14 



THE HARDWOOD RECORD. 



lluit there will uot be a sufficient amount 

 of sto<.'k of the new cut to supply the de- 

 mand. The market prices are very tirm at 

 the mills, and. in fact, where they have 

 stoi'k that one is lo<.>king for. a matter of 

 price is a sci'oudary consideration and we 

 believe with tlie strong demand that lum- 

 ber is certainly goinsr to advance consider- 

 able above the present prices. 

 Yours verv truly. 

 KELLEY SHINGLE COMPANY. 

 * * * 

 Cinciivuati. April S. 1902. 

 In reply to yours of tlie Tth. relative to 

 conditions of the market at this time and 

 prospects for the future. 



Now. as to present conditions, we are 

 gettinir all the business we can handle, are 

 puttinar in more machines, adding to our 

 c-apacity. but caunot make one-half as 

 much siding as our customers retiuire. ^Ve 

 are simply doing tlie best we can and con- 

 tinually urging our customers to cut down 

 their onlers for beveled siding as much 

 as i>ossible. so as to accommodate as many 

 as we can. 



The l-'arriu-Koru Lumber Company are 

 building a fine large planing mill, which 

 will be in oi>eration by May 1. which will 

 relieve our mill of tlieir work and put them 

 in the l>est iK>ssil>le shape to till their or- 

 ders for cottonwooil beveled, sidiug and 

 gum flooring. They are building up a tine 

 ti-ade on these svHVialties. 



Prices for jxiplar lumber are as high as 

 I ever knew them to l>e. and while many 

 manufacturers claim they will Ih» much 

 Uiirher. it is my opinion tliat they will re- 

 main alH>ut as they are. I do not want to 

 see tliem go higher. 



Stocks of dr>- lumber are uot plentiful 

 and cannot l>e until July 1 or later.. The 

 roads in the Soutli have l>eeu very good for 

 hauling lumber out from portable mills, 

 so there is not the usual rush of stock to 

 market that is usual after the ro;tds have 

 settleil iu the spring, and the river mills 

 are at least six weeks late iu starting to 

 sjiwing, so that dry stock from this source 

 will be that much late. 



Our lHK>ms at our Kentucky mills are 

 full of a fine lot of logs that we have iviid 

 a fancy price for. as we will endeavor to 

 confine" our operations as much as possible 

 to the hijrher grades -this season and let 

 someone else handle the lower grades. Our 

 reason for this is that in our opinion the 

 higher gr:\des of ix>plar will follow to a 

 great extent the higher grades of white 

 pine. They are surely climbing and we 

 think will continue to do so. while the 

 lower grades are governed largely l>y the 

 conditions of other cheaper woods and sub- 

 ject largely to local iuliuences. 



As for oak. it is in good shaiH\ and while 

 it will not advance in price materially this 

 season, it will l>e in good demaini. good 

 supply, and at good, fair prices for both 

 buyer" and seller, which is more to l>e de- 

 sireti than a changeable market, 

 Verv trulv vours. 

 M TV FARRIN Ll'MBEK COMP.:VN\'. 

 » * » 

 Pittsburg. Pa.. April 10. 1902. 

 We have your esteemed favor of the Tth 

 and ci^ntents noted. In reply would state 

 that the ontKx>k lor 1902 is exceptionally 

 satisfactory to us. 



While the scarcity of stocks at the mill 

 ami the rather high prices askerl for hanl- 

 wockIs of all kinds has its effect on trade, 

 still, the demand is unusual and it is not 

 as difficult to obtain high prices as might 

 otherwise K^ the case. 



The inability of the railroad companies 

 to properly handle shipments is very dis- 

 appointing" and the cause of no little an- 

 no.vance to the luml>er trade genentUy. 



While some items are moving nitli 

 slowly, hardwoods in general are iu good 



demand at fair prices. Just at the pres- 

 ent time our strongest sales are on poplar. 

 esi>ecially on ' the upper grades and on 

 workt^ stock. 



Prom the present outUx>k the year is 

 going to l>e a very satisfactory one. priv- 

 viding prices do not go to a prohibitive 

 l«oint. Yours very truly. 

 AMERICAN L1:MBEK \- MANUFAC- 

 TIKINU COMPANY. 

 » » » 

 St. Louis. Mo.. April S. 190-_'. 

 We have your valued favor of the Ttu. 

 and iu reply will stiy that we have no 

 fault to find with business at all. It is 

 simply a iiuestion of getting stock and not 

 selling it at this particular time. The 

 hardwooil timber proi>ositiou seems to l)e 

 iiettins into stronger hands and we think 

 it would l>e well for the owners of timber 

 and those that pile large iiuautities of 

 hardwixxl to get together at the hardwooit 

 convention to l)e held in St. Louis on May 

 15 and advise with each other as to the 

 future conduct of the marketing of the 

 stock. The time has iwsseil. we think; 

 when the indi^'idual is smarter than the 

 orsauization. Yours very truly. 



F. -H. SMITH LU.MBEK COMPANTT. 

 * » * 

 Buffalo. N. Y.. April 11. 1902. 

 Replying to your favor of the Tth inst.. 

 iu mv "opinion the hanlwixxi lumber busi- 

 ness "is iu a very healthful condition at the 

 present time. 



The general demand is goo»l. prices satis- 

 factor.v. and the supply just about iu Ueei>- 

 ing with the demand. 



From present indications I do not be- 

 lieve any further advance of varices can l>e 

 oxiHX-ted. as new cuts of stock are now 

 coming in which a^U add to the supply. 

 wliUe there is no likelihood of a material 

 increase iu the demand during this season. 

 One thing to be guarded against is over- 

 pnxiuction." otherwise a reix?tition of the 

 slump of 1S9!>-1900 can l>e looke-l for. If 

 a little good judgment can be exercisetl 

 in this direction (although this is a hard 

 proixisition* fair prices can be maintained 

 for a long time u> come. 



I think perhaps some of the high prices 

 which exist to-day on certain kinds of 

 stock may possibly recede slightly later in 

 the season, but I do not l^lieve there will 

 be an.v general decline. 

 Yours verv truly. 



O. E. YEAt>ER. 

 • » * 



Richmond. Ind.. April 15. 1902. 

 As to the trade situation with us. we 

 find it exceetlingly good, having been on 

 a steady increase for the ixtst three 

 months, "and to such an extent causing onr 

 stock to be considerably broken and de- 

 creased, not being able to keep sufficient 

 o.uantities on hand sufficiently dry to meet 

 liemaiKls of our regular customers. We 

 are not the only ones meeting with this 

 condition, but onr neighbors far and near 

 have met with the sjtme effect and do not 

 see of any abatement soon. Prices on all 

 stock, both Uwrs and lumber, have ad- 

 vancetl materially, and we sincerely hope 

 that thev may uot advance to such an ex- 

 tent as to c-.iuse any great slump iu the 

 market. We anticipate continued short- 

 a:re of dry st<x'ks during the season. Those 

 having dry stocks will surely receive their 

 rrii-es. Yours truly. 



C. & W. KRAMER. 



Chicago. April IT. 19(>2. 

 Replying to your favor of the Tth inst.. 

 would sjiy that business in the hardwood 

 line in Chicago has been very good since 

 January 1. The demand has l>een good 

 and steady, with prii^es advancing. The 

 greater part of the Chicago dealer's atten- 



tion is now being devoted to the buying 

 end of his business. We find stocks in the 

 country shore, and desirable lumber hard 

 to find. We look for a g>xxl. steady busi- 

 ness throughout the year, with prices fully 

 maintained at their present level, if they 

 do uot go higher. 



Yours truly. 



VINNEDGE BROS. 



POPLAB MEETING. 

 The scarcity of poplar lumber and the 

 short crop of logs for the coming season 

 has caused some of the ix>plar producers to 

 issue the following call for a meeting: 



Cincinnati. O.. April 10. 1902. 



At an informal meeting of a number of 

 saw mill openttors i whose chief product is 

 yellow poplari. iu discussing the simation, 

 the fact seemed to be established that the 

 output for 1902 would fall at least 40 per 

 cent short of 1SX>1. This shortage, together 

 with increased cost of supplies and labor, 

 and the further fact that the upper grades 

 of white piue. which is onr chief competi- 

 tor, has advanced $10 per thousand under 

 short crox> and fierce demand, it was 

 thought the time had arrivetl when we 

 should decide what was the proper and 

 legitimate value of our product after hav- 

 ing the matter discussed by those vitally 

 interested from all tlie producing centers. 

 To this end there will l)e a meeting on 

 Thursday. April IT. ISXVJ. at the Phoenix 

 Hotel. Lexington. Ky. This ixiint was 

 cliosen as it was thought to Ix^ more cen- 

 tral than any other for all panics con- 

 cerned. There has not been a general 

 meeting of those who prxxluce poplar for 

 sometime, and while we appreciate the 

 fact that we are all very busy men. we be- 

 lieve a day spent on this mission will not 

 V>e lost by any means, and therefore urge 

 you to have a representative present. 



Will you kindly advise if you will be 

 there with any suggestion which you may 

 consider as opportune"? 



This action of the poplar men is indi<.-a- 

 tlve of the growing tendency of the large 

 producers of lumber to get into closer 

 touch with one another, and we expect 

 to see the day when the price and produc- 

 tion of most kinds of hardwood lumber 

 will cease to be left altogether to chance. 



In a letter from F. H. Smith, published 

 elsewhere, is an excellent suggestion, that 

 at the annual meeting of the National as- 

 sociation it would be a good plan for 

 the large producers and those dealers who 

 pile large blocks of haitlwootl lumber 

 throughout the South, to get together and 

 talk the situation over. Nothing but goo»l 

 can come from such a meeting. 



A large l<^:ging barge to operate on the 

 Tennessee River has been i-oustructed by 

 the Clover Logging Compituy of Gunters- 

 ville. Ala., to handle the increasing timber 

 trade along the river. 



A large tree, half oak and half black 

 walnut, is a curiosity on the timber lot 

 owned by E. C. West in Ohio Grove, three 

 miles southeast of Sycamore. Old wood- 

 men say they never before heard of the 

 Siime freak of nature. The body of this 

 tree is twenty-two inches in diameter. A 

 short distance from the ground are two 

 branches, the one of oak being fourteen 

 inches in diameter, and the other of wal- 

 liut l>eiug somewhat smaller. 



