HARDWOOD RECORD 



trees considerably larger are occasionally seen. The experienced 

 lumberman identifies trees by their general appearance. He knows 

 them in the same way that he knows men with whom he is acquainted. 

 He does not hesitate a moment in correctly naming white oak, red 

 oak, beech, chestnut, red gum, yellow poplar, sycamore, and many 

 other familiar trees. If asked to particularize on the features which 

 enable him to identify them, he would probably be at a loss. He 

 does not think of particulars, because the general features are suifi- 

 cient. The botanist proceeds in a different manner when he iden- 

 tifies trees. He examines the buds, leaves, flowers and fruit, and may 

 want a microscope to make out parts too small to be seen with 

 the naked eye. 



Kach method of identification has its place and its use. The lum- 

 berman in his line becomes as expert as the botanist in his. One deals 

 Nyith and thinks of objects as a whole, the other of their parts. The 

 botanist sees things which the woodsman overlooks and never sees; 

 and the woodsman has a quick, sure way of reaching conclusions 

 which may place him above the botanist. 



Tracts of virgin forest are becoming scarce in the settled portions 

 of old states; and it is fortunate that one like that in the illustration 

 is occasionally fonnd. It is worthy of close study and intimate 

 acquaintance. It is a patch cut out of the past and brought down 

 to the present, to show what our country looked like before th:^ 

 white man brought in his civOizatioii. 



London Importer in Foolish Light 



jN A EECEXT ISSUE of a Lontlon conteuijiorary there appears 

 1 a communication- from a continental correspondent, who complains 

 that he sent a draft in payment of some lumber an American ex- 

 yiorter was under contract to shiji, but that he 'failed to receive 

 the lumber and finally learned that the shipment had been at- 

 tached and seized by some other creditor, so that he (the conti- 

 nental correspondent) is now the draft and the lumber out. The 

 communication was made the basis of some rather sharp ani- 

 madversions upon the integrity of the American exporters and their 

 methods, the correspondent citing his experience as a warning 

 against the practices that obtain in the States. The communica- 

 tion has been read by American exporters here with feelings akin 

 to amusement at the inexperience and downright ignorance of th,' 

 nuui from the Continent. As a matter of fact a through bill of lad- 

 ing not less than an ocean bill of lading constitutes title to the 

 shipment of merchandise en route, for which it calls, and such 

 shipment is not subject to sfizure, except under the proviso that 

 the person who lias the attaclnuent levied give full security for 

 the value of the shipment. In the case of the through bill of lailing 

 held by the continental correspondent the security would be exacted 

 by the railroad which issued the through bill of lading, and the 

 bond would not be vacated until it had been established in a com- 

 petent court to whom the shipment belonged. The continental cor- 

 respondent can make his claim ayainst the railroad in (luestiou and 

 obtain the full amount of the draft if he will only institute the 

 proper i)rocedure, and his complaint that he after a time failed to 

 obtain even an answer from the shipper of the lumber who got 

 the draft and for this reason deemed himself in a helpless posi- 

 tion is considered simply absurd. The communication is cited as an 

 example of numerous complaints lodged against American ex- 

 porters and which are entirely groundless. Many of the complaints 

 are based upon misconception or misinformation, the integrity of 

 the exporter being not in the least involved. 



Express RuUng Offers Suggestion 



THE RECENT RULING of the Interstate Commerce Commis- 

 sion regarding the readjustment of the figures and application 

 of express rates throughout the United States would appear to 

 have a broader significance than its direct effect upon the express 

 business and upon those shipping by express. According to the 

 ruling, express companies must make u\< an entirely new set of 

 tariffs which will be based on what is designated as the block 

 system. Under this, various sections of the country will be 

 l>locked off and specific rates maintained within each block be- 



tween points within the block and to points in other blocks. Un 

 der this arrangement instead of 900,000,000 separate express rates 

 which have been compiled by the express companies and have been 

 in effect all over the country, there will be only 650,000. Of 

 course, the express companies are making a vigorous protest against 

 reduction in revenues which will result to them, but it is alto 

 gether probable that the commission's ruling will be sustained. 



The decision, insofar as it simplifies the method of application 

 of express rates, offers a suggestion that it seems should prove 

 valuable in connection with the application of rates on goods 

 shipped by freight on the various systems throughout this coun- 

 try. Probably in no other line of business is there a more chaotii' 

 condition than exists in connection with freight shipments. Theie 

 is a constant readjustment of freight tariffs and altogether a sit- 

 uation in that connection so complicated that even the most expert 

 are frequently sorely up against it to determine the right and 

 ivrong of certain situations. The thing to be aimed at unques- 

 tionably is simplicity ami a more stable basis for determining just 

 and reasonable freight rates. In this connection, why wouldn 't it 

 be an entirely feasible thing to emplo.v the block system in arriv- 

 ing at proper freight tariffs just as it was cmjdoycd in connection 

 v,ith express charges? 



A simple calculation in arithmetic will determine the fact tliiit 

 this ruling of the Interstate Commerce Commission has divided the 

 iiumber of express tariffs in effect by almost fifteen hundred. The 

 freight rate situation of this country is chaotic because of the 

 uncertainty and complicatid nature of its tariffs. These tariffs are 

 com]dicatcd because of their tremendous number. This tremen- 

 dous number results from the absolute lack of any uniform system 

 ot formulating and apph'ing the tariffs; therefore it seems entirel.y 

 reasonable that the method specified for the express companies 

 ill making their charges might with possible change in its appli- 

 cation be very profitably employed by the railroad companies in 

 arriving at the proper charges for freight shipments throughout 

 Ihe country. 



Canadians Steal the Lead , 



MUCH HAS HKKX SAID recently regarding the now definitely 

 arranged Forest Products Exposition and the plans regard 

 ing the exhibits which will be seen at that exposition when it 

 materializes. It is suggested that there will be seen model saw- 

 mills in o]ieration, showing the manufacture of lumber from the 

 log to the finished product. It is hoped that this will offer a distinct 

 novelty and something which has never before been presentcil 

 to the julilic. I'he value of such an exhibit would uuquestionably 

 be inestimable and the sponsors of the .\merican exhibit can ho 

 more or less assured of the success of the efforts in this direction 

 by the success with which a similar effort has been attended in 

 Canada. 



In the Industrial building at the Calgary fair in the Province of 

 Viberta, Canada, one of the most interesting exhibits is made by 

 the Crown Lumber Company in the form of a complete model 

 sawmill. This miniature mill has been exhibited before, but this 

 year a new feature has been added in the form of a small water- 

 fall coming down from the mountains, the water dashing over the 

 rocks into the log pond which contains real miniature logs. These 

 logs are carried up into the mill on an endless chain just as in the 

 real plant. From inside the mill one hears the buzzing of the saws 

 tutting the logs into lumber. The lumber is carried out of the 

 mill yard in the regular way to be piled and a model railway train 

 makes a trip every half minute carrying away the lumber from 

 the yard. It is reported that this exhibit has created unlimited 

 interest among those attending the fair and if that is true in a 

 community in which it is no novelty to see the actual operation of 

 a sawmill, it should be even more interesting in a community such 

 as Chicago, where not one citizen in a thousand has any idea .Is 

 to what a modern sawmill looks like. 



It is to be hoped that merely with a view of attracting |>oiuil;ir 

 attention to the exposition and advertising it through its own 

 ;:ierit, those in charge of arrangements will provide some such an 



