the Mississippi and its tributaries is the cause of the 

 rising tendency of the river, which has come just when it was ex- 

 pected that the crest of the previous high water would be reached. 

 Some days ago it looked as if southern hardwood interests at Memphis 

 and other points along the Mississippi and it tributaries in Arkansas, 

 Mississippi and Louisiana would escape with a minimum amount of loss 

 or damage incident to high water, but with the river rising again, the 

 outlook is not quite so favorable. Already there is a gradual increase 

 in the number of hardwood mills and woodworking enterprises both 

 in and out of Memphis forced by the high water to close down, and 

 the number that will finally be affected will be determined by the 

 height of the rise. It is suggested that the river may go as high as 

 forty-two feet, in which event there would be much forced curtailment 

 through direct interference from high water, to say nothing of the 

 handicap imposed indirectly through stoppage of logging and other 

 work in the lowlands. Already three big woodworking enterprises 

 along Wolf river in North Memphis are out of commission and one 

 or two more wiU be put out of operation if the river goes appreciably 

 higher. Interference is likewise being experienced by several plants 

 in New South Memphis. Interests at GreenevUle, Vicksburg and other 

 points along the river are watching flood developments very closely, 

 with a sense of fear that they will be victims of the high water to a 

 larger or smaller degree. No uneasiness is felt regarding the levees. 

 . It is believed b.T all authorities that these embankments will hold even 

 with a stage of forty-two feet or more. 



The continued rains throughout the valley territory, together with 

 the rise in the Mississippi and its tributaries, is playing havoc with 

 logging operations, and, from the standpoint of the general 

 hardwood lumber industry, perhaps the most serious phase of 

 the situation is the forced curtailment of production that is practic- 

 ally certain to result from scarcity of logs at a comparatively early 

 date. The woods are thoroughly watersoaked throughout the Missis- 

 sippi valley and there are vast areas of lowlands under backwater 

 from the streams in this territory. The bulk of the standing timber 

 is in the lowlands or delta regions and the existence of so much sur- 

 face water makes both cutting and hauling almost hopeless for the 

 time being. Every effort is being made to bring out timber. Manu- 

 facturers of lumber are aware of tlie threatened scarcity of logs and 

 they are likewise aware of the shortage of dry stocks and the proba- 

 bility of a large demand therefor. They therefore have every incen- 

 tive for getting out enough logs to keep their miUs in operation. But 

 they are confronted with physical conditions over which they can ex- 

 ercise no control and there is no denying that the outlook for an ade- 

 quate supply of logs is anything but favorable. 



W. A. Waddington, general manager of the Valley Log Loading 

 Company has just returned from a trip over the Yazoo & Mississippi 

 Valley line of the Illinois Central system and the Memphis-Marianna 

 cut-off on the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern, the two roads on 

 which his firm loads logs. He says that there are enough logs in 

 sight to insure steady loading for the next two or three weeks but 

 that, when these have been loaded, there will be little for his company 

 to do for the reason that the amount of timber being prepared for 



shipment is so small. He dealt with the handicaps under which log- 

 ging operations have been conducted since the first of the year and he 

 anticipates that it will be quite a while before there is anything like 

 a normal amount of timber offering to be loaded on the two lines in 

 question. He pointed out the serious interference from high water 

 and also the handicap imposed by the very wet condition of the soil 

 where the majority of the timber lies. Mr. Waddington is one of 

 the best authorities in this section on log loading and on the amount 

 of timber awaiting handling. 



There is direct testimony from lumber manufacturers themselves, 

 however, on this point. The Lamb-Fish Lumber Company has al- 

 ready been forced to eliminate its night shift at its big hardwood 

 mill at Charleston, Miss., on account of log shortage and it is sug- 

 gested by oflicials of the company that, unless conditions improve ma- 

 terially with respect to logging in the near future, it will be necessary 

 to suspend operations altogether. Geo. C. Brown & Co., Proctor, Ark., 

 admit that their supply of logs is running rather short and that it 

 may be necessary to close their plant in the near future for want of 

 necessary material. Other firms in and out of Memphis say they are 

 finding the securing of log supplies a very serious problem and there 

 seems little doubt that prospects point to material contraction in the 

 production of hardwood lumber in the southern field during the next 

 few weeks on account of the shortage of logs. 



Logging Season About Over 



The extremely heavy snow of mid-March proved the final material 

 factor in the closing of most of the northern Wisconsin and Michigan 

 upper peninsula lumber camps. Many companies have issued the ul- 

 timate decree of the season while a few will resume operations to 

 finish hauling of whatever timber has been felled as soon as under- 

 foot conditions favor transportation traffic. 



The Cook Bros. Company, Oconto, Wis., totaled a season cut of about 

 15,000,000 feet and has stUl to put in 5,000,000 feet on the Pembine 

 as soon as the banked paths and roadways become passable. 



The eamps of the Schroeder Lumber Company and the Guerney 

 Lumber Company, Ashland, Wis., are among those that have shut 

 down only temporarily. 



Sawmills as well as camps were seriously affected by the snow. 

 The sawmills of the Brooks & Eoss Lumber Company and the 

 B. Heinemann Lumber Co., Wausau, Wis., have been forced to a com- 

 plete shut-domi because of a total lack of logs. Other mills experi- 

 enced the duplex diflSculty of a log and coal shortage, the latter due 

 directly to the disrupting of raOroad traffic by the extreme winter 

 pirecipitation. 



A remarkable difference is noted in the composition of lumber 

 camps of a few years ago and those of today. The jolly whisky- 

 swigging jack of rough and ready vigor has sung his swan song. 

 The camps are now composed chiefly of farmers who appreciate the 

 opportunity of accepting subsidiary emolument during the season of 

 little work on their farms. 



Because of the very high cost of operation of camps, many loggers 

 say that the season virtually drawn to a close has not equaled in 

 profits some of the preceding lumbering periods. 



