HARDWOOD RECORD 



31 



ing 168 feet board measure, wortli about $3 ($18.00 per 1,000). 

 By the acWition of the operations suggested this would be raised 

 to $3.77, or a gross increase of 2R per cent. 



"Operation 2. If, in addition to the above, the dust and shav- 

 ings were converted in ethyl (grain) alcohol, they would yield 

 about 1.0 gallons, worth 67 cents. The gross value of the by- 

 products would then be $1.44, raising the total gross value of the 

 tree to $4.44, or an increase of 48 per cent. In addition to the 

 ethyl alcohol, appreciative quantities of acetic acid could be col- 

 lected, Ijut, to be conservative, this was not figured in the exam- 

 ple." 



It is the experience of every operator that if attempt is made 



WASTE COOPEUACE STOCK, NEW YORK. 



to utilize the timber too closely in the ordinary way a point is 

 reached where closer sa.wing means an actual loss. It is generally 

 the No. 3 lumber that is the lumberman's greatest source of trouble 

 in marketing his products. This low end of the product averages 

 close to one-third of the entire lumber product the country over. 

 The following table prepai'ed by Mr. Kellogg shows approximately 

 the percentage of different grades obtained from the ordinary run 

 of logs of the four most typical northern hardwoods — basswood, 

 birch, elm and maple. 



1st & 2as No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 



Basswood 25 25 23 27 



Birch 23 25 23 2!) 



Elm 19 24 24 33 



Maple 16 25 25 34 



The big question, then, is what to do with the material in the 

 last column. It is obvious that the closer the utilization in the 

 woods, the greater the number of small and knotty logs and conse- 

 quently the larger the percentage of No. 3. What, then, should be 

 done with these small logs' Mr. AVeiss suggests two courses: If 

 they come from small trees let these trees grow. If they come 

 from top logs manufacture them into products that will yield a 

 profit. It may be only a hewn tie, or it may be pulp or alcohol, or 

 novelties, but whatever it is, let it be something that will yield a 

 profit and not eat into the profits. An example may be cited in the 

 case of the Goodman Lumber Company, which realized that it was 

 losing money by trying to convert its small hardwood logs and 

 tops into lumber, and is now erecting a destructive distillation 

 plant to bring this material to the mill where it will be manufac- 

 tured at a profit and not at a loss. 



Each mill has its own particular problem and what will prove 

 successful for one may not for another. For instance, accord- 

 ing to Mr. Kellogg, two strictly modern mills of some 100,000 feet 

 10-hour capacity are situated about one hundred miles apart. One 

 is in a city where the demand for fuel is good. Last year this mill 

 made a profit of $28,000 on its slabs, edgings and trimmings. The 

 other mill is in the woods with only the families of its employes 



to supply with fuel. The wood account of this mill showed a loss 

 last year, so the owners of it have joined forces with a chemical 

 company and an iron furnace and have erected a hardwood dis- 

 tillation plant. The contracts for the products indicate a profit 

 sufficient to pay five per cent upon the sawmill investment. 



Whatever step is to be taken should not be taken blindly. One 

 of the first things to do is to install a system of cost keeping 

 that will show the value of the products cut from logs of various 

 kinds and sizes. It is then possible to determine the minimum 

 limits of profit and with this as a basis make arrangements to 

 convert what are now losses into profits. One reason why such 

 action has not been more imperative in the past is that the rise 

 in stumpage values of timber purchased at a low price has afforded 

 the lumberman a false or unearned profit and concealed the true 

 nature of affairs. Mr. Kellogg mentions an instance of a firm 

 in the upper peninsula of Michigan that received a net price of 

 $8.65 for its No. 3 ash, $8.42 for No. 3 elm, $6.55 for No. 3 hard 

 maple, $7.75 for No. 3 soft maple and $7.86 for No. 3 birch — all 

 produced at a cost of $12 per thousand, which meant an actual loss 

 of several dollars a thousand. Under such conditions this firm 

 could not be censured for wanting to leave as much as possible of 

 its No. 3 material in the woods. In fact, this condition has led 

 more than one lumberman to give orders that no logs be brought 

 to the mill unless there was reasonable certainty that they would 

 stand the cost of the operation. 



The encroachment of substitutes for wood is the result of eco- 

 nomic changes that cannot be halted. Combating them through 

 advertising or in any other way will avail nothing, according to 

 Mr. Weiss. These economic changes may be summarized in two 

 words — better construction. "About fifty per cent of all lumber 

 is consumed by the building trades, where it comes in direct com- 

 petition with clay products, cement and steel. With the develop- 

 ment of the country and the construction of more permanent build- 

 ings the role of lumber in such construction is bound to play a 

 diminishing part. Already the differential in cost between build- 



SOT-ND Tol'.S U\KK S" IN DIAMETKK LEFT IN THE WOODS TO 

 DECAY, BUTLER COUNTY, MISSOURI. 



ings of wood and those constructed of other materials is, in many 

 localities, inappreciable. Furthermore, the tendency is for many 

 of the so-called substitutes to decrease rather than increase in cost. 

 Take cement, for example: Its cost has gradually dropped from 

 $2.15 per barrel in 1883 to $0.81 per barrel in 1909. How can lum- 

 ber permanently rise in value in the face of such competition? 

 Obviously, new uses must be found; new channels of exploitation 

 must be developed. What is true of buildings is also true of other 

 forrtis of industrial development. Note the almost complete anni- 

 hilation of the wooden coal car; the rapid introduction of the steel 



