THE HARDWOOD RECORD. 



-:> 



been eminently satisfactory tlie past two 

 weeks. Besides furttier gradual improve- 

 ment is making itself felt and the outlook 

 for the future is given a rosy lining. There 

 is one feature of the market, though, that 

 is discouraging, viz., the fact that the de- 

 mand from export sources has been ex- 

 tremely limited for a long time. The dis- 

 turbances that usually accompany a presi- 

 dential year have not been felt locally; the 

 building trade, for instance, at this writ- 

 ing bidding fair to take a great deal of 

 stock before heavy winter sets in. Fur- 

 niture manufacturers are absorbing prac- 

 tically all the dry stock that they can lay 

 their hands on, with the result that these 

 stocks have rapidly gone down. Poplar, 

 though, is an exception. Piano manufac- 

 turers have been in the market with both 

 feet. They have bought freely, anticipat- 

 ing a lively winter's business. Vehicle 

 manufacturers, for some reason or other, 

 are proceeding slowly in laying in lumber 

 for winter usage. The grain crops in ad- 

 jacent country have been harvested and 

 traveling salesmen have, in instances, re- 

 ceived gratifying orders from country 

 sources. 



Quartered oak. both white and red, has 

 been strong, though no general advance in 

 prices has been recorded. Here and there 

 rumors are current of sales made at $2 

 per thousand higher. The upper grades of 

 ash, especially thick stock, appear to be 

 badly wanted and values have been firmly 

 sustained. Practically the same thing may 

 be said in regard to bircli and chestnut. 

 Owing to the low stage of the Ohio River 

 receipts of cottonwood and gum from 

 lower Mississippi mills have ceased and 

 with a good demand these woods are up 

 to the general strength of the market. 

 The feeling in poplar has been bettered, 

 though stocks are still adequate, while in- 

 quiries have continued to lack urgency. 

 Receipts show curtailment and dealers ex- 

 pect conditions to materially improve, and, 

 at that, in the near future. 



PITTSBURG. 



Pittsburg, Pa., October 22, 1904.— (Spe- 

 cial Correspondence.) — The lumber market 

 in Pittsburg is a trifle better in color than 

 two weeks ago. This is indicated by the 

 broadening inquiry, as well as by the bet- 

 ter character of the orders placed. The 

 improvement is not so marked as many 

 dealers expected lo see, but is sufHcient 

 to show that there will be plenty of busi- 

 ness the coming winter for firms which 

 have mills in good shape to make a big 

 cut. A conspicuous feature of the local 

 situation is that nearly every large firm in 

 the city which has mills in Western Penn- 

 sylvania, West Virginia and the South has 

 been engaged more or less the past year 

 In putting them in the best of shape, malv- 

 ing big additions and building hundreds 

 of miles of tram. This shows the faith 

 that Pittsburg firms have in the second 

 Roosevelt administration, which they now 

 regard as a surety, and although they have 

 been lying on their oars, as far as making 

 a big spread in public is concerned, they 

 have been getting ready for a great wind- 

 up of their tracts the next two years. All 

 of which looks like hustling right away. 



House building continues to increase at 

 a rate that promises a very fair market for 

 finishing materials and hemlock during the 

 winter. Fully 500 houses have been or 

 will be started in Pittsburg since Septem- 

 ber 1. This does not include the projects 

 in the suburbs, which would probably ag- 

 gregate 300 more. In general prospective 

 work in the hands of architects has not 

 been brought out from under cover, but 

 from the most reliable sources it is evi- 



dent that there is a large amount of this 

 that will come in soon. Railroads and 

 manufactories are planning improvements 

 around Greater Pittsburg that will keep 

 dealers busy supplying heavy stuff for 

 some time to come. 



There has been no change of importance 

 In prices. Dealers are much less inclined 

 to shave prices and are content to wait 

 until buyers get ready to place their orders 

 before they make any special advances. 

 In general the run of quotations is being 

 adhered to strictly. Hemlock and oak 

 are the leaders in the market, with a 

 stiff demand for both. 



PHILADELPHIA. 



Philadelphia, Oct, 22, 1904 —(Special 

 Correspondence.) — A better tone now pre- 

 vails in the local market than has existed 

 for months. A\Tiile many lines are still 

 practically dormant, the trade as a whole 

 is in a far better condition than at any time 

 since the great slump of six months ago. 

 There has been a considerable increase in 

 buying, though the demand has by no 

 means reached anywhere near the propor- 

 tions which the lumbermen are hoping for. 

 There are now but few adverse conditions 

 in the market, and there seems to be no 

 reason why the trade of the next few 

 months should not be an unusually healthy 

 one. 



The increased demand for hemlock 

 seems to be the feature of the present 

 market. This stock has been moving 

 steadily as a result of the improvement in 

 the demand, and the dealers are much en- 

 couraged. Much dry stock is not to be 

 found. The prices are close lo the list. 

 In yellow pine, there is also a good de- 

 mand, while in spruce there is a better 

 feeling existing, with confidence in the 

 outlook. Spruce is in good demand and 

 prices are steady. 



In the white pine market there is 

 scarcely any life. Poplar is also unusually 

 inactive, while in North Carolina pine the 

 demand is very light and prices very weak. 



MINNEAPOLIS. 



Minneapolis, Oct. 22, 1904. — (Special Cor- 

 respondence.) — Yard trade in the North- 

 west is rather quiet, the only feature being 

 a steady demand for white oak wagon 

 stock and thick boards. Birch is not going 

 out to the country yards so rapidly. Maple 

 flooring is moving fairly well and the oak 

 demand continues. 



The most satisfactory feature of the 

 market is the improvement in basswood. 

 The factories are beginning to come for 

 stock in larger quantities. The resump- 

 tion of demand from the packing houses 

 has improved the market and basswood is 

 also returning more to favor from the 

 furniture and molding factories. The 

 high prices last year set them to buying 

 gum and other woods, but now with bass- 

 wood plentiful and not quite so high iu 



A. F. ANDERSON 



Manufacturer of— 



Hardwood and Hemlock Lumber 



Thick Maple (lengths piled separately) and end 

 cured White Maple aspecialty. Write for priceii. 



CADILLAC - MICHIGAN. 



Send Us Your Wants in. 



DRY STOCK 

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PORTLAND, ARK. 



HONECKER & SUMMERS 



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 and Auditors. 



References irom prominent lumbermen, 

 leading capitalists and finan- 

 cial institutions, 



145 La Salle Street, 



Room 201 Roanoke Bid;. 



Telephone Central 4*200. 



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Covington, Kentucky 



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