HARDWOOD RECORD 



29 



Chlcaso. nnd the results wciv so good that I bought a mixed cur of 

 southern hardwoods (from the saiuc mill, by the way) nnd had It shipped 

 green from the saw. Most of this I treated and piled In the yard for 

 alrdryluK, and on the rest I experimented with the kiln. The results 

 atiaiued on green lumber In the kiln were not very satisfactory : but, 

 say, the product resulting from steaming, alrdrylng and subsequent klln- 

 drylui: was so surprising that even I was astonished. To this day my 

 former fortTnan dilates on that line oak of 1904, He never could be con- 

 vinced that the treatment was responsible, but Insists it was a special 

 growth of trees that had furnl-ihed it. 



(^rooked lumber? Not on your life; A numhci of other desirable fea- 

 tures also developed, of which more anon. 



And then I got chesty and advertised. In June. 1904. the ,\merican 

 Lumberman gave me a flattering writeup, a copy of which Is still pre- 

 served In the archives, ,\nd people came from near and far and marveled — 

 came from a distance of five miles and a distance of a million yards : 

 some even came from Memphis. I talked till I was blue In the face, and 

 the more I talked the more they marveled. As I look back upon it now 

 I strongly suspect they marveled at me. As they walked away they 

 seemed to shake their heads, and I was reminded of the farmer who saw 

 the giraffe for the first time and, even after he had seen it move and eat. 

 turned away and said. "Oh, shucks : they ain't no sich animile : but that 

 danged slick talker of a keeper "most made me believe they wuz," 



.\nd nothing came of it for years. 



I continued to use the process with better and better results. Today I 

 would not use a foot of good lumber for cabinet work that at some point in 

 its drying period had not been properly subjected to steam under pressure. 



I'm almost "saturated" with steam under pressure. I know that lumber 

 treated In this manner is a joy, just as all of you know that the boiled, 

 baked or friend potato is palatable and a joy, while the raw potato — well. 

 presumably, in case of a pinch one might live on it. 



And the theory of it all? It is always more satisfying to achieve 

 results first and then try to adapt a theory. It is still more satisfying to 

 be able to say : "To the divll with all theories ; here's the result," So 

 here are some of the results of steaming lumber under pressure : 



If properly handled after proper steaming, lumber will dry straight 

 and flat, to less weight, in less than half tlie time required for ordinar.v 

 wood: shrinkage will be less than halt; horers will not damage it; case- 

 hardening is prevented : hollowhorning is prevented ; checks and end- 

 splits minimized; stain is prevented; the color is diffused and livened; 

 working (lualities greatly improved : the lumber will hold its shape after 

 being milled ; its strength will be greater. 



Now I'd like to take a crack at the expression, "common sense." or 

 "horse sense," In some horses horse sense means a disposition to kick 

 one in tiie slats, and often common sense means piling lumber so closely 

 that air cannot possibly circulate. In this connection I quote from a 

 recent pamphlet of mine on 



The Ordixarv Pilc 



The present and universal method of piling luml>er effectually retards 

 tbt? circulation i>f air. All the layers are horizontal sidewise, and most 

 lumber is piled with small spaces between the boards. In addition, the 

 plies are covered with a water and practically air-proof root; conse- 

 quently, the circulation upwards is entirely prevented. Moreover, the 

 piles are placed closely together, which still further retards eirculatlon. 

 Woods that have a tendency to crook are now piled with a greater num- 

 ber of stickers, whicli also retards circulation : so that lumber as now 

 piled is hami»ered in every way for drying and slowl.v dries in spite of 

 all obstructions. 



The best evidence of stagnant air Is furnished by the temperature be- 

 tween the piles of the yard. Always the air Is considerably cooler be- 

 tween the piles, and always It is quiet. 



With the present practice of pitching the pile lengthwise, the sawdust 

 and dirt gradually move down to tiie stickers and lodge there, forming 

 a damp mass in the angle of the sticker and the board. This starts 

 sticker rot and stain. 



In a driving rain more or le.ss water is forced Into the pile, and days 

 elapse before the center of the pile is <iry again, 



"The tendency to crook is more pronounced because of the strains re- 

 sulting from unequal drying. 



And now listen to this : 



.VxioMs ON Air 



.\ pile of lumber Is dry only when the center of the pile is dry. 



This is as tru-; of the pile In the kiln as it is of the pile in the yard. 



The sides, ends, top and bottom of the standard pile dry more rapidly 

 than the center. 



The remedy is : Pile the lumber in such a manner that the center 

 gct° as much circulation as the outside. 



Kdge piling is the most positive ; the side pitch pile is next In effec- 

 tiveness, 



Tiie medium for drying lumlier is air, and this air, to be effective, 

 must l)e in motion over the surface of the lumber. 



Stagnant air takes up moisture very slowI.v, while air that is in 

 motion takes up moisture rTipidiy. 



Washing' hung outdoors even on a cold day, with a breeze blowing, 

 dries very quickly, while washlii;.' hung In a closed room dries very 

 slowly ev»-n though the room }»• hot. 



A pile of lumber through which the air can circulate freely will dry 

 more rapidly and evenly than a pile in whicn the circulation Is obstructi'd. 



Lumber, especially sap, will mildew In stagnant air just as old linen 

 will mildew In a damp corner, 



Thirefore. the main requisite for drying lumber Is freely circulating 

 air — air freely circulating through tlie entire pile. 



.Mr cannot be confined In an lnclini'<i flue that Is open at both ends. 



.Mr will constantly move In an inclined flue that Is open at both ends. 



I.els api>ly these axioms to : 



Tin: Sidewi.se Pitched Pile That Is Lbvei, Lengthwise 



.Mr is constantly moving through the pile. No matter what the con- 

 iitions surrounding the pile, the air moves at all times. It may not 

 move very rapidly, but it moves: consequently drying is uninterrupted, 

 and the center of th.' ijil.' will dry practically as fast as the outside. 



Is it not an everyday occurrence In "taking down ' a pile to And after 

 about the tenth course that "it is still too heavy?" This will not be the 

 case in the side-pitch pi.e. Top dry. all dry. 



The pile Is dry again as soon as the rain is over : every tier forms 

 a roof of Its own, and every tier sheds the water as fast as a roof will. 

 The grooves made by the band saw. forming numerous small gutters, also 

 help. Clean water, prortdcd It can drain off at once, does not harm 

 lumliir anyway. 



Cross sticks are always as dry as the lumber itself. 



There will he no accumulation of sawdust in the angles of the stickers, 

 and the lumber will be clean when It is taken down, as all the dust aad 

 dirt have gradually rollr-d off. 



Siiikirs do not form an ol)slruction lo circulation of air. as thev form 

 the sides of the flues and the air moves parallel with them. 



The investment in stickers will be ii-ss on account of speedier drying. 



Ia'ss stit-'kers are required in a tier, as tiie lumber dries more evenly, 

 tiierefore stralghter. 



I'ovcring boards are desirable to protect only the boards In the top 

 course from the sun. and should not form a tight roof. 



A pitch of one foot ,in six feet Is sulBcient, and this angle Is no draw- 

 back In the stacking of the lumber. 



.\nother misquotation that always gets my goat is. "I'm from Missouri 

 and you've got to show me." I'd change this to read, "I'm from the tali 

 grass and you can't show me." And that always reminds me of a certain 

 fat man. for this Is my ideal pile In the ideal yard. The ideal yard Is the 

 rail storage with the lumber on wheels. 



The Ideal Pile 



Trucks lengthwise of the pile. This method furnishes a perfect foun- 

 dation, for the bottom of the pile will be as straight as the supporting 

 rails. 



Six wedge-shaped cross-pieces with a pitch of ten Inches in six feet 

 Uwo inches on low end and twelve Inches on high end), laid crosswise 

 ou the trucks. 



i''jur-inch spaces lietween the 'ooards. This greatly induces ventilation. 



IM-y stickers. 1 inch square. 'I'hese provide good ventilating space be- 

 tween the layers and permit the parts of the uoards that are covered by 

 the slicker to dr.v as rapidly as the rest of the boards. 



Covering boards should under no circumstances form a tight roof. Put 

 one covering board over each board of the top course for protection from 

 the sun. lio not let these covering boards meet edge to edge. 



The wldel.vspaced load will dry faster than the closely-plied, and for 

 that reason no more storage snace is required. 



The widely-spaced load Is more easily bandied. Remember. 2,500 feet 

 of green oak will weigh about 15,000 pounds, and It requires lots of 

 •beet" to move it. 



In conclusion. I am reminded of the man that was addressing a Sunday- 

 school class and in the course of his talk hesitated for a moment and said. 

 "Really I don't know what else to say." X little girl's voice piped up 

 with. "Say 'Amen' and let's go home." 



Then followed what was probably the most valuable feature of the 

 whole meeting, namely, a general discussion on business conditions, 

 from which talk it could plainly be seen that members of the associa- 

 tion view the future with considerable satisfaction. It was pretty 

 dearly brought out that there will be no accumulation of stock dur- 

 ing the present year and that there is no chance of anything but 

 strengthening in lumber values. In fact, it was the consensus of 

 opinion that the year 1914 will be one of the best ever experienced 

 by the lumber trade. 



E. Ij. Murdock of Vaiden, Miss., said that before the discussion on 

 business ".>as started he desired to express his appreciation of this, 

 the first meeting of the manufacturers' association which he had 

 ever attended. Mr. Murdock is an old-time lumberman of Mississippi 

 and his remarks were characteristic of the typical southern colonel. 

 He said humorously that he was surprised to find that the hospitality 

 extended to the visiting lumbermen was extended in the main by 

 Yankees, but added that the hospitality nevertheless was of the 

 southern type. Mr. Murdock arose to speak as a stranger to most 

 of those present, but when he sat down all felt that they were old 

 friends. 



. Simon Lieberman of Nashville opened (he business discussion with 

 a review of the history of the association. He said that he was one 

 of the first in the Middle South to join, and then reviewed its gradual 

 development from its inception up to its present important character. 



Mr. Lieberman said that his concern carries from 2,000,000 to 

 3,000,000 feet of hardwood lumber and that during 1913 business was 

 excellent up to November. He said that it slowed down from then 

 to the end of the year, but since January 1 he has noted a new life 

 in inquiries and orders and predicts that 1914 will be the best year 

 for the lumber business in the past twenty-five years. Mr. Lieber- 

 man said, however, that he would not make that statement without 

 at least attempting to prove it. He said that he had talked with the 

 senator from his district, who expressed himself as believing that 

 this will be a boom year. He gave as his reason that money is loosen- 

 ing up and that there will be plenty of it for investment and that 

 the administrative currency measure will result in bringing out all 

 this available cash instead of concentrating it at a few points. He 

 said that it will bring out gold from Washington to the regional 



