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Published in the Interest of Hardw^ood Lumber, American Hard'wood Forests, Wood Veneer Industry, Hardwood Flooring, 

 Hardwood Interior Finish, Wood Chemicals, Sa'w Mill and Woodworking Machinery. 



Vol. XIX. 



CHICAGO, MARCH 10, 1905. 



No. 10. 



flaMSMRecoM 



Published on the 10th and 25th of each month 



By The HARDWOOD COMPAPMV 



HENRY H. GIBSON President 



FRANK W. TUTTLE Sec-Treas. 



OFFICES: 

 Sixth Floor Ellsworth Bldg., 335 Dearborn St., Chicago, III., U.S.A. 



Telephones: Harrison 4960. Aulomalic 5659. 



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General Hardwood Condition. 



Agreeable to anticipation, the recurrence of better weather condi- 

 tions has contributed much to the well-being of the hardwood trade 

 throughout the country. Inquiries from all sources for immediate 

 requirements are multitudinous, and sales are increasing in volume 

 at strengtheuing values. 



There seems to be a more plentiful supply of cars, and lumber 

 ordered cut months ago, which has been held up by the bad weather 

 and for want of transportation facilities, is now moving forward to 

 destination, and the order books are rapidly being cleaned up of old 

 orders. 

 -These conditions are not local ones, but represent the status of the 

 hardwood trade everywhere, from Bo.ston to Kansas City, and from 

 the Great Lakes to the Gulf. Business prospects in hardwoods arj 

 more encouraging than they have been any time within six months, 

 and unless some untoward calamity materializes in commercial 

 circles 1905 will prove the best year ever experienced in the hard- 

 wood trade. 



Plain sawed oak still leads the van in demand and relative price, 

 although poplar is following very close. It is now fully recognized 

 that with the renaissance of a normal demand for poplar the 

 stock for the year is going to be short, even if the streams of the 

 central south deliver their full complement of logs. 



It can safely be asserted that basswood and cottonwood will be in 

 increased demand and, according to the history of the past, follow 

 poplar values in a marked degree. 



Cypress, which is really the only wood that has made any preteuse 

 to become a permanent substitute for poplar, is also showing an in- 

 crease in value and a stronger demand. 



The gum.s, both sweet and tupelo. are doing better than ever in 

 their history. 



White ash and hickorv are both very scarce and in much demand. 



Birch, especially red, is considerably sought, at strengthening 

 values. 



Gray elm, a remarkably good wood, for some strange reason is not 

 as closely picked up in some quarters as the comparative shortage 

 should insure. 



About the only item on the hardwood list whose future is some- 

 vihat conjectural, is maple, and with the immense advance sale before 

 the opening of navigation, which has been enjoyed by the large pro- 

 ducers, it would seem that this wood at least should hold up to 

 current values, and very likely show a considerable increase in price 

 with the clearing of the docks about May 1. The demand for inch 

 maple by flooring makers is very strong, as the outlook for this 

 trade is excellent. The inch will undoubtedly take care of itself, and 

 imless there is some set-back in the agricultural implement trade, all 

 the thick maple that can be produced will be wanted. However, it 

 Is not to be denied that the splendid logging weather experienced in 

 the upper portion of the lower peninsula of Michigan during the past 

 winter has insured for that section a pretty large supply of maple 

 logs. In other maple producing sections, howeyer, the season has 

 been adverse and logging operations much curtailed. It very likely 

 will materialize that in place of there being an overstock of maple 

 this year there will be a manifest shortage. 



On the whole there is scarcely a cloud in the horizon for the hard- 

 wood trade for the year to come. Holders of good stocks of dry 

 material should be cautioned that hardwood lumber in first hands is 

 remarkably short, and it would be wise to know pretty nearly where 

 the next stock is coming from before they sell out at too close a 



Hardwoods of the South. 



The Bureau of Forestry has recently issued a bulletin which refers 

 to the hardwoods of the southern states. This report shows that 

 the greatest area of hardwood forest and the largest supply of 

 hardwoods in the United States are in the region comprising the 

 southern Appalachian mountains and the country lying between 

 them and the Mississippi river. For the last two or three years 

 the Bureau of Forestry has been studying this region, which is rich 

 in commercial species, especially poplar, white, red, black and chest- 

 nut oak, chestnut, white pine and hemlock. A study was first made 

 of the proportion of each of these species in the various types of 

 forest, their merchantable yield, and their rate of growth. Last 

 summer eleven agents of the bureau were assigned to an investiga- 

 tion of the market conditions governing the logging and use of each 

 of these species, and twelve moi-e to a study of the important ehar- 

 .icteristics of each tree and the possibilities of each under manage, 

 ment. The data obtained in this and previous studies are now being 

 formulated for publication. 



For market val-je and amount of standing timber yellow poplar 

 and white oak are the two most important trees of the region. 

 These species were formerly found throughout almost the entire 

 region in merchantable quantities, but they have been cut so exten- 

 sively where there are transportation facilities that it is now usually 

 necessary to go back a long distance into the woods to find first-class 

 stands of either of them. Poplar attains magnificent size in the 

 coves of the mountain districts and in the rich river bottoms of 



