60 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



tingulsliod nnd reported. Last May the scouts established object les- 

 sons In reforestation by planting of unit forests of 1,000 trees near many 

 of the principal towns and villages of the state. 



Inasmuch as It has been noted that many forest fires were set by alien 

 Immigrants, a special olTort has been made to acquaint this class of peo- 

 ple with preventive knowledge. Among the foreigners of Marquette, 

 Baraga, Iron, Houghton and Ontonagon counties, scout companies for the 

 several nationalities have been organized and the English text in fire 

 llghling has been translated by lecturing interpreters. 



On the 300,000 acres of timber lands controlled by the public domain 

 commission steady and appreciable progress has been made in the 

 care of the forests. In the separate reserves of Luce, Hoscoraraon, Hough- 

 ton and Grand Traverse counties the best methods of (he federal Forest 

 Service in reforestation, fire prevention and encouragement of sapling and 

 older growths are in use. Watch towers and Are lines guard the danger 

 IK)lnts of heavy ground litter which is under constant surveillance dur- 

 ing the dry season. 



Summing It up, it is conservative to assert that the net results of 

 forest Ures in Michigan in 1912 has proven, for the first time in 60 

 years, a benefit rather than a loss. This conclusion does not warrant 

 "any feeling of real security in the control of forest fires in the future. 

 for it is evident to all familiar with the situation that without the aid 

 of supplementivc agencies the provisions made by the state would be 

 grossly inadequate. The independent patrol by the lumbermen has no 

 positive guarantee of continuance and the scout work of the school boys 

 is the result of patriotism which this department can ask foV but not 

 command. In the countries of Ontonagon, Marquette, Dickinson, Delta 

 and Luce there are more square miles of fire trap slashings guarded by a 

 state fire fund of ?10,000 than in the entire state of Minnesota where 

 the annual fire fighting fund is more than $100,000. In the lower penin- 

 sula, Cheboygan, Charlevoix. I'rcsque Isle, Montmorency, Crawford, Kal- 

 kaska, Missaukee and Wexford counties contain large areas of dangerous 

 slashings which are a continual menace to life and property. 



In Warden Oates' report to the governor he recommended provisions 

 which would make the fire patrol less dependent upon volunteer help. 



Proposed Large Timber Sale 



It Is announced that the Forest Service proposes to sell a large body 

 of timber in northern Arizona and will receive bids until June 15, 1914. 

 The quantily is estimated at 1,000,000,000 feet, consisting of western 

 yellow pine and Engelmann spruce. The minimum bid that will be con- 

 sidered is two dollars a thousand feet for the pine and $1.40 for the 

 spruce. The price will be revised every five years to conform to changes 

 In lumber values. 



The timber to be offered is now inaccessible and if it is sold it will 

 mean the building of nearly two hundred miles of railroad to carry the 

 lumber to market. Incidentally, this will open a large region which has 

 other resources besides its timber. The lumbering will not destroy the 

 forests, because only mature trees will be cut, and the young growth 

 will be left. 



Three .vears will be allowed the purchaser to build the railroad into 

 the region The output will be about 40,000,000 feet a year, and it is 

 expected that the market for it will be found in Utah and Colorado. 

 The timber is situated in the Kalbab forest. 



Peculiar Forest Products 



The Interior of China sends some peculiar commodities to the United 

 States, according to a recent report by Consul E. C. Baker, who is stationed 

 at Chungking, a city a thousand miles, inland, with poor means of com- 

 munication with the coast. Two of the commodities exported are fungus 

 and nut galls, both presumably obtained in forests. In 1912 the fungus 

 sent out of the country amounted to 126,640 pounds and the nut galls 

 190,380. These articles are used in the arts. Xut galls grow on leaves 

 and' twigs of trees, such as occur on oak trees in this country. They are 

 valuable in ink and dye making. Vegetable tallow, amounting to 34,390 

 pounds, is exported from that country. The Chinese tallow tree has 

 been successfully introduced into Texas, and is growing about Brownsville. 

 By and by we may raise our own vegetable tallow. 

 Persian Oak 



Timberland lookers have a long Journey ahead of them when they set 

 out for Persia ; but reconnaissances have recently been carried on there 

 by both French and English lumbermen looking for oak suitable for cooper- 

 age and crossties. The explorers were rewarded by finding large forests 

 of oak, but in regions so remote from means of transportation that hun- 

 dreds of thousands of dollars will be required to organize the business and 

 open up the resources of the regions. An English company has already 

 opened headquartfers at Gilian, but the plans of the Frenchmen have not 

 been announced. 



Expanding Force of Wet Wood 



Quarrymen in France split enormous blocks of stone by inserting 

 wooden pins in «mall holes along the proposed line of cleavage, and then 

 soaking the pins with water. 



An illustration equally as convincing was provided at Dayton, 0., 

 during the flood last spring. A quantity of oak dashes veneered with 



maple was stacked to within one inch of a reinforced concrete girder In 

 the basement of the factory of the Maxwell Motor Car Company. This 

 girder had a cross-section of 12 by 19 inches and supported a 6-lnch 

 reinforced concrete floor. 



The basement was flooded, and after the water deeeded it was found 

 that the girder, together with the concrete floor which it supported, had 

 been lifted three inches!. Ten weeks after the flood the girder still rested 

 on the dashes, but it had settled about three-fourths inch. 



Large cracks developed in this girder, starting at the edge of the pile 

 of dashes and extending upward and outward. These cracks extended 

 from the bottom to the top of the section at an angle of about 30 degrees 

 with the horizontal. It was necessary to replace this girder and a 

 section of the floor. 



Locust Trees Reported Dying 



The locust timber in central West Virginia is said to be dying through- 

 out large areas, and iurabermen who deal in fence posts and insulator 

 pins are much disturbed on account of the disease. The cause of the 

 trouble seems to be unknown. This region is the natural home of locust, 

 and the species there reaches its highest development In the United 

 States. Heretofore the locust borer, which has done so much damage 

 elsewhere, has been practically Unknown in that rf-gion. 



Possible Substitute for Boxwood 



Turkish boxwood of which rollers for skates, high-class rulers, and ex- 

 pensive engraving blocks are made, has become so scarce that the enor- 

 mously high price paid for it is not suflicient to produce the quantities 

 needed. The search for substitutes has gone far and wide without satis- 

 factory results, unless the latest discovery will answer. This is a wood 

 which grows in eastern Africa, in the Mozambique country, and in that 

 region is known as makruss. The tree's botanical name is Antlrostachys 

 johnsonii. It flourishes only in the vicinity of streams but is frequently 

 abundant in such situations. The size is limited to two feet in diameter 

 and forty in height. The trunk is largely heartwood, and in color is 

 yellowish brown. In several points it resembles the sandalwoods. It has 

 a bitter taste. Tests are being made to determine whether it will serve 

 as a substitute for boxwood in its most exacting uses. 



< roa{aa»5TOiWi<;>tTOaiiatcwi^^ 



Hardwood 'News Notes 



■< MISCELLANEOUS >• 



The Buffalo Mantel Manufacturing Company at Buffalo, N. Y., is reported 

 to be closing out. 



The F. G. Smith Company has been incorporated at Newark. N. J., with 

 $35,000 capital stock. 



The Elks Furniture Company of Lexington. N. C, has increased its cap- 

 ital stock to $75,000. 



The Empire Woodworking Company of New York City has become an 

 involuntary bankrupt. 



The Gotshall Manufacturing Company of Toledo. Ohio., has increased 

 its capital to $250,000. 



The Radeker Lumber Company, Parkersburg, W. Va., has sold out to the 

 Citizens' Lumber Company. 



The J. S. Stearns Lumber Company, Odanah, Wis., has decreased its 

 capital stock to $1,200,000. 



The John M. Woods Lumber Company, Memphis, Tenn., has increased 

 its capital stock to $50,000. 



The Interchangeable Fixture Company, Grand Rapids. Mich., has sold out 

 to the Sterling Desk Company. 



The Western Parlor Frame Company, Plymouth. Wis., has changed its 

 name to the Maxwell Company. 



The Mogul Motor Truck Company has been incorporated at St. Louis 

 with a capital stock of $100,000. 



The Hardwood Lumber Company has been incorporated at Charleston, W. 

 Va., with a capital stock of $50,000. 



The Carrier Chair Company has been incorporated at Elizabethton, 

 Tenn., with a capital stock of $50,000. 



The Arkadelphia Lumber and Supply Company has been chartered at 

 Arkadelphia, Ark., with a capital stock of $10,000, of which $5,000 has 

 been subscribed. 



The Nashville Interior finish Company is the style of a recently incor- 

 porated interior finish concern at Huntington, W. Va. This company has 

 $80,000 capital stock. 



The Strong Veneer Company has been incorporated at Gerry. N. Y., to 

 manufacture and deal in veneers. This company has a capital stock of 

 $100,000. The incorporators are E. A. Strong of Gerry, B. E. Strong and 

 J. N Chapell of Jamestown. 



