HARDWOOD RECORD 



41 



Relation of Paleobotany to Geology : A Trip to Madagascar : The Fluctu- 

 ating Climate of North America : Ants and Their «uests : Expedition to 

 the South I'olc : The Slnal rrohUm ; ami nmn.v ..lliers. 



Help Wanted 



Veneer manufacturers are necessarily In the habit of buying lu con- 

 siderable quantities their veneer logs from selected trees picked up In 

 small gr'iups In different parts of the rural sections. The men who do 

 the work of collecting and shipping these logs are usually not overly 

 equipped in the matter of the tlner points of modern schooling, nor are 

 their business communications usually suitable ns models for commer- 

 cial school courses. A fair example of this type of communication Is 

 shown lu this connection. This communication was received on a postal 

 card. (Kemember that it was a postal card iu reading the text) : 

 "In (Jlosi iind 2 Rl of Ladtn Ood 1 Mor Car to r..ode there ar 



17 Logs Wood like to have the Money for the lodlng." 



It is Interesting to cote that the most clearly defined section of the 

 communication Is that referring to the remuueration requested. 

 Utilizing Dogwood Waste 



The cuttings from billets constituting the raw material in shuttle man- 

 faclure arc small nieces, but a way has been found of putting them 

 to use lu the manufacture of knife handles. The smallest of such are 

 known In the trade as "scales" ; that is, the sides of pocket knife han- 

 dles. Expensive foreign woods are frequently Imported for this class 

 of articles ; but dogwood answers the purpose nearly as well. It is not 

 diflicult to stain or dye the wood any desired color. Most of the shuttles 

 used by textile mills in this country arc of dogwood cut in the south- 

 ern states, from Virginia to Florida, and west to the Mississippi river. 

 A New Clothes Stick 



A genius with an inventive turn d' mind has invented a clothes stick 

 for manipulating laundry In the wasli tub. He will go a long way if 

 he has s-omething better than the sawed-off broom handle which has 

 been used time out of mind In agitating the wash during the critical 

 period which it spends In the boiler. If the new stick is not made of 

 wood, lumbermen will have just cause to complain of the dangerous in- 

 roads of substitutes. 



Tbe Shoe Last Trade 



America is not supplying the whole world with shoe lasts, but is fur- 

 nishing lasts to a large portion of the world. They go to all the lead- 

 ing countries. Even China, where the usual kinds of shoes are not 

 much worn, is a regular customer of American shoe last factories. Most 

 lasts are of maple. It Is popularly supposed that large quantities of 

 beech are used In this business, but statistics do not show it. The 

 quantity is very small. Xo lasts are made of soft woods, but "forms" 

 and "trees" are manufactured of basswood, yellow poplar, and various 

 other species. These are used In making ru!)ber boots and shoes, and 

 tor Inserting In shoes to hold them iu shape when not in use. 



Austrian Wainscot Oak 



.-Vmerlcan oak competes with Austrian oak in the European markets. 

 The London Timber Trade Journal says that a remarkable state of af- 

 fairs exists in Slavonia, the region which supplies some of the best 

 Austrian oak. 



On the one hand, there is a slump, while on the other there is a rise 

 in prices The really first-class lots, from which the export material, 

 such as wainscots, squares, etc.. Is produced, show a steady advance, 

 but in the forests where material of lower quality is to be found there 

 has been a decided, drop in prices. The most important point Is the 

 fact that the production of sawed wainscot, which was decidedly re- 

 duced laft .vear, will be still more curtailed this year. Firms which 

 previously produced sawed wainscots in large quantities are being pushed 

 out of the market, as the forests suitable for making that class of 

 wainscots are being held by firms who are selling the wood in the 

 round to Germany. Consequently, a great reduction is to be expected 

 in the production of sawed wainscots, and it is almost certain that no 

 large quantities of this wood will appear on the market next year. The 

 general opinion Is that wainscots will rise In price, and even should 

 one or two merchants have a larger quantity on hand, which thev could. 

 It so disposed, sell at the old prices, there is no doubt, on account of 

 the absolutely small stock, that a rlsr will be the result. 



Canal's Effect on Trade 



The revolution in transportation ol the world, which will follow the 

 completion of the Panama canal, is proving a subject of increased interest 

 In Japan, according to a recent issue of Trade and Transportation. 



From the standpoint of distance the new trade route opened by the 

 Panama canal will place Japan in a much better position than she occu- 

 pies today. The course from Yokohama to New York, Japan's great silk 

 and tea market, will he shortened by some 3,500 miles, as compared with 

 the route by way of Suez, and for steamers maintaining a speed of twelve 

 knots this will mean a saving of about twelve days. For ports south- 

 ward from New York the distance will, of course, be still further reduced, 

 while by way of Suez Increases the distance. Thus, from Japan to all 

 points south of New Y'ork there will be a saving of from 3,300 to 5,700 

 miles as compared with the Suez route, and the saving In time will be 

 from nine to twenty-six days, according to the size and speed of the 

 steamer. 



For Japan's more Important exports, however, the route by Suez Is too 

 slow to he of practical utility, and such goods ns tea and silk have to 

 be sent overland to eastern America by way of San Francisco and 

 Seattle. At present this reduces the time but greatly Increases the cost. 



Japan, therefore, looks upon the new route as calculated to bring 

 about a radical change In trade with the United States and a change on 

 the whole favorable to herself. Trade with America has In the last few 

 years shown a remarkable development. 



Out of a total volume of 961,000,000 yen In trade last year, some 231,- 

 000,000. or about 30 per cent, represented trade with the United States. 

 The figures for exports and Imports stand as follows : America, 231,000,- 

 000 yen : China, 150,000,000 yen ; Britain. 130,000,000 yen ; India, 120,- 

 000.000 yen : Germany, 08,000,000 yen ; France, 49,000,000 yen. 



It is therefore evident that America occupies the first place In Japan's 

 foreign trade, and of this 142,000,000 yen represents exports. The 

 changes anticipated from the opening of the Panama canal will therefore 

 prove of supreme importance to both countries. 



In other respects American exports to Japan would bo anfecled favor- 

 ably as against those of Europe. At present Japan draws a great volume 

 of her Imports in steel rails, iron and steel plate, pipes, and so on, from 

 Europe ; but the new route will probably turn this order to America. 

 The same will likely prove true of cars, engines and freight wagons. 

 In regard to leather, paper and petroleum the future is supposed to 

 favor exports from America. 



The Brittous Rejoice 

 Some of the business men In England are just now congratulating 

 themselves on what they term Great Britain's diplomatic victory over 

 the United States in the matter of tolls at Panama. The President is 

 quoted as saying that he has come to the conclusion that the British 

 contenion has been correct "that free tolls for American shipping arc 

 a violation of treaty obligations, " and the conclusion is added that the 

 "administration is confident that It will now be able to secure the re- 

 peal of the clause." It the outcome proves as satisfactory to our 

 cousins in Great Britain as they anticipate, there will be no occasion for 

 thera to carry out their threat to build a canal of their own. 



Repairing School Furniture in London 

 The London school board maintains a shop for the purpose of repair- 

 ing school furniture. This shop has been In operation ten years or more. 

 For some reason, which has not beeu explained, repairs are growing 

 smaller and fewer, and in order to keep the shop busy, the men were 

 recently set to work making new furniture. That cour.sc did not meet 

 with approval from the authorities, and an order was passed that the 

 shop should confine Itself exclusively to repair work. 



British Columbia's Timber 



David F. Wilbur, United States consul at Vancouver, British Columbia, 

 recently supplied the government with Interesting figures In degard to the 

 timber resources of that province. The total wooded area is placed at 

 100,000,000 acres, and the quantity of timber at 300.000,000,000 feet. 

 The area Is large, but the total stand Is less than many have supposed. 

 The state of Washington alone contains a third more timber than the 

 whole of British Columbia. The present annual sawmill cut In that 

 province is not one-third that of Washington. It fact, it is approximately 

 the same as that of Arkansas. The annual growth is estimated to exceed 

 the cut five fold. 



The province has organized a forest service and has it in good working 

 order. .-Vn export tax of one dollar a thousand feet is charged on timber, 

 but there are exceptions. The export tax brought in $35,225 last year, 

 from a total ot 53,280,000 feet shipped. More than half of the total 

 exports was western red cedar. 



British Columbia mills are unable to sell their low-grade lumber In the 

 United States because of the taritf. and It is shipped across the Rocky 

 mountains to the prairie regions of Canada. Here it comes In competition 

 with lumber shipped from the United States. In 1912 the Imports from 

 the United States into the prairie region ot Canada amounted to $3,309,- 

 958. 



This competition Is keenly felt In British Columbia, and was referred 

 to in the provincial forester's report as follows : 



"The total quantity of the lumber Imported into British Columbia's 

 field ot trade In the first ten months of 1912 was 257.053,000 feet. The 

 average price of this lumber was from $11.07 to $11.44 per 1,000 feet, 

 which shows that the market could have used the low-grade lumber from 

 the British Columbia mills. As the direct result of this importation 

 from the I'nited States, approximately 250,000,000 board feet of timber 

 were left lying in the woods ot British Columbia or went to the in- 

 cinerators. 



"The importation ot American lumber was 15.8 per cent greater In 1012 

 than iu 1911. The imports of American cedar In particular have In- 

 creased most rapidly, being 381 per cent greater in 1912 than in 1911. 

 This choking of the natural market with foreign low-grade material Is 

 seriously impeding the development ot forest conservation In British 

 Columbia. The .Vmerlcan manufacturer pays no duty on his sawmill 

 machinery. He produces lumber more cheaply than it can l)e produced 

 In Canada. On the average there is a larger proportion high grade limber 

 in the United Slates than in Canada; a larger percentage ot uppers and 

 clears Is produced than Is possible In British Columbia. The American 



