22 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



splendid object for the microscope than a well-illumined section of 

 these cells in the red gum. 



The red gum is a very valuable species of timber for the extraordi- 

 nary endurance of the wood underground, and for this reason it is 

 highly valued for fence posts, piles, and railway sleepers; for the 

 latter it will last from eight to ten years, and if well selected, con- 

 siderably longer. 



The immunity of this wood from the attacks of insects on land and 

 in sea water is thought to be due to the presence of a large amount 

 of tannic acid in the wood. 



Black butt (Eucalyptus 2ntularis) is a wood that is now being im- 

 ported into this country under the copyrighted name of moa. It 

 grows chiefly on sandstone formations and makes a fine growth and 

 generally a straight bole. Its height is about 100 to 200 feet, or 

 about 30 to 80 feet to first branch. The diameter of a matured tree 

 is about three feet. Black butt is considered as one of the best tim- 

 bers for street paving blocks, and is used extensively in Australia 

 and also in Kurope. It has a close, smooth grain, and is of a light 

 color. Blick butt is often hollow, attacked by white ants, and prone 

 to disease, as evidenced by huge blotches or scabby-looking swellings 

 on the trunks. The wood is also attacked by pin worms. Gum rings, 

 gum veins, and gum pockets are also very much in evidence in opening 

 up a black butt log, and as the timber is very liable to split at the 

 gum rings, the presenoe of these is very imdesirable in planks in- 

 tended for paving blocks. The wood is remarkably free from knots. 

 Black butt planking wears quickly, rubs out, and wears much more 

 quickly than spotted gums. The wood almost wears out alone by the 

 action of the weather, leaving a .stringy sort of shell which is hard 

 and tough. Black butt has a much greater transverse strength than 

 jarrah. 



.Spotted gum (Eucali/pius maculaia) is a fine timber, very useful 

 for coach building and wagon work. It is a coarse-grained timber 

 and grows to the same height as black butt, with a less average diam- 

 eter, from tv\enty-four to thirty inches. It is frequently hollow and 

 has gum rings and gum pockets. It wears better than black butt, but 

 is more susceptible to decay. 



The sandalwoods of Australia have played an important part in the 

 timber trade of that country. Enormous quantities of the various 

 species of wood so extensively substituted for the true Indian sandal- 

 wood have been cut and shipped to different parts of China, where 

 the wood was reshipped to the United States and European countries. 

 The principal species exploited ai'e the following: 



West Australian or fragrant siuidahvood (Fiisauus spicatvs) is a 

 small evergreen tree about thirty feet in height. It is found chiefly 

 in West Australia where large quantities of several kinds of sandal- 

 wood were originally obtained. As early as 1849 over 1,200 tons of 

 this wood were exported. ' The output continued to increase very 

 rapidly, until 1876, when the annual shipments amounted to about 

 7,000 tons. Three years later it decreased to 4,700 tons. In 1899, 

 4,470 tons of this wood were shipped to China and Singapore, where 

 it is called Swan river sandalwood. In more recent years the ship- 

 ments have decreased still more, but larger Cjuantities are at present 

 consumed in Australia. 



Quandong, moolie tree, or native peach (Fusanus acuminalus) is a 

 small tree from ten to thirty feet in height and from six to eight 

 inches in diameter. It is more or less abundant in the interior of 

 Xew South Wales, and in the dry parts of Queensland, "Victoria, South 

 Australia, and western Australia. The wood is fliesh-colored, hard, 

 heavy (about fifty-two pounds per cubic foot), strong, tough, close- 

 grained, and when freshly cut or worked has a very agreeable frag- 

 rance resembling that of roses. It is very durable in contact with 

 air and moisture, and is not liable to warp and check. The wood 

 works well, takes an excellent polish, and is highly esteemed for 

 cabinet work, turnery, and is said to be the best wood in Australia 

 for engraving. Sandalwood is now being collected by pulling up the 

 whole tree by the roots. Small, shrublike trees from eight to ten feet 

 high are cleaned off and shipped to market. The outer rough bark 

 is removed before it is marketed. Immense quantities of this wood 

 are shipped to China, and the oil distilled from it is now coming into 

 the American and European markets. It is less odorous than that 



from the true sandalwood. 



Scented or Queensland sandalwood, balvora, or rosewood (Eremo- 

 phila milchclU), a native of Queensland and New South Wales, Austra- 

 lia, is a small tree from twenty to thirty feet in height and from nine 

 to twelve inches in diameter. It has very thin sapwood and a dark 

 brown, hard, heavy, close-gi-ained heartwood. It is regarded as an 

 elegant wood for cabinet work, and has a weak fragrance differing 

 somewhat from sandalwood. Another species of this group having 

 very fragrant wood is EremophiJa bignoniflora, commonly known 

 as pombel. It is a native of North Australia, New South Wales and 

 Victoria on the Murray. The wood is yellowish-brown, close and fine 

 grained, and beautifully figured. It is very useful for cabinet work. 



Logging Conditions Around Memphis Good 



Weather conditions have been ideal for logging operations dur- 

 ing the past fortnight and these have made pretty good progress, 

 about as good, in fact, as owners of mills have desired. There ha;t 

 been, however, some slowing down in the matter of getting out 

 timber and, according to the statement of a prominent authority, 

 aativ J work in this direction will not begin until the danger from 

 worms has passed. The authority in question said that the mills 

 would soon begin storing timber but that they had shown prac- 

 tically no movement in this direction because of the factor to which 

 reference has already been made. 



The Valley Log Loading Company is authority for the statement 

 that it has han<llcd more timber to the mills in Memphis and the 

 Memphis territory during the past two months than during any 

 similar period in its historj-. It says, however, that the amount of 

 timber awaiting transportation is not quite so full as usual and 

 that the pros])ects for active loading in the immediate future are 

 iu)t <|uite so l)right. The management believes, however, that it 

 will have all the work it can take care of shortly, as it is of the 

 opinion that active logging will begin in the early future ami tli:it 

 it will be pushed with the utmost vigor. 



The mills in this city and section have continued to run on 

 full time during the past few weeks and the amount of hard- 

 wood lumber produced has been quite full. But, even after al- 

 lowing for this fact and even after admitting that there is a 

 [dentiful supply of hardwood lumber with which to meet present 

 requirements and to put manufacturers and wholesalers in ^comfort- 

 able position with respect to some of the fall and early winter 

 needs of the trade the fact remains that there is no particular 

 surplus and that the situation is one that is accepted as quite whole- 

 some. Shipments during the summer have been rather full and 

 have prevented any undue accumulation from the large production 

 which has been in progress since the interruption incident to the 

 overflow in the Mississippi last spring. 



Exporters here arc doing only a moderate business at present. 

 Two conditions are regarded as primarily responsible for this fact. 

 One is the unsettled transportation situation which makes the 

 handling of export shipments rather unsatisfactorj- and the other 

 is the presence in Europe of Large quantities of consigned stock 

 which has been sent abroad without any orders and only with the 

 hope of being able to place it. A prominent lumberman who has 

 recently been abroad brings back the information that he was sur- 

 prised to find, after the disagreeable experiences of American con- 

 signors in the past few years, such a large amount of southern 

 hardwoods in the hands of consignees on the other side. The 

 Balkan situation, too, with its consequent restriction of enterprise 

 in almost every direction, is another influence which has not liecn 

 without its effect on the foreign markets for southern hardwoods. 



Beech is not usually regarded as a durable wood, yet beech 

 piles driven as a foundation for Winchester cathedral, England, 

 remained sound for 800 years. They were driven in a bog and 

 the water and peaty soil doubtless assisted in the preservation of 

 the wood. 



Seventy per cent of the lumber used in Egypt for furniture and 

 finish is imported from the TTnited States. Turkey ranks second 

 as a source of supply for this class of lumber. 



