22 



THE HARDWOOD RECORD. 



long. Firsts and seconds cottonwood in 

 all thicknesses is being eagerly sought 

 No. 3 common cottonwood also is moving 

 with great freedom, as it meets with favor 

 for a crating lumber. 



The oak situation is still very strong 

 and oak lumber of all kinds commands 

 good prices. Firsts and seconds quar- 

 tered in both white and red oak is easy 

 s'ale and i>lain white oak is in just as 

 strong demand. For the past six mouths 

 No. 1 common plain, red and white oak 

 was eagerly sought after and the demand 

 still continues. No. 2 and No. 3 common 

 oak are not iiuite as active as the other 

 grades. 



The demand for poi>lar is fair, although 

 inquiries seem to have fallen off a little 

 in numbers. Dry lumber is still the best 

 kind of an asset and it is no difficult mat- 

 ter to effect a sale at the right price. 

 Clear sap poplar is enjoying ready sale 

 and firsts and seconds are taken care of 

 Avhenever offered. No. 2 common poplar 

 is not so well favored and No. 3 common 

 has but little better call. • 



Ash lumber is rather quiet in point of 

 demand and the supply is very small, con- 

 sequently very little is put on the market, 

 and what is' offered is taken care of. 



Cypress has fallen oft" a little in de- 

 mand, although prices are still high and 

 firm. 



Among the other hardwoods chestnut 

 lumber seems to be doing best. The call 

 for firsts and seconds is pretty fair, and 

 sound wormy can always be placed. 



Walnut is finding ready sale for the 

 export trade. 



There is' an occasional call for tlie other 

 hardwoods, but there is nothing steady 

 about it, and they don't cut much figure 

 in the local trade. 



The planing mills are very busy and 

 dressed lumber is in exceedingly good de- 

 mand. 



BUFFALO. 



Evei-yono in the business apparently is 

 well .satl.sfied with the present condition 

 of trade in hardwood lumber. A canvass 

 of the dealers did not show up a single 

 complaint, unless it was that some of 

 them had to turn down orders because 

 they did not liavo the stock wanted. 



There is a good demand for nearly all 

 kinds, and very little haggling over prices. 

 Even ash, which has been somewhat slow 

 of late, is getting a move on its-elf, and 

 a number of carloads have been shipped 

 east from Buffalo since I last wrote you. 

 Ash is one of the kinds of lumber that 

 has to move sooner or later, and is also 

 one of the kinds of lumber one does not 

 have to sacrifice on, as it does not hurt 

 any to keep it a year or more (if prop- 

 erly cared for), if necessary. Plain white 

 oak and plain red oak, common and bet- 

 ter, sell readily. Culls are rather slow 

 sale. Birch is a good seller, especially 

 firsts and seconds, and common sap birch. 

 The demand for good cherry and good 



walnut exceeds the supply. The white 

 oak firsts and seconds and common s'ell 

 readily, with no signs of any downward 

 tendency in prices. Quartered red oak 

 there is not so much call for. Cypress 

 has come to the front as one of the lead- 

 ers in hardwood, and you will find twenty 

 manufacturers of or dealers in this wood 

 to-day when you would not find but one 

 or two a very few years ago. 



One of the peculiarities of the year is' 

 that business should keep on with un- 

 abated vigor without any regard to hot 

 months— vacations or any such times 

 which were formerly looked upon as the 

 quiet months of the year as regards trade. 

 It looks as though there were not going 

 to be any quiet months this year. 



The new Ixtoks showing the recent 

 changes in ins'pection rules adopted by 

 the National Hardwood Lumber Associa- 

 tion are at hand, and while the changes 

 are more or less approved of, everyone 

 wishes there will be no more changes for 

 some time to come, as the old books are 

 all in circulation and more or less con- 

 fusion is likely to ensue if new sets of 

 rules' are issued every little while. 



ST. LOUIS. 



The general report around town is that 

 trade conditions have changed very imma- 

 terially during the past two weeks, and 

 that prices, also, are about as last re- 

 ported. There is no questioning the fact 

 that the volume of business is in excess 

 of the normal for this season of the year, 

 and it is also stated by nearly all of the 

 local dealers that they could materially in- 

 crease their business had they the lum- 

 ber in hand and the desire to do so. In 

 other words, the St. Louis dealers are fully 

 satisfied with the business situation and 

 are firmly convinced that all the rest of 

 the year will be exceptionally brisk. It 

 is reported by the traveling men in some 

 districts that a few country factories arc 

 running short-handed because of the de- 

 mand for harvest hands and the high 

 wages paid. This difficulty is not serious, 

 however, nor does it promise to be long- 

 lived, and the general belief, backed up 

 b.v the healthy volume of business, is that 

 tlie present consumption is greater than 

 ever before at this time of the year. 



The local receipts continue to be far be- 

 low the requirements of the market, and 

 those who have made recent visits to the 

 mills in search of stock report that there 

 are no prospects of an immediate better- 

 ment in this respect. The mills are very 

 poorly supplied with lumber and are ship- 

 ping it out as fast as it is cut. Buyers arc 

 on hand who are willing to take more 

 than Ts offered, and it is resulting in a 

 demand at points of production such ns 

 has seldom been experienced. The result 

 of all this is that prices are wonderfully 

 stiff at that end of the line and have been 

 advancing more rapidly than those in the 

 northern country (luring the past month 



or more. It is usually counted upon that 

 a high river will bring out a lot of lumber 

 from river points which are subject to 

 overflow, the object being to prevent pos- 

 sible loss or damage. The present rise in 

 the river has not had this effect except so 

 far as the Tennessee River is conperned, 

 and the increased shipments from that ter- 

 ritory amount to but little. That cotton- 

 wood which was accumulated at the mills 

 during the winter and early spring has 

 been shipped out long ago and there is 

 practically nothing left except that which 

 is being manufactured from day tp day. 

 Thus far this spring and summer the re- 

 ceipts from the Tennessee Eiver have 

 been far below the normal, and it is be- 

 :'ved that that source of supply cannot 

 last much longer, as some of the mills are 

 now haiding their product as much as 

 thirty miles to make shipment. 



From a strictly local point of view there 

 is an excellent business being transacted 

 in all lines. The furniture, box, planing 

 mill, wagon and implement people are all 

 inlying more heavily than is their custom 

 during the summer, and tliat this stock 

 is for immediate consumption is proved by 

 the fact that their stocks are not large. 

 Larger sales are also being made to the 

 northfem furniture people, now that the 

 two great furniture expositions are draw- 

 ing to a close. It is stated that these ex- 

 positions have been a great success and 

 that the manufacturers see their waj' clear 

 tor a heavy business during the rest of 

 the year, which will mean heavy pur- 

 chases of lumber. 



Those who make more or less a spe- 

 cialty of oak state that the market has 

 changed very little of late. Quartered 

 white and plain red and white of 1-inch 

 thickness are the staple items and are be- 

 ing quoted at about the same prices as 

 have prevailed for several weeks. Nearly 

 all wholesalers are quoting the same fig- 

 ures, which is a marked improvement over 

 the conditions prevailing during the early 

 spring, when tliere was little unanimity 

 of prices on anything in the hardwood 

 line. Thick oak is also on an excellent 

 basis and is bringing high prices. Dry 

 stock is especially wanted by the oak peo- 

 ple, but, as this is practically impossible 

 to secure, gi-een is selling easily and the 

 demand would easily absorb more than is 

 coming in. 



Cottonwood has been in light receipt for 

 some time and is wanted by all buyers 

 and consumers. Local stocks of it are 

 much below what they should be at this 

 season and the visible supply at the mills 

 is smalL Gum is selling easily, but prices 

 range lowfr than those prevailing earlier 

 in the spring. Cypress is wanted by 

 nearly everyone, and heavy orders arc 

 being placed with the mills whenever the 

 stock can be found. A sale on this mar- 

 ket of 10,000,000 feet in one bill was 

 consummated a short time ago, and sev- 

 eral orders of this size w-ould be placed 



