42 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



March 10, 1919 



LIGNUM VITAE BOXWOOD 

 SNAKEWOOD 



We handle all TROPICAL HARDWOODS 



EBONY 

 ROSEWOOD COCO BOLO 



C. H. PEARSON 



29 BROADWAY NEW YORK CITY 



VESTAL LUMBER 

 & MFG. COMPANY 



INCORPORATED 



Soft Textured Oak 



Poplar 



Black Walnut 



Tenn. Red Cedar 



KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE 



BAND MILLS AT VESTAL 



A SUBURB OF KNOXVILLE 



FONDE, KY. 



The Hardwood Market 



CHICAGO 



Chicago is booming with build-now propaganda, and it is the firm beliff 

 of everyone Involved that the results are going to show very soon. The 

 basis ot the propaganda is entirely logical and true, mainly resting upon 

 the two principles that a man may as well be contributing to the owner- 

 ship of his own home as paying rent and with the cards being against 

 any early cutting of building costs, it is hardly worth while to postpone 

 construction further. The opinion of speculative builders seems divided 

 as to the advisability of going ahead, some being prompted by the over- 

 whelming necessity for new dwelling places to invest in speculative con- 

 struction now and others feeling that the time is not opportune. The 

 whole outlook, though, is more promising than it was and it is likely that 

 a good deal of building will be carried on during the summer. 



In other lines developments are favorable and prices on most items of 

 bardwoods are holding well. 



TORONTO 



Conditions in the hardwood situation are slowly reviving. With the 

 approach of spring furniture factories, implement makers and musical 

 instrument plants are looking for a better season. Prices of all hard- 

 woods hold firm with the exception of maple and birch mill culls which 

 have dropped somewhat owing to an end of the shell box business. Several 

 representatives from Michigan and Wisconsin have been in Ontario re- 

 cently offering maple and other woods at an attractive figure, but the 

 high freight rates have prevented any very large orders being placed. 

 It is encouraging news to firms in Ontario and the East which conduct 

 an export business, that the British Government has eliminated control 

 in the import hardwood trade and this is expected to stimulate export 

 business In birch to a certain extent. 



With the approach of April many large building projects are under way 

 and architects report the.v have never had such a busy season preparing 

 plans and specifications. If only a portion of the contemplated structures 

 are carried out the building permits in the larger Canadian cities will 

 run higher than in any year since the outbreak of the war. 



Firms in Toronto and other cities representing southern hardwoods are 

 going after the trade vigorously and some have formed new connections 

 which have developed into very fair business. On the whole the outlook 

 for 1919 is regarded as favorable and there is a spirit of confidence and 

 assurance prevailing which fully believes that, with depleted stocks and 

 an increased demand for wood products of all kinds, lumber is today 

 worth every cent that is being asked for it. A number of lines in which 

 there is a scarcity, such as basswood, will likely carry an advance of 

 from 5 to 10 per cent before the building season is entered upon very far. 



The building permits in Toronto during the past month aggregated 

 nearly a million dollars and this Is taken as a fair example of what will 

 prevail in the other large cities in the East. From all appearances build- 

 ing operation.s should be more extended during the present year than in 

 any year since 1913 which was the banner one. Federal and various 

 Provincial governments are making substantial appropriations to munic- 

 ipalities and housing companies in order to encourage the erection of 

 workmen's houses. The money will be loaned at a low rate of interest 

 and the terms of repayment made very favorable. 



MEMPHIS 



There has heen no change for the better in conditions surrounding pro- 

 duction of hardwood lumber during the past two weeks and the outlook 

 is very unpromising. The whole trouble with manufacturers of hardwood 

 lumber lies in the shortage of logs that are ready to be transported to 

 the mills, and this shortage is directly traceable to the unfavorable 

 weather which has prevailed during the past few weeks. There is now, 

 and has been for some time, a strong desire on the part of hardwood inter- 

 ests to get out logs, but the woods have been so water-soaked that they 

 have been able to make but little progress. Further rains have occurred 

 within the past two or three days and the ground is covered with water 

 or is so wet that teams cannot stand on it. The log supply is the lightest 

 in the history of this territory as a lumber producer, and the outlook for 

 production is likewise the most unsatisfactory ever experienced at this 

 date. The Valley Log Loading Company has practically all of its equip- 

 ment idle for the reason that there are so few logs to load and the com- 

 panies which do their own loading are generally working on very short 

 time. 



Most of the mills are out of commission, in whole or in part, and the 

 quantity of hardwood lumber going on sticks is extremely small compared 

 with the average. In the meantime demand for hardwood lumber is 

 steadily increasing and shipments are now well in excess of the amount 

 being placed on sticks, with the result that a substantial decrease in mill 

 stocks is under way. Speaking of this subject recently, one of the most 

 prominent authorities in this center said : 



Xotwithstanding tbe holding back on the part of buyers in placing their 



